Diné artist Armond Antonio takes top prizes at Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial

GALLUP, NM — A Diné artist and horseman has taken top prizes in the juried art show at the Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial this year, competing against himself with realistic portraits of his Aunt Dorothy and several of his horses.

Armond Antonio, of Gallup, New Mexico, won the first- and second-place prizes for his work.

Artist Armond Antonio's painting of several of his horses won first place in a juried art show at the Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial that ran Aug 4-14, 2022 in Gallup, New Mexico. (Photo courtesy of Armond Antonio)

Artist Armond Antonio's painting of several of his horses won first place in a juried art show at the Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial that ran Aug 4-14, 2022 in Gallup, New Mexico. (Photo courtesy of Armond Antonio)

“First and second place ribbons! Man, can’t believe it,” Antonio said in an Instagram post. “Thank you everyone for your support, I really appreciate it. I’ve gone a long way and inspired many. Ahehee Ntsaago.“

The Intertribal Ceremonial celebrated its 100th anniversary from Aug. 4-14 in Gallup with a string of events that included tribal processions, performance showcases, a rodeo, pageants, juried art shows, parades, a pow wow, film screenings and Navajo song and dance.

The ceremonial is hosted annually at Red Rock Park, which has a rodeo arena, concert stage and large indoor area for art exhibits.

Reached by phone a few days after the big win, Antonio said he entered several pieces he had created from free sketches and photographs. A painting of three horses took first place, and the painting of his Aunt Dorothy in sunglasses took second.

The painting of his aunt emerged from a photo, he said.

“This year I did a lot of free sketches and I worked from photographs,” he told ICT. “That's my Aunt Dorothy in the portrait. She raised me when I was growing up, out in Pintado Pueblo. I took that photo; those are my sunglasses I made her wear.”

He’s also a horseman, so he had additional ready subjects.

“Those are actually my horses,” he said of the painting that won first place. “I have 13 of them. I train horses and I also resell them. I'm an activist for horses, because a lot of those wild horses, they get rounded up and get sent down to Mexico and turned into chicken feed or dog food.”

He said he taught himself to paint, though his father was also creative.

“My father was an artist,” he said. “Not a well-known established artist, but he used to paint, draw in front of me. And as a kid, I got inspired by that. And then he told me how to draw horses. He worked for the railroad. He didn't become an artist, but he used to work horses and make art as a kid growing up. That's all I really stuck to, which is horses, cattle, art.”

His current piece is a large mural-size painting of a woman on horseback herding sheep as a graffiti-tagged train runs behind her through downtown Gallup along Route 66. He will be showing it at Sovereign Santa Fe this weekend, Aug. 20-21.

He is painting it in his living room, as he is in-between studios.

“That is a representation of the Navajo of Gallup and the trains that carry coal from the coal mine,” Antonio said.

He’s proud of his recent win — it’s only the second time he has entered a contest.