80's John Suazo Pink Alabaster Sculpture

Details

Description

John Suazo master Native American Taos Pueblo pink alabaster sculpture of a bird head and two fish, signed J. Suazo.

… Read more John Suazo master Native American Taos Pueblo pink alabaster sculpture of a bird head and two fish, signed J. Suazo.

Measures:
16.0" w x 5.5" d x 13.25" h / Inches

In great vintage condition with normal marks consistent with age. Please see all photos for additional details.

John Suazo is a Taos Pueblo stonesculptor. He works mostly in alabaster and limestone. John believes the purpose of hiswork is to bring joy and happiness to those who want to see and touch.

Taos Pueblo sculptor John Suazo has received multiple awards and distinctions. His sculpture “Waiting for Grandfather” was installed at the University of Arizona in Tucson in 2013. His work is in numerous museums and galleries throughout the country and has also been exhibited in Russia and France.

Art runs in the family

Suazo’s grandfather, Jim Suazo, inspired the novel “The Man Who Killed the Deer” by Frank Waters. But this isn’t the only book about the Suazo family. “Pueblo Boy,” a children’s book by Sylvia Starr and Joseph B. Wertz published in 1938, contains pictures of Suazo’s mother and grandparents and details of their everyday lives in the Pueblo.

All this is part of my history,” Suazo says. “And what motivates me to do my art.”

Suazo went to college expecting to become a teacher. He had excelled in sports and considered being a coach.

“But I kept changing majors,” he said. “I really didn’t know what I wanted to do until one day, during my fourth year of college, when I came home on a Christmas break and started carving. Right then, I knew I had found my true calling. My uncle Ralph encouraged me to follow that path. ”

His uncle Ralph Suazo was also a sculptor who had promoted the Native American art movement in Taos in the ’50s and ’60s.

“Our whole family is artistic,” said Suazo. “Around the same time I began carving, first in wood and then in stone, my mother, Juanita DuBray, started to do clay figures too.”

In 1985, DuBray was invited to do a show at the Smithsonian Museum. She has also exhibited at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, the Museum of New Mexico, the Wheelwright Museum, and the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe. Suazo’s niece, Dawning Pollen Shorty, is also known for her micaceous clay creations.

“My son Warshaw is a great carver too,” said Suazo. “Now he is going to engineering school in Gallup and has made the honor roll three times.”

Though he didn’t pursue a career in education, Suazo is still interested in teaching and preserving his ancestral culture.

“I welcome those who want to come to my studio and watch me work,” he said. “I have gone to many schools and talked to the students about the art business and the importance of creativity.” See less