Diego Romero (artist)
| Diego Romero | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1964 Berkeley, California |
| Nationality | Cochiti Pueblo |
| Field | ceramics, printmaking, painting |
| Training | MFA University of California, Los Angeles, BFA Otis College of Art and Design, Institute of American Indian Arts |
| Movement | Pueblo art, Native pop art |
 Diego Romero portrait | |
|
When Titans Collide | |
|
Double Take, Chongo Brothers, 2002 |
Diego Romero (born 1964) is a Cochiti Pueblo artist living in New Mexico.
Background
Diego Romero was born in Berkeley, California in 1964. His father is Santiago Romero, a Cochiti Pueblo Indian, and his mother is Nellie Guth, a European-American.[1] Diego, like his mother, was born and raised in Berkeley, California,[2] but spent his childhood summers at Cochiti, New Mexico.[1] Romero's father was a traditional painter, despite losing one of his hands in the Korean War.[1] Although, in his youth, Romero related to his tribe only with great difficulty, as a young man the Cochiti council honored him by granting him the right to occupy his grandfather's property.[1]
Art career
Romero's first mentor in clay was Navajo ceramicist Nathan Begaye.[1] After art school in California, he attended the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe. After one year at IAIA, he enrolled at Otis Parsons School of Design in Los Angeles, where he earned his BFA degree. He moved on to University of California, Los Angeles where he received his MFA in 1993.[1]
While at UCLA, Romero found his style. He created ceramic pots, painted in gold, that wedded traditional Anasazi and Mimbres designs with Greek black-figure vase painting styles.[1] This marriage of styles gave birth to his "Chongo Brothers" series. A chongo is a Southwest Native man who wears his hair in a traditional bun.[1] Romero combines with humor and biting social commentary as he paints pots narrating the exploits of the Chongo Brothers and Coyote — documenting their interactions with traditional Native, historical Spanish and Anglo, and contemporary mainstream societies.
The Greek painting influence shows in Romero's portrayal of idealized, muscular bodies. His work also reflects as a heavy influence by comics and pop culture. Romero explores sexuality in his work – an uncommon subject matter for Native art today.
A collection of his work toured Europe in 2006. He is represented by galleries in New York and Santa Fe, including Robert Nichols Gallery.
Notable collections
- She-Wana's Dream, 2008, National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C.[3]
- Diego Romero works at New Mexico Museum of Art
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Clark, Garth. Free Spirit: The New Native American Potter. Hertogenbosch, Netherlands: Stedelijik Museum's, 2006: 102-123.
- ↑ Clark, Garth. (Mar/Apr 2007). "Bridging two worlds." Ceramic Review v 224, p. 48-51.
- ↑ "She-Wana's Dream". Collections Search. National Museum of the American Indian. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
See also
- Mateo Romero (artist), Diego's brother
External links
- Interview with Diego Romero by Larry Abbott
- Images of his work at Robert Nichols Gallery
- Diego Romero, Vision Project, by Dylan A. T. Miner
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