Master Glass: The Collaborative Spirit of Tony Jojola
Exhibition Dates
February 10, 2024 - September 21, 2024
Featured Image Details Below
This exhibit is the first of its kind since Jojola’s death in 2022.
Tony Jojola (1958 – 2022, Isleta Pueblo) worked through the medium of blown and sculpted glass to express his distinct perspective on Pueblo culture. He was best known for his organic and vibrantly hued glass vessels, fetishes, and totems. Jojola is considered one of the most influential American glass artists of the 20th century, one of the first to opt for this medium and to achieve this level of skill. During his career, Jojola worked alongside legendary glass artists Dale Chihuly, Lino Tagliapietra, and Preston Singletary (Tlingit). He studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, under Osage artist Carl Ponca and later attended the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington. Jojola noted his enjoyment of glass was akin to clay – a “clay you can’t touch.”
Jojola apprenticed under Dale Chihuly, ultimately becoming a member of his team. With Chihuly’s support, Jojola established the Taos Glass Workshop in 1999, which focused on teaching Native American youth and mentorship. Chihuly has noted “Tony was one of the most generous and creative people I have known. Over the years, we shared many meaningful and creative moments together at Pilchuck, the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, and at the Taos Glass Workshop.”
Collaboration was essential to Jojola’s artistic practice, and an especially important artistic relationship was forged with ceramic and public art artist Rosemary Lonewolf (Santa Clara Pueblo). Together they developed a series of blown glass and clay pieces first displayed as Indigenous Evolution at the Heard Museum in Phoenix 2005. Jojola equally mentored younger artists establishing the Taos Glass Workshop in 1999, including Okhay Owingeh glass artist Robert “Spooner” Marcus. At the end of his life, he said “I have so much work to do, there’s no way I will ever be finished.”
In 2000, the Wheelwright Museum dedicated a mid-career retrospective, Born of Fire, which featured over sixty pieces of his work. Currently, there is also a temporary space dedicated to Jojola’s work, for which Lonewolf and Marcus contributed three new works.
Featured Image Details
All photos by Additon Doty
Currently On View
Jim and Lauris Phillips Center for the Study of Southwestern Jewelry.
Art in public spaces, including murals, can serve as a vehicle for dialogue about history, describe relationships, and depict the resilience of the community in the hope to create equity, agency, and healing.
Admission: $10.00
Free for Museum Members, Native Americans, children under 12, students with a valid ID, veterans and active military.
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