There are artists whose work causes you to slow down and sit with it for a while. Marla Allison’s paintings have that kind of pull. A Laguna Pueblo artist originally from New Mexico, Allison grew up surrounded by the lifeways of her ancestral community. These continue to influence Allison. Her work brings together Pueblo pottery designs, as well as Cubism and Futurism. Additionally, they also reflect the places she has lived, traveled, and worked. From New Mexico to California and from Europe to the Middle East, Allison has spent years traveling and connecting with artists around the world.
Adding to her many awards and accomplishments, Allison won Best of Classification for two-dimensional art at the 2026 Santa Fe Indian Market.
We are happy to welcome Marla Allison to the FAAM Four!
1. What art is interesting and inspiring to you right now?
The art that has been resonating with me for at least a year has been some old paintings I was able to view in Madrid, Spain, last summer. I was in Bremen, Germany, teaching a class on Native American art and poetry to some international students and took advantage of how close I was to other countries, so I traveled as much as possible.
Seen at the Museo del Prado, painted by Francisco de Goya, were his series of black paintings. A total of 14 in the series, quite large, have been sitting with me for quite a while as an omen or reminder of how humanity can turn ugly. There were images with distorted faces and children and others we might not like to acknowledge in existence in these paintings. There were scenes that felt so difficult to look at, but to think of how Goya painted them—and to have them live with you—was even harder to fathom. He painted them in his later years of life after a difficult hearing loss, political turmoil, and the loss of sanity (as we all fear).
Madness could have provoked these paintings. Facing his own fears as an artist makes me feel intensely excited and inspired. To think that Goya put all of that emotion onto canvas, and that they have lasted for over 200 years, is so fascinating to think of all the travel and all the viewers who have seen them along the way. I hope my works last as long or longer and can inspire people as much. This kind of work that stays with you makes me realize how impactful a painting can be.
2. What are you working on at the moment?
It is nice to be asked what work is in progress. In my studio, I have a couple of abstract paintings that have been waiting to get finished. The abstract work I make is emotional and representational of movement and space, with the thought of unsettled dust and atmosphere of where I am trying to find form from where I come from. These abstracts are representational of the past relationship I was in and the unknown future. They are slowly getting worked on among other projects.
The big work that I plan to make through winter is a series of warriors that is starting to be created in my sketchbook. The sketchbook is a fun world to think of and what power it holds. Perhaps someday I’ll do a series of the creative world in a sketchbook somehow, perhaps with collage and torn pages on canvas. Time will tell what moves me next.
3. What is the best advice you’ve received as an artist?
The best advice I have received is probably from my friend, the late Floyd Solomon, who valued history and truth no matter how hard it is to see. He told me to “keep making art whether it hurts or not.” Sometimes I struggle with swallowing down my emotions, and it is hard to pick up the paintbrush at that time, but I hope for the strength to endure and to add more truth and history without hesitation.
It is not easy to be an artist with all of life that happens around the day-to-day. Picking up the paintbrush is only a small part of being an artist, and living this life for almost 17 years now is not entirely easy. I feel lucky to have had him as a mentor, as well as Lee Marmon and many others, such as Mateo Romero and Michelle Graznak [my former art teacher].
4. Where can people find your work?
I’m working on a place of representation in Santa Fe, but that is still in process. Currently, people can find my work at my studio in Santa Rosa, California, or at Redtail Gallery in Sarasota, Florida. Across the sea is also the Rainmaker Gallery in Bristol, UK, and my website, on Instagram, and on Facebook.
Links
- marlaallison.com
- Marla Allison’s social media: Instagram | Facebook
- Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain
- Redtail Gallery, Sarasota, Florida
- Rainmaker Gallery, Bristol, UK