You will find authentic Native American and Western crafts and gifts to give, to collect, and to appreciate in the Koshare Trading Post.
In addition, to the art and artifacts, see the largest self-supported log roof in the world -- one of the most popular features in the museum.
Discover the inspiring story of how a group of boys built the Koshare program. The story begins at the bottom of the Great Depression.
The Koshare Indian Dancers are the members of Boy Scout Troop 232 and Venturing Crew 2230 of the Rocky Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America.
Ernesto Zepeda August 2007
Ernesto Zepeda
Buck Burshears and Ernesto Zepeda stand in front of Zepeda's painting of Buck
One of 178 oil paintings Zepeda donated to the Koshare Indian Museum on August 12, 2007
Ernesto Zepeda (1943 - )
Ernesto Zepeda was born in Hounduras in Central America in 1943. He studied sculpture at the School of Fine Arts under the direction of Mario Zamora, a prominent Mexican sculptor. The bold modeling and energetic brushwork in Zepeda's paintings reflect this early influence of sculpture. After a number of years, he was called to serve in the Presidential Guard. When the government ended in a coup d'etat, he joined the Merchant Marine, working in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas from 1962 until 1966.
In 1967 Ernesto acquired Permanent Residency status in the United States. He was commissioned to do sculptures for Orlandi Statuary of Chicago. During this time Ernesto decided to develop himself as a serious painter and enrolled in the Chicago Art Institute. Later he continued his studies with Alexander Chidichimo, Director of the Alexander School of Painting.
In our busy lives, I feel man seeks balance and that a painting can provide a place where the eyes can rest and the spirit can be nourished.
Throughout the summers of 1974 and 1975 Ernesto participated in the Gold Coast Festival in Chicago and in shows traveling to ten major art capitals. In 1976 he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, exhibiting his works in the Southwest Artists Group. In June of 1978, he opened a One Man show in Santa Fe.
Zepeda met, Buck Burshears, upon returning from a trip to Canada in 1979. "...I remember Mrs. Baker from the Anasazi Art Gallery in Espanola telling me about a very charismatic man who bought up a lot of my work. So I wrote this Buck a letter and asked him if he would be interested in more paintings." Soon after, Zepeda said, he received a call from Buck Burshears and from that point on, they formed a life-long friendship.
Zepeda appreciated his friendship with Burshears, not only for the pieces he purchased and the person he was, but because ow what he did for zepeda as an artist. "Nobody has done this to me like Buck. He was a guide about taste. He always
said, 'Ernesto, your work is so honest. You don't sterotype that Native people, you make them individuals.' That really made me realize that my work had an impact and was important.
For years Zepeda travelled the world, drawing his greatest inspiration from the diversity and richness of ethnic faces. His portrayals, in particular, of the Native Peoples of the Americas, reveal a penetrating insight into human character, and a unique ability to capture essentials in a style both deeply personal and impressionistic. Quoting one of the most respected masters of art and life, Robert Henri, Zepeda says, "Be willing to paint a picture that does not look like a picture."
By 1983, Zepeda had staged his sixth One Man Show, had travelled with art exhibitions to ten major art capitals, and had participated in the prestigious Kalispell, Montana Art Show of 1980. An article on Zepeda's work appeared in Art Voices South (Sept-Oct 1979) and another in Southwest Art. Zepeda's remarkable versatility allows him to express through the various mediums of oils, pastels, charcoal, stone and clay.
Ernesto has experimented in many techniques and his paintings reveal an amazing versatility. His primary medium is oil, utilizing impasto, palette knife or dry brush techniques. Both an avid reader and researcher, Ernesto has drawn inspiration from many of the great masters of art and life, such as Picasso, Klee, Henri and Kandinsky.
Ernesto has traveled to Pueblos and Reservations of the Southwest, and has won friends among the people who have allowed themselves to be portrayed at their homes as well as in the studio. For many years Ernesto and his wife Suellen resided in both Santa Fe, New Mexico and Sedona, Arizona. Ernesto moved back to Honduras in 2007. The works of Ernesto Zepeda can be found in private and public collections, including those of museums and in fine galleries, throughout the United States, Mexico, South and Central America, Canada and Europe. The largest collection of Zepeda work is housed at the Koshare Indian Museum.
The creative moment is experienced by the artist as a vacuum of time and space, in which the brush as a continuation of the artist weaves the footsteaps of a journey. The artist always aims for the freshness of his brushstroke, because in that moment he finds himself in the most pure state.
- Ernesto Zepeda
Along with the Impressionist painters, I hold the view that a work of art should express the inspiration of the artist while inviting the participation of the beholder. Of painting it has been said that to state is to destroy; to suggest is to creat. Therefore I move toward simplicity of both design and brushwork.
- Ernesto Zepeda
The bold modeling of features in my Indian portraits which stems from my earlier experience in sculpture, is intended to convey the dignity and pride of these magnificent people. My strong affinity for rich color I balance with quiet earth tones. In our busy lives, I feel man seeks balance and that a painting can provide is a place where the eyes can rest and the spirit can be nourished.
