Swentzell, Roxanne

“I do what I do because I want people to know that they are beautiful.”

The granddaughter of Rose Naranjo and daughter of Rina Swentzell, Roxanne Swentzell was born into Santa Clara Pueblo in 1962. She grew up watching and working with her mother and grandmother as they were making pottery. She made the usual pots and bowls but preferred making figures more than anything else. She felt her little clay creations could communicate her feelings better than she could herself.

Roxanne disliked school very much, almost failing high school. Somehow her parents got her to enroll part-time at the Institute for American Indian Arts in Santa Fe.

At her first art show there she was encouraged when she was first asked how much one of her pieces cost. A few years later she said she went to Santa Fe Indian Market with $70 in her pocket and left with more than $20,000. Instead of feeling wonderful about it she was disturbed. She said, “It felt like rape. My pieces were so personal – I felt like I was selling my children. How could I exchange my sculptures for pieces of paper that couldn’t look back at me and smile? I felt so dirty. I went home and cried and cried.”*

Then she realized what she needed to do: she was a single mother with two babies living in a work shed that doubled as their home. They were living off food commodities. They needed to have a real home of their own and she now had a way to make that happen.

Roxanne attended Santa Fe Indian Market four times in a row before taking a break. She saved enough to build her home and she did so. Then she sold all her pieces through galleries for the next several years.

She returned to Santa Fe Indian Market in 1994 and earned the Creative Excellence in Sculpture Award that year. She said she was nervous that first morning after the judging results were released, it wasn’t like it was before. She was getting nervous about how she was going to feed her young ones… then people started buying her sculptures. By 9 AM she was sold out. Her thoughts: “I felt like people were buying my work because they liked it, not because it was a Roxanne Swentzell piece. I felt like my babies were going to good homes.”*

The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture chose Roxanne as their 2011 Native Treasures Living Treasure.

