Art Alum, Emmi Whitehorse’s work is featured in the 12th Site SANTA FE International with a piece titled “Cloud Gate” (2025). Whitehorse was born in Crownpoint, New Mexico, and is a member of the Navajo Nation. She earned her BFA in painting here at UNM, and she also went on to get a master’s degree, majoring in both printmaking and minoring in Art History.
Her work represents the Navajo philosophy of Hózhó, which refers to the interconnectedness of harmony, beauty, wellness, and order. This philosophy informs her work and inspires how she creates in such a balanced and intentional way.
Whitehorse said, “My work is about and has always been about land, about being aware of our surroundings and appreciating the beauty of nature. I am concerned that we are no longer aware of those.” Her incredible work is consistent with this quote and is felt even more in “Cloud Gate” (2025). In this abstract painting, one sees forms and figures that resonate with nature, but they are transposed and fill up the space, seeing out our attention and showing their importance.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
READ MORE about the National Museum of Women in the Arts article at https://nmwa.org/ and the National Gallery of Art article at https://www.nga.gov/stories/articles/emmi-whitehorse-paints-harmonies-her-homelands
LEARN MORE about Site SF International at www.sitesantafe.org/en/once-within-a-time/
EXPLORE the work of Emmi Whitehorse by following on Instagram @gaaligaigal.
Southwest Contemporary Vol. 12: Obsession features some incredible work from several of the amazing people who comprise the Art Department. Current second-year MFA students Luka Berkley and Justine Kablack, recent MFA graduate Taylor Engel, and instructor Jessamyn Lovell all have work featured in this most recent issue of Southwest Contemporary.
Art History Professor Ray Hernández-Durán was recently featured in two articles and interviewed by the Latin American and Iberian Institute. UNM News published “UNM Professors Create Exhibition, First-Ever Scholarship of Local Chicano Artists’ Work” by Anna Padilla, highlighting an exhibition curated by Hernández-Durán and Dr. Irene Vásquez. The show, now on view at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, features six talented New Mexican Chicano artists whose work has been historically underrepresented in academic scholarship.
Distinguished Professor Jim Stone is an exhibiting artist who uses photography. His photographs have been published in three monographs and exhibited internationally; they are represented in the permanent collections of over 30 major museums and public archives.
