Judy Tuwaletstiwa
Judy Tuwaletstiwa's memories and personal experiences create a complex web of inspiration that invites materials to find an unexpected voice in her art. Materials (from Latin, mater, mother) become keepers of a collective truth passed down through generations or through encounters with strangers such as a homeless man. With deep empathy, Tuwaletstiwa reflects to us the joy and pain of our human condition. Object and subject are transformed within her work to emanate a palpable healing force.
Tuwaletstiwa’s work has been described as elemental. She uses a broad range of materials including kiln fired glass, fiber, clay, handmade paper, quills, and wood sticks. Each artwork is a conversation between carefully selected textures and evocative forms: an intuitive and profound act of storytelling.
An artist, writer and teacher, Judy Tuwaletstiwa received her BA in English Literature from UC, Berkeley in 1962, and her MAT in Medieval Literature from Harvard University in 1963. A celebrated artist with a long career of residencies, exhibitions, and collections to her name, she was the recipient of the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2023. Her art lives in private, public, and museum collections. Special editions of her three books, including her 2016 book, Glass, published with Radius Books, reside in libraries such as the Corning Museum of Glass’ Rakow Library and Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Selected Exhibitions
2024 Boundless, Pie Projects Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2023 Once Upon a Dream, Pie Projects Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2022 Distilled Presence, Pie Projects Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2021 Source, Process, Transformation, Pie Projects Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2019 The Dream Life of Objects, Center for Contemporary Arts (CCA), Santa Fe
2017 Transformations, Bullseye Projects, Portland, Oregon
2016 Glass, William Siegal Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2015 New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2014 Ruah, William Siegal Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2012 Silent Collaborations, William Siegal Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2005 De Harmonia Mundi, Fresno Art Museum, Fresno, California;
2004 Lemmons Contemporary, New York City, New York
Notable Residencies
2025 Artist-in-Residence, Tamarind Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
2024 Literary Residency, Ucross, Clearmont, Wyoming
2017 Artist-in-Residence (collaboration with Michael, The Studio, The Corning Museum of Glass, New York
2013 Artist-in-Residence, Bullseye Glass Resource Center, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2003 Artist-in-Residence, University of Hawai’i, Honolulu
2001 Artist-in-Residence, Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington
2000 Literary Residency, The Lannan Foundation, Marfa, Texas.
Inquire about available artwork here or call 505-372-7681
Ruah. To Hear, 2014, kiln fired glass, silk thread, acrylic on canvas, 72 x 48 in.
Liminal, 2021, kiln fired glass, fiber, and acrylic on canvas, 72 x 48 in.
Text. Shards 5, 2019, kiln fired glass on canvas, 18 x 18 in.
Glass. Text 2, 2019, kiln fired glass on paper, 22 x 22 in. (paper)
Scroll. Text 2, 2019, kiln fired glass and acrylic on paper, 28 x 18.5 in. (paper)
Songs of Innocence, Text 1, 2017, kiln fired glass, wax, burnt paper on canvas, 13 x 13 in.
Song 4, 2021
72 x 48 in.
Burnt Magnani Pescia rag paper and glass on canvas
Text 2, 2021
Kiln fired glass and acrylic on canvas
30 x 40 in.
Pleiades #1, Pleiades #4, Pleiades #3, 2021
Kiln fired glass and acrylic on canvas
12 x 36 in./each
Songs of Innocence 21, 2018, kiln fired glass, fiber, nails, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 20 in.
Songs of Innocence 8, 2018, fiber and graphite on canvas, 30 x 20 in.
Songs of Innocence 5, 2018, k
iln fired glass and burns on canvas, 27 x 33 in.
Pleiades #2, 2021, kiln fired glass and acrylic on canvas, 12 x 36 in.
SOLD
Text. To Weave, 2011, kiln fired glass on Magnani paper on canvas, 20 x 30 in.
SOLD
Mother Earth - Father Sky, 2021, kiln fired glass and acrylic on canvas
26 x 48 in. diptych
SOLD
Song 1, 2021, Raku-fired clay, acrylic, and burns on canvas, 72 x 48 in.
SOLD
Song 2, 2021, fiber, raku-fired clay, and acrylic on canvas, 72 x 48 in.
SOLD