Some exhibits that featured Roxanne’s work

  • What’s New in New: Selections from the Carol Warren Collection. Lloyd Kiva New Gallery, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. Santa Fe, New Mexico. June 3, 2018 – February 26, 2019. Note: exhibiting works include art by artists Tony Abeyta, Autumn Borts-Medlock, Preston Duwyenie, Tammy Garcia, Dan Namingha, Les Namingha, Jody Naranjo, Roxanne Swentzell, and Tito Naranjo
  • Beauty Speaks for Us. Heard Museum. Phoenix, Arizona. February 10, 2017 – March 31, 2017
  • Chocolate, Chili & Cochineal: Changing Taste Around the World. Heard Museum. Phoenix, Arizona. February 16, 2013 – December 31, 2013
  • 2011 Art at the Gardens. Gates Garden Court Gallery, Denver Botanical Gardens. Denver, Colorado. November 19, 2011 – February 5, 2012
  • Mothers & Daughters: Stories in Clay. Heard Museum. Phoenix, Arizona. January 10, 2009 – January 2010
  • Choices and Change: American Indian Artists in the Southwest. Heard Museum North. Scottsdale, AZ. 2007
  • Home: Native People in the Southwest. Heard Museum. Phoenix, AZ. 2005
  • Not Even: A Form of Expression. Institute of American Indian Arts Museum. Santa Fe, New Mexico. December 5, 2003 – February 1, 2004
  • Self-Reflecting. Institute of American Indian Arts Museum. Santa Fe, NM. 2003
  • Recent Works by Roxanne Swentzell. Heard Museum. Phoenix, AZ. November 8, 2002 – November 9, 2002
  • So Fine! Masterworks of Fine Art from the Heard Museum. Heard Museum. Phoenix, AZ. November 2, 2002 – March 9, 2003
  • Ancient Echoes: Reflections of Tribal Spirit. Hotel Plaza Real. Santa Fe, NM. August 14, 2002 – August 19, 2002
  • Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation: Contemporary Native American Art from the Southwest. 2002-2003 Traveling exhibition planned for the following venues: American Craft Museum, New York, NY, 5/9/2002-9/15/2002; Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 10/13/2002-1/5/2003; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK, 1/19/2003-3/16/2003
  • New Directions in Southwestern Pottery. Peabody Essex Museum. Salem, MA. 2001 November 16, 2001 – March 17, 2002
  • Un Art Populaire. Fondation Cartier. Paris, France. June 21, 2001 – November 4, 2001
  • Rain: Native Expressions from the American Southwest. Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center. Mashantucket, CT. August 2000 – September 4, 2000
  • American Women Artists: Members Show and Invitational. Nedra Matteucci Fine Art. Santa Fe, NM. 2000 June 2, 2000 – June 21, 2000
  • “Anticipating the Dawn”. Gardiner Art Gallery, Department of Art, Oklahoma State University. Stillwater, Oklahoma. January 10, 2000 – February 9, 2000. Note: group show curated by Anita Fields. Accompanied by an exhibition catalog with title: “Anticipating the Dawn: Contemporary Art by Native American Women”
  • New Works by Virgil Ortiz & Roxanne Swentzell. Gallery 10. Santa Fe, NM. 1999 May 21, 1999 – June 11, 1999
  • The Legacy of Generations: Pottery by American Indian Women. The National Museum of Women in the Arts. Washington, DC. 1997 August 21, 1998 – October 31, 1998
  • Head+Heart+Hands: Native American Craft Traditions in a Contemporary World. 1998-2000 Traveling exhibit planned for the following venues: Kentucky Art and Craft Gallery, Louisville, KY, 8/21-10/31/1998; Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH, 11/22/1998-01/21/1999; Yakama Nation Cultural Heritage Center and Museum, Yakima, WA, 5/15-7/17/1999; DeLand Museum, Deland, FL, 10/29/1999-1/2/2000
  • Indian Humor. George Gustav Heye Center, National Museum of the American Indian. New York, NY. May 31, 1998 – October 2, 1998
  • The Legacy of Generations: Pottery by American Indian Women. Heard Museum. Phoenix, Arizona. February 14, 1998 – May 17, 1998
  • Crossroads Gallery. Heard Museum. Phoenix, Arizona. February 1998 – 2002
  • Twentieth Century American Sculpture at the White House: Honoring Native America. Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, with the cooperation of the Committee for the Preservation of the White House and White House Historical Association. Washington, D.C. September 22, 1997 – October 1, 1998. Note: exhibition VI in a series; “Honoring Native America” curated by Margaret Archuleta and organized by the Heard Museum. Artists include R.E. Bartow, Doug Coffin, Susie Bevins Ericsen, Bob Haozous, John Hoover, Allan Houser, Doug Hyde, Truman Lowe, George Morrison, Nora Naranjo Morse, Willard Stone, and Roxanne Swentzell. Accompanied by a catalog booklet
  • Face of Clay. Robert F. Nichols. Santa Fe, NM. September 12, 1997 – September 27, 1997
  • Sisters of the Earth: Contemporary Native American Ceramics. Museum at Warm Springs. Warm Springs, OR. November 9, 1994 – March 10, 1995
  • Watchful Eyes: Native American Women Artists. Heard Museum. Phoenix, Arizona. November 1, 1994 – October 1995. Note: Theresa Harlan, guest curator; accompanied by a catalog
  • Indian Humor. American Indian Contemporary Arts. San Francisco, CA. July 8, 1994 – October 1, 1994
  • Maintaining Cultural Roots: Personal Expressions by Women. Tempe Arts Center and Sculptural Garden. Tempe, AZ. July 30, 1993 – September 19, 1993
  • Rain. Heard Museum. Phoenix, AZ. June 19, 1993 – July 1, 1995
  • Eclectica: Recent Acquisitions. Heard Museum. Phoenix, AZ. July 18, 1992 – October 18, 1992
  • A Dance with Dolls. Mosi Lakai-Bi’kisis, Inc. Santa Fe, NM. 1991
  • Shared Visions: Native American Painters and Sculptors in the Twentieth Century. Heard Museum. Phoenix, AZ. April 13, 1991 – July 28, 1991
  • Emergence: Original Ceramic Figures. Praise Song Gallery, The Gatehouse, Fort Mason Center. San Francisco, CA. March 9, 1990 – March 25, 1990
  • Celebrated Selections. Heard Museum. Phoenix, AZ. 1989
    Earth, Hands, Life: Southwestern Ceramic Figures. Heard Museum. Phoenix, AZ. 1988
  • Roxanne Swentzell: Santa Clara Sculptor in Ceramics. El Parian de Santa Fe. Santa Fe, NM. 1987
  • Santa Clara Pottery. Museum of the Plains Indian and Crafts Center. Browning, MO. May 19, 1986 – June 19, 1986
  • Roxanne Swentzell. Arrott Gallery of the Donnelly Library, Highlands University. Las Vegas, New Mexico. November 1984 – December 14, 1984

