Newsletter Archive – Sheldon Harvey
Sheldon Harvey: Navajo Storytelling in Contemporary Form
Sheldon Harvey is a Diné (Navajo) artist whose paintings and sculptures bridge traditional Navajo cosmology with modern visual language. Born in 1978 in Lukachukai, Arizona, and a member of the Red Running Into Water Clan, he grew up immersed in Diné stories, ceremonies, and the landscape of the Four Corners region. Trained in part as a medicine man by his grandfather and great-grandfather, and taught to paint by his uncle, Harvey studied fine arts at Diné College yet considers himself largely self-taught. His work draws deeply from Navajo creation narratives, especially the First World Air-Spirit Beings and the Ye’í figures that serve as intermediaries between the people and the Holy People.
Harvey works in oil and acrylic painting as well as mixed-media sculpture, often incorporating wood, found objects, feathers, and natural materials. His style fuses Navajo subject matter with elements of cubism, expressionism, and abstraction, creating bold compositions of interlocking shapes, saturated color, and energetic form. Influences range from Native artists such as R.C. Gorman and Dan Namingha to modernist painters including Picasso, de Kooning, and Kandinsky. The result is art that feels both ancient and immediate—spirit beings, sacred fire, water birds, and cosmological themes rendered with contemporary force.
His breakthrough came at the Santa Fe Indian Market, where he earned multiple awards, including the rare achievement of Best of Show in 2008 along with top honors in both painting and sculpture. Harvey’s work has been shown in major venues, including a solo retrospective at the Navajo Nation Museum, and is held in collections across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Through his art he seeks to reaffirm traditional values of balance, connection, and origin in a world that often loses sight of them, offering viewers a living dialogue between Diné heritage and universal human questions.
Sheldon Harvey Newsletters
Sheldon Harvey ~ Weaving Worlds
Sheldon Harvey~
Weaving Worlds
A member of the Red Running Into Water Clan, Sheldon Harvey, is a Navajo-Diné artist born in 1978 in Lukachukai, Arizona. Harvey’s work spans painting, sculpture, and mixed media, reflecting his deep connection to Navajo creation stories, spirituality, and cultural identity. His innovative style, which incorporates elements of cubism, expressionism, and abstraction, has earned him international acclaim, with pieces in collections across the United States, Europe, and Asia.
See new works from Sheldon Harvey along with more of Harvey’s contemporary Native American art that blends traditional Navajo storytelling with modern artistic techniques at Chimayo Trading in Ranchos de Taos, or online at chimayotrading.com
Sheldon Harvey: Sacred Fire, Waterbirds and Ye’í
Sheldon Harvey:
Sacred Fire, Waterbirds and Ye’í
Sheldon Harvey, a Diné (Navajo) artist born in 1978 in Lukachukai, Arizona, has emerged as a powerful voice in contemporary Native American art, blending traditional Navajo storytelling with modern artistic techniques.
Our New Arrivals from Sheldon Harvey include three paintings and three sculptures. Come to Chimayo Trading Del Norte in Ranchos de Taos or visit our website at chimayotrading.com to see all these and many more from contemporary native artist Sheldon Harvey.
Weaving Worlds… The Art and Legacy of Navajo Artist Sheldon Harvey
Weaving Worlds…
The Art and Legacy of Navajo Artist Sheldon Harvey
Sheldon Harvey, a Diné (Navajo) artist born in 1978 in Lukachukai, Arizona, has emerged as a powerful voice in contemporary Native American art, blending traditional Navajo storytelling with modern artistic techniques. A member of the Red Running Into Water Clan, Harvey’s work spans painting, sculpture, and mixed media, reflecting his deep connection to Navajo creation stories, spirituality, and cultural identity.
New Arrivals from Sheldon Harvey
New Arrivals from Sheldon Harvey
Known for his Ye’i sculptures of first Navajo peoples, Sheldon Harvey evokes an energy that runs through everything he touches. As a painter, Harvey plays with lost and found shapes, color shifts and composition. Revealing the breadth and strength of his talent, this cohesion of his vision has won him awards and great respect worldwide.
Two new paintings and two new sculptures have arrived and are on display now at Chimayo Trading and online at chimayotrading.com
Between Dimensions: Sheldon Harvey
Between Dimensions:
Sheldon Harvey
Chimayo Trading expects the unexpected from Sheldon Harvey, but this time he caught us by surprise! His latest piece: “Into the Yellow Dimension“ walks a bold line between painting and sculpture. It is hard to describe in words and a photo doesn’t do it justice, so you may have to come in the gallery for the full experience.
“The Darkening Eclipse” by Sheldon Harvey
“The Darkening Eclipse” By Sheldon Harvey
Our latest acquisition by Sheldon Harvey, “The Darkening Eclipse” is a timely interpretation and celebration of an important celestial event that all peoples of the world will soon share again. An eclipse holds special significance in tribal culture. The Navajo believe that when the sun is eclipsed by the moon, the sun undergoes a rebirth. Thus it is a time to reflect; a time for reverence.
The Many Facets of Sheldon Harvey
The Many Facets of Sheldon Harvey