Fernando Padilla Jr. (born July 29, 1958) is a Native American artist. His father was full blood San Felipe Pueblo and his mother is

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

and

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

. Padilla is enrolled with the San Felipe Pueblo and is listed as half San Felipe Pueblo and half Navajo. Padilla was born in

Huntington Park, California Huntington Park is a city in the Gateway Cities district of southeastern Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 58,114, of whom 97% are Hispanic/Latino and about half were born outside the ...

. He grew up in various places in New Mexico and Arizona due to his father's job with the U.S. Forestry Service. He moved to

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

in 1978 and still lives there to date. Best known for his painting of the Southwestern landscape and Pueblo life, Padilla also creates multi-dimensional artwork, sculpture and jewelry.

Education

Padilla graduated from Rio Grande High School in Albuquerque, NM in 1976. He attended college in Albuquerque, NM and later transferred to Bethany Nazarene College in Bethany, Oklahoma in 1978.

Public collections

“Spirit of the People" –

Denver International Airport Denver International Airport , locally known as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At , it is the largest airport in ...

(Permanent Exhibit) Selected as one of ten artists by Western American Indian Chamber to create site-specific work for the

. Chosen to illustrate Native American life during the Anasazi Period, Padilla's mural shows a panoramic view of a cliff dwelling community (1992).

Museums and exhibitions

* Red Earth Master’s Show, Oklahoma City, OK * Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX * Story of the Sacred Hoop Exhibit, Stuttgart, Germany * Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, NM * Institute of the Franco American Exhibit, Renes, France * Red Earth Museum, Oklahoma City, OK * Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, CA * Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO * Museum of the Great Plains, Woodward, OK *

, Denver, CO *

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, located in Albuquerque, is owned and operated by the 19 Indian Pueblos of New Mexico and dedicated to the preservation and perpetuation of Pueblo Indian Culture, History and Art. The Indian Pueblo Cultural Cente ...

, Albuquerque, NM * Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, Norman, OK * Cherokee National Museum, Tahlequah, OK

Publications

Besides being listed in "The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters", Padilla and his artwork also appear in Turner Publishing's "The Native Americans"Ballentine and Ballentine. The Native American's An Illustrated History. Turner Publishing, 2001. . and "Artistic Tastes – Favorite Recipes of Native American Artists" by Barbara Harjo and Julie Pearson Little Thunder.

Personal life

Fernando Padilla Jr. lives in Ada, Oklahoma

References

External links

Padilla of San Felipe
official website of Fernando Padilla Jr. {{DEFAULTSORT:Padilla, Fernando Jr. Native American painters Native American sculptors American mixed-media artists 1958 births Living people Painters from California People from Ada, Oklahoma Sculptors from California