103 East Plaza, Suite B Taos, New Mexico | +1 (575) 224 - 6911
Open Wednesday-Saturday 12-7pm (Thursday closing at 5pm)
or by appointment
Yáá'át'ééh - welcome
The Michael Gorman Gallery is the only gallery where you will find the unique and beautiful works of 3 generations of Gorman under one roof.
When Michael's Uncle R.C. opened his gallery on Ledoux Street in 1968, it was the first ever Native-American owned fine art gallery. While many galleries across the country still bear R.C.'s name, they are not owned by the Gorman family. When the Michael Gorman Gallery opened in 2018, it quickly gained attention as the only place to find authentic, original works from all members of the Gorman family.
In addition to hosting the artworks by Michael Gorman and the Gorman family, Michael works closely with other local and visiting artists to offer a rotating selection of works.
The Gallery is located on the east side of the historic Taos Plaza, and is easy walking from restaurants & hotels, in the heart of Taos. There are two Free City Parking lots near the gallery, and On-Street Metered Parking (enforced Mon-Sat, 10-5).
Gallery News
Rare Tile Mosaic by Carl N. Gorman |Kin-Yionny Beyeh Comes to the Gallery
A rare mosaic table by Carl N. Gorman, father of R.C. Gorman, is on display and available for purchase at the Michael Gorman Gallery in Taos, New Mexico. The mosaic consists of 3,120 individually set ceramic tiles. The artwork is based on traditional Navajo ceremonial art and was Carl's inspiration for his design of the Navajo Code Talker Logo.
Who is Michael Gorman?
Michael Gorman is the latest generation of the famous Gorman family to continue a six-generation tradition of beautiful and award winning art in a unique and breath-taking style that is best described as distinctly ''Gorman''!
Generations of Artists
From his great-great-grandfather, Béésh łigaii ‘ííłíní ‘ałts’óózigi, who was “at one time considered one of the best, if not the best silversmith [among the Navajo].” to his grandfather, Carl N. Gorman - Kin-Yionny Beyeh, who was one of the First Twenty-Nine Navajo Code Talkers of World War II and a well established artist in his own right to R.C. Gorman - 'The Picasso of American Indian Art', his uncle who opened the very first Native American owned fine-art gallery in 1968, the Gorman family has a long and proud tradition.
Coming from such an artistic family, Michael Gorman has been creating since he could hold a brush. Encouraged by his grandfather from a young age to explore his creative talent, Gorman has explored painting, ceramic, sculpture, photography, silversmithing, glass etching, and printmaking. Today Gorman primarily focuses his attention in ceramic vessels and sculpture, but with the free-spirit of an artist, he continues to work in multiple mediums.
Michael Gorman Works
Bronze & Ceramic Sculpture
In the clay rich mud near his home in Fort Defiance, Arizona, like many children, Gorman played - forming shapes and figures from the mud and letting them bake in the sun. Horses, human figures and small pots formed in a child's hand stay nestled into the roots and rocks of the Reservation landscape until nature reclaimed them. None of these figures survived to today, but Gorman's mother, Zonnie, was a talented sculpture - among other things - and had some bags of clay she kept which her son formed into more permanent shapes.
From 1998-2002 Gorman attended Verde Valley School, a boarding school, in Sedona, Arizona. Here, he began a more formal study of ceramic forms and techniques. His work was winning awards and attention from shows such as Taos' 40 Under 40 Show, the Sedona Fine Arts Festival, the Heard Museum Guild Student Art Show, and the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial Art Show.
Gorman Sketch Cups
Bright-satin red, deep glossy black and natural creamy white clay are the canvases for the Gorman Sketch Cups. Not to be limited to one form, the Sketch Cup series include plates, platters, and bowls. Each unique piece is hand-made by Gorman in Taos, then each sketch is added using under-glaze pencils to mimic the appearance of graphite on paper.
Raku Vessels
A beautiful melding of southwestern forms with eastern firing techniques, Michael Gorman's Raku-Fired vessels create an air of elegance, timelessness, and beauty. His early works (c. 1999-2004) focus on the form: purposeful strong angles meeting smooth-elegant curves. You'll also see an influence of burnishing techniques from this period.
Begining in 2014, Gorman experiment with decorating techniques, mixing the traditional stone burnishing with modern glazing to create his dash series. The dash series also incorporates multi-glazing techniques and wax-resist to achieve the final look.
Photography
From 1999-2008 Gorman shot exclusively with black and white film. His silverprint photos won awards from the Sedona Fine Arts Festival, and were published in Silent Voices Of World War II, The Sedona Red Rock News, and were the center pieces of his first one-man show at the Red Rock State Park's inaugural show at their gallery space in 2002.
In 2009 Michael Gorman made the switch to digital photography while living in Melbourne Australia. The next several years were spent honing his skills. In 2018 Michael was hired to shoot some campaign photos for Deb Haaland who was elected to New Mexico's District 2 Representative seat in the US Congress. He was then hired by In These Times to shoot photos for an article spread and the cover photo for their February 2019 issue. When Rep. Haaland was appointed as the first Native American Secretary of the Interior, Gorman was hired by Melanie Stansbury's campaign for special election for the vacant seat (which she won).
Michael continues his pursuit of photography. Shooting mostly macro-photography in the area around his home in Taos, New Mexico. He also shot a number of Navajo weddings (as a Navajo, he understands the sacredness of the ceremony and could work with the family and medicine-man to document the ceremony). As a long-time member of Civil Air Patrol, Gorman also donates his time and skills at CAP events and - as an aerial photographer - on search and rescue or disaster relief missions.
