Nieto

John Nieto (1936-2018) was a contemporary painter whose work is now internationally collected by private and public parties. He was a strong-willed individual with a tenacious determination to become an original artist. In doing so, he championed an eclectic oeuvre of unique images catered to a universal audience. His work is notable for possessing an energized presence; his rhythmic and colorful ability to amalgamate Modernist painting methods with cultural imagery bolstered the paint's power. But above all things, Nieto was a daydreamer, fascinated by his imagination and the power of the whimsical. The harmonies of instruments decorated his dreams. The bewitching beat of a drum and the enchanting strings of a guitar would inspire the strokes of his brush. He developed his own "color code" throughout his artistic career, incorporating animal imagery, traditional attire, and other significant subjects rooted in his cultural identity. 

Nieto's subject matter was not always related to his image; however, his early work consisted of non-Objective and Representational paintings but was never directly created to comment on his native lineage. After attending an Apache ceremony with his maternal grandmother, who is of Mescalero Apache ancestry, the two would go on to have the longest conversation of their lives. With hardly any words spoken, she did request one thing: to paint the story of her people. Nieto would go on to honor her wish, depicting the cultures and livelihoods of the Apache, Navajo, Pueblo, and many other Native nations. With a vivacious rhythmic palette, he brought their representations to life, simultaneously granting the American Indian a seat at the table in the contemporary mainstream - a novel execution that launched his success. In the summer of 2018, he would pass from illness, but he is survived by his wife, children, and grandchildren.