Ring c. 1930

This Ring, of unknown date, was made by Pueblo artists. Look at how the mottled turquoise stone, with its landscape of browns and greens, is cradled by the silver setting. It’s a reminder that artmaking, like nature, is a process of layering and building. You see the hand in the making of the silverwork that holds the stone in place, but the stone itself seems to gesture to the forces of geology which formed it. The surface of the stone is slightly uneven, with tiny pits and fissures that catch the light. It feels like the kind of object you’d want to hold and turn over in your fingers. The silver is worn, with a soft patina that speaks to its history. See how the tiny silver beads, like little dots of paint, edge the stone, adding a textural counterpoint to the smooth surface of the turquoise. The approach to materials reminds me of the work of the sculptor, Martin Puryear, finding a beauty in the simplest of forms. What do you think?