Gerry Quotskuyva is a member of the Bear Strap Clan from the Second Mesa Village of Shungopavi.  His Hopi name, Lomahongva, means “reed standing tall and healthy”.  Almost every medium of Hopi art incorporates many symbols to represent clouds and rain.  Gerry’s attention to detail and unique interpretation of traditional Hopi symbolism reflects his rich and expressive heritage.  He began carving in 1994 and decided to delve into the medium of painting a year and a half  later as a form of therapy from his intense carving schedule.  After selling his work at retail outlets in the Verde Valley, Sedona and at various museum markets from 1995 to 2001, Gerry and Debbi decided to open “Pueblo Sedona Gallery” in 2002 which they operated until the Fall of 2012.

Currently, Gerry is creating his work in his public studio located in Rimrock, AZ which is southeast of Sedona and situated a couple of miles from Montezuma Well National Monument.  His artwork is available directly at the museum Indian Markets that he attends in addition to this website and occasionally may be purchased from the Heard Museum gift shop.

Gerry’s remarkable style has been nationally recognized on a public television series titled “Living in Balance on Shatki Hill” which featured entertainers, healers, and artists in the Sedona area.  His work has also been featured in the books “Art of the Hopi” by Jerry and Lois Jacka, “Katsina” edited by Zena Pearlstone, and “Ancestral Echoes”, a 10 year retrospective published in conjunction with his solo exhibit also titled “Ancestral Echoes”.  Some of his pieces have been selected to adorn art show posters including the Hopi Tu-Tsootsvolla show in Sedona and the West Valley Invitational Native American Arts Festival in Litchfield Park, AZ.

Gerry has garnered numerous awards, including two Best of Shows, for his carvings and paintings from museum shows at the Heard Museum, Arizona State Museum, Museum of Northern Arizona, Sharlot Hall Museum, Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis as well as Santa Fe Indian Market.  His work has been showcased at the group exhibits “From the Earth” at the American Indian Contemporary Arts Gallery in San Francisco, “Art of the Mesas” at Tubac Center of the Arts, and “Contemporary Katsina’s”, a nine month exhibit at UCLA’s Fowler Museum in Los Angeles.  Over the past several years, he has also been chosen as one of thirty-five Native American artists from across the America’s to display their work at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian’s annual Holiday Art Market in Washington, D.C.

Tohono Chul Park in Tucson hosted Gerry’s first, and highly successful, one-man exhibit titled “Contemporary Fragments” in the Spring of 2002.  His second solo exhibit, “Ancestral Echoes”, ran from Sept. through Oct. 2004 at Nichols Gallery on the Pitzer College campus in Claremont, CA.  He is also open to creating future solo exhibits or participating in group exhibits.  In the Fall of 2009, Gerry was commissioned by the Heard Museum to create ten Sunface Katsina sculptures of various sizes that were presented as prizes at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s annual Senior Pro Tennis Tournament in Surprise, AZ.  He is currently working on a permanent collection for Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH that consists of over fifty carvings including a 48″ double Shalako sculpture titled “Sacred Rites”.

“I started pursuing art as a profession in my mid 30’s and found a passion unlike anything else before.  A few years ago, I started creating in Bronze and cast my hallmark design, the “Blue Corn Maiden”, which was well received.  My next piece, titled “Cultural Fortitude”, caught the attention of the City of Sedona and was a finalist in a monument competition.  My mind has been flooded with exciting new designs as I explore this avenue of creativity.”