KATHLEEN WALL

– KATHLEEN WALL –

Jemez Pueblo, 1972—

Kathleen Wall is a celebrated Native American visual artist from Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico. Born into a lineage of master potters, she learned the art of traditional Pueblo pottery from her mother and aunts. Through a combination of early exposure to clay gathering in Jemez Pueblo lands, a deep connection to her heritage, and academic training (Associate and Bachelor of Arts from the Institute of American Indian Arts, IAIA), Wall emerged as a creative powerhouse who blends centuries-old Pueblo ceramic traditions with a bold, contemporary voice. Her figures often express joy and celebration, refined into both storytellers and koshare (clown) sculptures that delight with their expressive faces, vibrant gestures, and cultural nuance. 

Wall has consistently expanded her artistic practice. The 2016 Eric & Barbara Dobkin Fellowship at the School for Advanced Research (SAR) enabled her to explore more mixed-media installations—integrating her clay figurines with acrylic paintings of Jemez landscapes, deeply rooted in place-based Indigenous naming traditions. Wall’s work also addresses contemporary Native themes like land, language, food sovereignty, and spiritual identity—crafted with technical mastery and a humor-filled, welcoming aesthetic. 

Her work is held in several prominent collections, including the Detroit Institute of Arts, which acquired her sculpture Create Our Future—Honor Our Past in 2021; the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, where she has also had solo exhibitions; the School for Advanced Research, which awarded her the Eric and Barbara Dobkin Fellowship in 2016 and holds her work in its collection; and the Smithsonian Institution, which commissioned a storyteller figure she created for the First Lady’s Luncheon in 2006.