Cara Romero Gallery in Santa Fe is presenting 'Than Pi,' a new exhibition of paintings by Mateo Romero, opening June 18 with a reception from 5–8 p.m. The show features 12 new works, including five large-scale canvases, depicting heavily impastoed landscapes of Northern New Mexico and Pueblo scenes sacred to the Puebloan people. Romero, a Cochiti Pueblo artist, has earned broad recognition for his distinctive, high-keyed oil paintings that render light and land with a palpable presence. The exhibition marks the Santa Fe Summer Season and includes works described by gallery owner Cara Romero, the artist's sister-in-law, as monumental and unmistakably his own.
This exhibition matters because it highlights the work of a significant Native American landscape painter whose practice is deeply rooted in Puebloan cultural heritage and a painterly lineage. Romero's recognition—including a 2016 National Artist Fellowship from the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation and being named a Living Treasure by the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture—underscores the growing visibility and institutional support for Indigenous contemporary art. The show also contributes to Santa Fe's vibrant summer art season, drawing attention to the region's role as a hub for Native American and Southwestern art.