Kachina Patina channels the visual language of traditional kachina figures while reinterpreting it through a contemporary, mixed-media lens. Constructed from weathered wood, salvaged elements, leather, buffalo nickels and layered acrylic surfaces, the piece carries a sense of age and lived experience—its patina suggesting exposure to both environment and time.
Rather than replicating a specific cultural artifact, the work explores the idea of symbolic presence: how objects can hold memory, identity, and meaning beyond their original context. The inclusion of found materials—each with its own history—adds to this layered narrative, creating a figure that feels assembled as much by time as by the artist’s hand.
The composition walks a careful line between structure and spontaneity. Its bold, almost totemic form anchors the piece, while subtle surface variations and distressed passages offer a quieter, more intimate conversation. Kachina Patina ultimately reflects on transformation—how cultural echoes, personal history, and material remnants can converge into something both grounded and newly alive.
• Mixed media on Baltic birch cradleboard
• 24 x 24 x 3
