Talent and Tradition

Ed Natiya’s Indigenous and Native American sculptures and monuments have earned him a reputation as one of the best sculptors of his kind. In 2016, for instance, he won the top prize in sculpture at the Southwestern Association for Indian Art (SWAIA) Indian Market—the largest Native American art show in the world, attended by 100,000 at its annual gathering in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In March, he’ll have one of his larger-than-life monuments on display at the Briscoe Western Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas. The Briscoe doesn’t ordinarily take large pieces but, in Natiya’s case, it made an exception.

The passion and personal history Natiya injects into his sculptures show a deep relationship between the artist and his art, a relationship that is grounded in talent and tradition. Yet it’s quite possible that none of his stunning works in bronze and other forms would exist today had he not approached a Santa Fe gallery that didn’t want his paintings.

Read the full article in the March/April 2024 issue.