Comanche/Kiowa beadwork artist celebrates her first solo exhibition
ANADARKO, OKLAHOMA: The Southern Plains Indian Museum, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board, announces the opening of a new exhibition, Contemporary Southern Plains Beadwork, featuring Tessa Doyebi-Robledo. The exhibition will be open from January 26 to April 10, 2024, and admission will be free.
A gallery talk and reception will be held on Friday, January 26, 2024, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.
Doyebi-Robledo, an enrolled citizen of the Comanche Nation and descendant of the Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, is an accomplished beadwork artist with more than 40 years of experience. She attended the Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, and Butler County College in El Dorado, Kansas. Now she resides in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, where she works as a representative for Molina Healthcare, Inc.
Over the past four decades, Doyebi-Robledo has developed her beadwork to a high level of artistic expertise. In her youth, she attended community art classes taught by her mother, Ernestine Doyebi (Kiowa) – an early start to what became a lifelong passion for beading. Her great-grandmother, Ruby Sahkoodequoie Doyebi (Kiowa, 1905–1987), taught her the Southern Plains methods, styles, and meanings of family designs passed down over generations. After many years of practicing established styles, Doyebi-Robledo has developed her own style that honors cultural teachings. In her pieces, Doyebi-Robledo varies the use of a two-needle stitch and a one-needle stitch and often uses smoked buckskin hide, wool, or white deer skin.
Another distinctive feature of her artwork is the incorporation of porcupine quillwork. She does so with a self-taught zigzag stitch. Doyebi-Robledo takes great pride in creating beadwork that mixes new ideas with classical stitching techniques. She spends time developing her designs and coordinating unique color variations to create one-of-a-kind pieces.
Doyebi-Robledo began displaying her beadwork in professional art markets for sale and competition in 2020, when she participated in the Santa Fe Virtual Indian Market. Since then, she has displayed her work at the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Heard Museum Guild Market & Fair, the Native Treasures Art Market, and the National Museum of the American Indian Winter Market.
This exhibition marks the first solo exhibition of Doyebi-Robledo’s work and the first time her art has been exhibited in a professional museum setting. The artwork featured in the exhibition may be purchased by contacting the artist directly via email, website, or social media.
The Southern Plains Indian Museum is administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board. For hours of operation, please call the Southern Plains Indian Museum at (405) 247-6221 or visit the website.
Links
- Southern Plains Indian Museum, link, 801 E. Central Blvd., Anadarko, OK 73005 | map
- Tessa Doyebi-Robledo, email | Instagram @tdesignsbeadwork |website: t-designsbeadwork.com
- Indian Arts and Crafts Board, link
- Comanche Nation Museum and Cultural Center, link, Lawton, OK