past exhibition

Breaking the Mold

The Virginia Vogel Mattern Collection of Contemporary Native American Art

October 7, 2006–June 3, 2007

The world of contemporary American Indian art is vibrant, lively, and ever-changing. Hundreds of artists from diverse communities and educational experiences work in a variety of media, from ceramics to painting.

Breaking the Mold celebrated the extraordinary passion and collecting eye of Virginia Vogel Mattern, who began collecting Pueblo pottery in 1988 while visiting Santa Fe, New Mexico.

After that first purchase—a miniature pot by Dolores Curran—Mattern was hooked. A self-described “pot head,” she spent the next several years acquiring more than 300 works by some of the best Native American artists in the Southwest.

Mattern’s collection, on view in the J. Landis and Sharon Martin and Richard and Mary Pat McCormick Gallery, highlighted the vibrance and dynamism of the contemporary American Indian art world. It includes pots, paintings, and textiles by artists from diverse backgrounds.