Diane Reyna

Ronald and Susan Dubin Fellowship

Diane Reyna is from Taos Pueblo, north of Santa Fe. She also has relatives from San Juan Pueblo. Diane did not study art formally, but grew up around it at her parents trading post/gallery, called “Tony Reyna’s,” named for her father. The trading post is at Taos Pueblo, just south of the village, nestled among tall trees and green horse pastures.

Although Diane has always been involved in the arts, she studied pre-law at New Mexico State in Las Cruces, and completed her last year at the University of New Mexico concentrating on journalism.

Diane is most well known for being the producer and director of the PBS award winning documentary “Surviving Columbus.” This landmark two-hour film documents—from the perspective of the Southwestern Pueblo Indians—the history of Spanish and Anglo invasion of their homeland.

Throughout her life Diane has continued to sketch, draw, paint, and sculpt. The inspiration for her artwork is based on the energies in nature. Her work relates to a Pueblo symbolic language, similar in concept to the designs painted on Pueblo Indian pottery.

Gary Yazzie

Ronald and Susan Dubin Fellowship

Gary Yazzie was raised on the Navajo reservation in Morenci, Arizona, and in Oklahoma. He was always interested in art, but had no formal training until he was thirty-two years old and made the decision to attend the American Academy of Art in Chicago.

After almost twenty years as a practicing artist, Gary’s paintings have been shown in numerous exhibitions, and can be found in museums and private collections. Gary’s great artistic strength lies in his drawing. His mediums include oil, watercolor, pastel, charcoal, and intaglio printmaking. His subject matter depicts the life and landscape of the Dine—the Navajo people.

For most of Gary’s art career he has had to depend on commissions, and he has said his work “has not been commercially successful,” yet he remains committed to his painting of Native American subject matter. One of his works won the Best of Show Award in its category at the 1996 New Mexico State Fair, and recently he was commissioned to paint a mural for the Denver International Airport, and also a large painting for the Albuquerque Academy. Gary also served on the committee to select art and furniture for the New Mexico State Capital Renovation Project.