Original painting – Untitled, Hopi Katsina with Pottery Designs [SOLD]

This untitled painting by Delbridge Honanie is intriguing to say the least. The background consists of muted blue tone on tone pottery-inspired designs painted over a textured background with what would appear to be applied with a palette knife. The subject matter is a mixture of Katsinas. The right half appears to be Sai-astasana, the Zuni Rain Priest of the North who accompanies the Salako when they appear at Zuni. At Hopi he usually appears with other Zuni Katsinas such as Shulawitsi, Pautiwa, Sipikne, and Hakto in a Mixed Dance. The left half is less obvious which Katsina it represents, perhaps not one specific but a mixture of several. The bright colors and bold shapes contrast nicely with the background to create a wonderful composition.

Delbridge Honanie was born in 1946 in Winslow, Arizona.  He grew up at the Hopi Second Mesa village of Shungopavi.  He went to the Phoenix Indian Day School in the 1960s and then to the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe.  Honanie was named an Arizona Indian Living Treasure in 2006. Honanie was a founding member of Artist Hopid, a group of five Hopi artists who banded to work to educate the public to the values and identity of the Hopi people through various art media.  Other members of Artist Hopid were Terrance Talaswaima, Milland Lomakema, Michael Kabotie and Neil David, Sr.   In addition to paintings, Honanie also carves Katsina sculptures from cottonwood root.

Condition:  very good condition

Provenance: from a Santa Fe family

Recommended Reading: Hopi Painting: The World of the Hopis by Patricia Janis Broder.  A Brandywine Press Book, NY 1978.