Max Lehman

Max Lehman Article for Artsy Shark

Originally from Fort Knox Kentucky Max Lehman currently resides in Nambe, New Mexico. Max attended college at Arizona State University in the 1980’s, majoring in Media Arts while also studying Pre-Columbian art history.

Most of his training in ceramics came by practical experience. He apprenticed at the F&R Pottery Studio in Cave Creek north of Phoenix and later went on to work for the Red Horse Clay Company.

Much of my current body of work is based upon the concept of Dystopia*. I intentionally attempt to make my pieces “creepy-cute” this is a direct response to the prevailing principles of Pop Surrealism. I have a tendency to pick and choose my cultural references at will. Exercising unrestrained disregard for tradition or convention gives me the ability to process new ideas rapidly.

Skeletons are a recurring theme in my work. My fascination with skeletons is primarily from exposure to Mexican culture and immersion in the Punk music scene. I do not see skeletons as representations of death. The Mexican folk artist Alfonso Castillo has influenced my approach to art, in imagery, construction and decoration. He is one of the most highly regarded Days of the Dead artists.

My connection with Hispanic culture is due to me being one of the first Anglo artists voted into a Hispanic Art Collective that was based in a downtown barrio in Phoenix Arizona in the 1980s. Movimiento Artistico Del Rio Salado or MARS for short was a foundational period and it was during my time there that I formed my earliest concepts on art formulated out of street culture, Mexican Folk Art, Dia de los Muertos and the concepts of cultural diversity and inclusiveness.

Living in and around Santa Fe for 25 years has created a deep connection to northern New Mexico, its people and the quirkiness of daily life here.

Presently Max is Webmaster at the New Mexico Tourism Department in addition to pursuing his full time art career. This situation provides a unique perspective of moving between the technological to the tactile realm on a daily basis.

* Dystopia: A futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control. Dystopias, through an exaggerated worst-case scenario, make a criticism about a current trend, societal norm, or political system.

  Gidget Goes to Saturn (1988 Space Series) low fired earthenware with acrylic paint
36”h 18”w 12”d

 Templo Azul (1993 Neo Mayan Series) low fired earthenware with acrylic paint
24”h 15”w 12”d

Bubbles (1996 Dogs in Drag Series) low fired earthenware with acrylic paint
32”h 14”w 12”d

   Carmen Miranda (2007 Cha Cha Bunny Series) low fired earthenware with glaze, underglaze and acrylic paint

34”h 16”w 12”d

 Mayan Mobile (2009 Car Series) low fired earthenware with glaze and underglaze
29”h 10”w 15”d

Red Skeleton with Black Birds (2011) low fired earthenware with glaze, underglaze and acrylic paint   27”h 14”w 11”d

Tlalocan, Paradise of the Rain Goddess 

(2011 installation created for the Santa Fe Storefront Windows Project)
ceramic elements low fired earthenware with glaze, underglaze, acrylic paint, wire and neon, other elements painted wood, electric lights and printed fabric.
12’h 16’w 14’d (measurements in feet)

Black Eyed Susan (2013)  low fired earthenware with glaze, underglaze and wire
38”h 16”w 12”d

Juntos Para Siempre (2013 for the Herradura Tequila Barrel Art Project)
ceramic elements low fired earthenware with glaze, underglaze, acrylic paint, and wire, other elements an actual oak tequila barrel (empty) painted wood, and electric lights.
48”h 42”l 28”w

 

Dawn in the House of Knives (2014) low fired earthenware with glaze, underglaze, paint and wire
62”h 24”w 12”d

Website www.maxdna.com 

 

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Max-Lehman-Ceramic-Sculpture/ and https://www.facebook.com/maxdna

Representation

POP Gallery

142 Lincoln Ave, Suite 102
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501


505.820.0788


artinfo@popsantafe.com


www.popsantafe.com

Red Lodge Clay Center


123 South Broadway
Red Lodge, Montana 59068


406.446.3993


info@redlodgeclaycenter.com


www.redlodgeclaycenter.com

William Havu Gallery

1040 Cherokee Street, Denver, Colorado 80204
303.893.2360

info@williamhavugallery.com

www.williamhavugallery.com

Selected Private and Public Collections:

Patrick Doust and Richard North Columbus OH

Sara and David Lieberman Paradise Valley AZ

Sanford M Besser Santa Fe NM

Jim Kolva and Pat Sullivan Spokane WA

Albion Fenderson Phoenix AZ

Marek Wozniak Omaha NE

Arizona State University Art Museum Ceramics Research Center Tempe AZ

Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe NM