Sheldon Harvey, (Navajo-Diné) has been making art since the early days of his youth. He burst on to the art scene as an emerging artist in both painting and sculpture, and began taking home prizes and awards in the Santa Fe Indian Market including the most coveted award, “Best Of Show” in 2008. 

Harvey’s execution and materials are modern, but his subject matter comes from the stories he was told during his childhood in Lukachukai, Arizona, near The Four Corners. Sheldon, a fluent speaker of Navajo, draws from the creation stories of the First World Air Spirit Beings. His work is visually rooted in Modernism with references to Cubism of Picasso, and the painterliness of de Kooning and Kandinsky.

Another facet of this artist is his computer science background and interest in broadening cultural exchange to a global scale. He is tuned into the current climate of the art world and has become a vital presence in Contemporary Native Art. The mixed media sculptures of wood, metal, sand paints and feathers embody a piece of Navajo folklore channeled through Harvey’s creative spirit. They stand like sentinels, protecting the knowledge of the past, and projecting a silent stoic presence that will carry far into the future.

Read the article on Sheldon Harvey as previously published in The Taos News >> An articulated life – Diné artist Sheldon Harvey at Chimayo Trading Del Norte

Read the Chimayo Trading Newsletter on Sheldon Harvey >> The Many Facets of Sheldon Harvey