Michael Chiago Sr. | GATHERING
centers on a recent body of work Tohono O’odham artist Michael Chiago created in his Phoenix studio over the last several years along with a cycle of works he created especially for Tohono Chul’s Saguaro Discovery Trail in 2003. Each painting is brimming with visual clues and information; they tell stories of creation, everyday life, seasonal harvests, ceremonies, unity, and the preservation of land and heritage. Chiago was born on the O’odham reservation west of Tucson in 1943. His paintings depict traditional gatherings that bring his people together in friendship and prayer and are often set against a backdrop of mountains and the desert where he has lived most of his life. Complementing this survey of Chiago’s watercolors are baskets, folk art, and pottery from Tohono Chul’s Permanent Collection, selected to reflect the gathering(s) depicted in Chiago’s work.
Also on view: Tucson based artist: Alisha Conner| Mandala Meditations (through May, 3rd) and Phoenix based artist: J.W. Fikes’s Photographic Survey of the Wild Edible Botanicals of the North American Continent (through February, 22nd).
A FREE and Open to the Public -‘Reception and Book Signing w/ the Artists’ will take place in the Exhibit House and Sami’s Courtyard on Thursday, February 19 from5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