Some of the awards Roxanne has earned

  • 2019 Governor’s Arts Awards, Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and the New Mexico Arts Commission
  • 2016 Spirit of the Heard Award. Heard Museum
  • 2011 Native Treasures: Indian Arts Festival. Santa Fe, NM. Native Treasures Living Treasure Award
  • 2004 Santa Fe Indian Market poster artist
  • 2002 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market. Heard Museum. Phoenix, AZ. Judge’s Choice Award; Class. VIII – Pottery, Div C – Traditional native clay/ handbuilt/figurative, Best of Division
  • 2000 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market. Heard Museum. Phoenix, AZ. Class. VI – Fine Arts, Best of Classification;
    – Div A – Sculpture, Best of Division;
    – Judge’s Choice Award
  • 1999 Santa Fe Indian Market. Class. V – Sculpture, Best of Classification;
    – Div. B – Bronze and other metals, Best of Division;
    – Cat. 2802 – Bronze, over 24″ in greatest dimension, First Place
  • 1998 Santa Fe Indian Market Class. V – Sculpture, Div. B – Bronze and other metals, Cat. 2801 – Bronze (up to 24″ in greatest dimension), First Place
  • 1997 Santa Fe Indian Market. Class. V – Sculpture, Div. B – Bronze and other metal, Cat. 2801 – Bronze (up to 24″ in greatest dimension), First Place
  • 1996 Santa Fe Indian Market. Class. II – Pottery, Div. H, Non-traditional any forms using non-traditional materials or techniques, Cat. 1508 – Single figures (human), First Place;
    – Class. V – Sculpture, Div. C – Other media and miniatures, Cat. 2902 – Ceramic, Third Place
  • 1994 Santa Fe Indian Market. Sculpture Award for excellence in sculpture (any entry from Class V);
    – Class. II – Pottery, Div. J – Non-traditional, any forms using non-traditional materials or techniques, Cat. 1605 – Single figures (human), First Place;
    – Class. V – Sculpture, Div. C – Other media & miniatures, Cat. 2904 – Second Place
  • 1986 Santa Fe Indian Market: Bob David Memorial Award – Most Promising Artist/Craftsperson heretofore Non-Awarded at Indian Market
  • 1986 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division H – Non-Traditional Pottery, New Forms and Innovations: Best of Division
  • 1986 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division H – Non-Traditional Pottery, New Forms and Innovations, Category 1302 – Jars & Vases Painted (Other than Stoneware): First Place
  • 1986 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification II – Pottery, Division H – Non-Traditional Pottery, New Forms and Innovations, Category 1305 – Single Figures (Human): First Place
  • 1986 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification IV – Kachina Dolls, Carvings, Sculptures, Division B – Sculpture (Other Than Dolls): Best of Division
  • 1986 Santa Fe Indian Market, Classification IV – Kachina Dolls, Carvings, Sculptures, Division B – Sculpture (Other Than Dolls), Category 2004 – Ceramic: First Place
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