Christine N. McHorse

MOVING FORWARD
The Ceramic Art of Christine Nofchissey McHorse

"My parents and siblings, as my foremost teachers and influences, taught that there was an art to living and that life was art." Christine McHorse, Art New Mexico, 2000

I am reminded of the ceramic work of Georgia O'Keeffe as I view the vessels of Christine Nofchissey McHorse. They are dark, smooth, sensual and, seemingly, illuminated from a source within. Although it reminds me of O'keeffe's ceramic work, it has its own original and unique qualities - providing clues to the identity of its maker.

Ms. McHorse lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Born in Morenci, Arizona (1948), of Navajo parents, she migrated to Santa Fe at the age of 15. While at the Institute of American Indian Arts she was introduced to the micaceous pot making techniques of the local pueblo potters in the vicinity of New Mexico's Sangre de Christo mountains, learning techniques dating back hundreds of years.

"Untitled", by Christine McHorse, micaceous clay,

27.5" x 14" x 13",

Clark+Delvecchio, 2010.

She continues to use this shiny earth in her recent abstract, sculptural pottery, and although it is slightly reminiscent of the pottery of her ancestors, Ms. McHorse has broken from the past, eliminating function - moving intent, meaning and form into another realm.

Christine Nofchissey McHorse has received numerous awards and her work appears in many private and public collections, including the Museum of New Mexico, the Denver Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of American Art of the Smithsonian Institution, among others.

She is represented by Clark+Delvecchio Gallery, Santa Fe.

Currently, an exhibition of her work (Dark Light: The Ceramics of Christine Nofchessey McHorse) is on display at the Nerman Museum of Contermporary Art, Overland Park, Kansas. The exhibition runs through May 26, 2013.  

Dark Light: The Ceramics of Christine Nofchissey McHorse

Christine McHorse, Nautilus, 2006 micaceous ceramic,
18.5 x 10.5, Collection Museum of Fine Arts, Houston