JOE MAKTIMA

The seeds of artistic expression were born within artist Joe Maktima. Growing up in the traditional land of the Hopi, Joe watched his grandfather, a craftsman and artisan, carve wood and paint and watched his father, an artist, create paintings at their kitchen table. For eons the ways of Native people has shifted and changed over time, with his Abstract Expressionist canvases Maktima represents part of this organic progression, bringing the creative expressions of this third generation artist into the contemporary world.

For Maktima the overall design of a piece, whether his own or that of any artist, is of utmost importance, as is a sense of continuity and the formal elements of composition such as texture, rhythm and a consistency in color relationships. "There are no sketches for the work I produce," Joe explains. "I begin with a general idea, and allow the process of my own creative and critical thought to guide a composition that in the end will hopefully exhibit an aura of value and integrity."

The mixed media canvases Joe Maktima creates combine sand, gold, handmade paper and other materials with acrylics to produce symbolic abstracts with an intense color palette. The artist states: "Humanistic in approach, and rooted within my artistic-aesthetic virtues my work seeks to intrigue and entice the viewer towards the contemplation of the creative process."