Robert Tenorio (born December 29, 1950) is a
Kewa (Santo Domingo) potter.
Early life
Robert Tenorio was born on December 29, 1950, on the Kewa Pueblo to parents Andrew and Juanita Tenorio,
members of the Fire Clan. His paternal grandmother was potter (1900–1993) and his maternal aunt was potter Lupe B. Tenorio (1902–1990).
His siblings include potter
Hilda Coriz (1949–2007), Paulita Pacheco (1943–2008), and Mary.
His nephew is potter Ambrose Atencio (born 1963).
Education and career
His aunt Lupe taught him in early life traditional pottery techniques, including the preparation of black paint made from ''
Cleome serrulata
''Cleome serrulata'' (syn. ''Peritoma serrulata''), commonly known as Rocky Mountain beeplant/beeweed, stinking-clover, bee spider-flower, skunk weed, Navajo spinach, and guaco, is a species of annual plant in the genus ''Cleome''. Many species o ...
'' (Rocky Mountain Bee Plant), and cream
slip
Slip or SLIP may refer to:
Science and technology Biology
* Slip (fish), also known as Black Sole
* Slip (horticulture), a small cutting of a plant as a specimen or for grafting
* Muscle slip, a branching of a muscle, in anatomy
Computing and ...
made from a green bentonite clay from the Cochiti Pueblo.
Tenorio attended the
Institute of American Indian Arts
The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is a public tribal land-grant college in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The college focuses on Native American art. It operates the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), which is housed in the historic S ...
in Santa Fe and studied pottery under
Otellie Loloma
Otellie Loloma (December 30, 1921 — January 30, 1993) was a Hopi Native Americans in the United States, Native American artist, specializing in pottery and dance. Additionally, she worked with her husband Charles Loloma on jewelry design.
Early ...
.
His work is typically signed as, "Robert Tenorio, KEWA, N.M." He often makes flared rim
olla
An olla is a ceramic jar, often unglazed, used for cooking stews or soups, for the storage of water or dry foods, or for other purposes like the irrigation of olive trees. ''Ollas'' have short wide necks and wider bellies, resembling beanpots o ...
jars, bowls, and canteens in red, black and cream colors; that feature either a geometric design, or a floral or animal motif.
Tenorio has work in museum collections including at the
Denver Art Museum
The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is an art museum located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado. With encyclopedic collections of more than 70,000 diverse works from across the centuries and world, the DAM is one of the largest art museums between t ...
, the
National Museum of the American Indian
The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers.
The museum has three ...
, , and the
Maxwell Museum of Anthropology
The Maxwell Museum of Anthropology is an anthropology museum located on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The museum was founded in 1932 as the Museum of Anthropology of the University of New Mexico, becoming the firs ...
.
See also
*
List of Native American artists
This is a list of visual artists who are Native Americans in the United States. The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 defines "Native American" as being enrolled in either federally recognized tribes or state recognized tribes or "an individual ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tenorio, Robert
1950 births
Living people
Native American potters
Artists from New Mexico
People from Kewa Pueblo, New Mexico