Joseph Schwebach

MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE:
My name is Joseph Schwebach, I am a Laguna and Acoma Pueblo artist living in the Laguna reservation. I specialize in oil painting, pottery, graphic design, and illustration. I was born and raised in Denver, CO, where I got my BFA in oil painting at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. My practice is motivated by portraits of Indigenous people, past and present. I focus on reimagining vintage photographs of Pueblo individuals, family and friends who I only know from stories. I mix realism and surrealistic aspects to emphasize the story and spirit of a person, with the intention to glorify them in surreal color to tell their story more vividly. Growing up in a family full of pottery artists, I have learned the power of storytelling through art. I keep on with these traditions in my own way, and in this process, I find a connection with these ancestors I’ve never met.