Namingha, Les – “Finding Our Path” Urban Polychrome Jar

9.5"w x 6"h

$ 4,200.00

This is a dynamic jar by Les Namingha.  His pottery designs are a creative blend of Hopi-Tewa and modernist designs.  The jar is inspired by more classic Hopi-Tewa shapes with the wide shoulder and the short neck. The design on the top of the piece has various Sikyakti or Hopi style birds painted over colorful panels.  Note around the neck the linear designs with the dots.  These represent the migration or “finding our path”, moving from one point to another.  The bottom of the jar repeats this modernist version of the “migration pattern”.  However, when it is singled out on the bottom, the pathway almost looks like a circuit board and thus creating another modern-day style “migration pattern”.  Les creates designs that are often thoughtful and with meaning on various levels. This jar is part of his “Urban Polychrome” series, of which Les says:

“The concept of layering is inherent in our mortal journey. As time moves forward, our memories become layered. Some memories remain vibrant, others faint or hazy. Yet others, obscure or even hidden. Likewise, our experiences, words, works, emotions, prayers and songs build up in layers creating our existence. In turn, our societal interactions become exercises in layering. We see this in evidence with street art or graffiti writing where layers of thought and a desire to express a “proof of existence” create tapestries of color and marks. Blending, covering, harmonizing, dissonance, disappearing. This concept of layering is the idea behind Urban Polychrome and other works in the Urban Series.”  Les Namingha