Indian Pueblo Cultural Center visitors will have the opportunity to view works by Santa Clara Pueblo artist Helen Hardin when her show Spirit Lines goes on display at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC) this fall. Helen Hardin’s work will be showcased in the center’s newly-renovated South Gallery at 2401 12th St NW, Albuquerque from November 11, 2017, through March 4, 2018.
Helen Hardin (1943-1984) achieved fame over a decades-long career as a painter and copper plate etchings. She produced 23 plates from 1980 to 1984 before succumbing to breast cancer at age 41. Spirit Lines brings together all 23 first edition prints.
“We’re so honored and excited to bring Helen Hardin’s work back home to Albuquerque,” said Rachel Moore (Hopi), IPCC Curator of Exhibitions in a release. “She loved this city, since she once said it was the only place she truly felt accepted. Of all the art galleries and museums where her work could go, it’s wonderful to welcome it to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, where we can really delve into her life story and cultural connections.”
According to the release, Helen Hardin’s mother, Pablita Velarde (1918-2006) of Santa Clara Pueblo, blazed her own trail as a watercolorist in the 1940s at a time when Pueblo artists were largely expected to restrict themselves to certain predefined styles, and when Pueblo women weren’t encouraged to pursue art at all.
By the time Hardin began developing her own career as a painter, Velarde was an established figure in New Mexico’s art world, yet Hardin successfully evolved beyond her mother’s legacy to establish her own style and reputation. While Velarde painted traditional scenes of Pueblo life, Hardin bridged traditional and contemporary worlds by creating abstract compositions inspired in part by designs from ancient rock art and pottery.
Spirit Lines includes Hardin’s Woman Series, her three most famous etchings. Together, Changing Woman, Medicine Woman, and Listening Woman reflect Hardin’s personal struggle and evolution during the last three years of her life.
Although Hardin’s own artistic career was cut short by her premature passing, her daughter Margarete Bagshaw (1964-2015) continued the family tradition with years of work as a successful modernist painter, solidifying three generations of professional female artists. The IPCC is one of a few organizations in the world whose collection houses work by all three, a fact that will help shape this fall’s exhibitions.
Hardin’s legacy is now maintained in large part by Helen Hardin #1’s LLC, the organization that owns the print collection and has facilitated this show by making the etchings available on loan.
Spirit Lines: Helen Hardin Etchings will open at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (2401 12th St NW) on November 11, 2017, and run through March 4, 2018. Visitors can enjoy the show in the IPCC’s South Gallery, open 9am to 5pm daily, included with museum admission ($8.40 for adults, $6.40 for New Mexico residents, $5.40 for students and children).
About the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
Founded in 1976 by the 19 Pueblo Indian Tribes of New Mexico, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center is a world-class museum and cultural center located in the historic Albuquerque Indian School District. The IPCC’s mission is to preserve and perpetuate Pueblo culture and to advance understand by presenting with dignity and respect the accomplishments and evolving history of the Pueblo people of New Mexico. To learn more, please visit: www.facebook.com/IndianPueblo or www.indianpueblo.org
