Richard Chavez
CODEBREAKERS
© Richard Chaves, photo by Jared Chavez.
The jewelry made by Richard Chavez stands apart from his Southwestern contemporaries because it is sleek, streamlined, and strikingly modern. The marriage of stone and metal is highly valued in the adornment traditions of the Zuni and other Pueblo tribes, Hopi, and Navajo. Yet for over forty years, Chavez has looked beyond his region to find inspiration from other sources, like in the geometric simplicities of Bauhaus art. His background in architecture is also on full display in his pieces, for he is an excellent planner and draftsman. Continually inspired by architectural motifs found in buildings, he reinterprets intriguing angles or ratios of scale into rings, bolos, and more.
Chavez is a master in lapidary art and inlay—the process of taking chunks of raw stone and minerals and grinding them down to smaller parts so that they fit together perfectly and create harmonious designs. His dynamic compositions break planes in unexpected ways for his format and at times seem to conceal the meticulous manual precision that each of their separate elements requires. In many of his black stone cuffs, the highly polished surface leaves almost no trace of its intricate modular construction. With no assistants, it is important to the jeweler to do every step himself. His unique repertoire also favors more unexpected material choices like black and green jade, beyond the turquoise and coral that have defined the tradition.
B. 1949, San Felipe Pueblo, NM
Lives and works in San Felipe Pueblo, NM
Brooch, 2022
Back jade, coral, turquoise, and 14 karat gold, Courtesy of Mahnaz Collection, photo by R & Company
Pair of Earrings, 2017
Siberian jade, turquoise, and 18 karat gold, 1.5" (H) x 1.1" (W), Courtesy of Mahnaz Collection, photo by R & Company
Ring, 1982
Lapis lazuli, coral, Lone Mountain turquoise, and sterling silver, Courtesy of Mahnaz Collection, photo by R & Company
Cuff, 1991
Lapis lazuli and sterling silver, 1.25" (W) x 5.1" (D), Courtesy of Mahnaz Collection, photo by R & Company