Ralph Aragon

Artist Profile

Ralph Aragon was born into the San Felipe Pueblo and married into the Zia Pueblo, where he has lived for over twenty years. As long as he can remember, Ralph has had the desire to create his own unique style of art. With traditional upbringing instilled in Ralph, he has learned to respect the beauty of nature which is evident in his animal motifs and earth tone palettes which are abundantly used in his art. Over the years, Ralph has experimented with his own unique style of painting. He combines contemporary painting techniques with traditional Zia pottery designs in order to obtain the rock art images and patterns associated with social and spiritual themes. Ralph is a strong believer in continuing the traditonal way of his people.

Ralph studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In addition, his own quest for a unique way to express his creativity has led him, successfully, to hand paint shields, pottery, and gourds. Because of this, he has created “something different” for us to enjoy and images that “help preserve his culture and heritage”. He specializes in hand painting handmade pottery using acrylic paints. He signs his pottery as: R. Aragon, incorporated with a Kiva step style, which is a celebration of Pueblo life and the festivities of harvest time. He is related to Dora Tse’Pe.