New MexicoSelf-Taught Allan Houser, a Chiricahua Apache, was raised in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He worked on a farm with his father, who instilled in him the history and traditions of his ancestors - their way of life, their hardships and their character. Houser’s inspiration stemmed from the stories and songs that he heard as a child. Self-taught in sculpture, Houser’s work is respected for its purity of form and self-contained dignity, restrained detail, and pleasing appearance from all angles. Among the artists he most admired - particularly for their interplay between space, movement and form - were Arp, Brancusi and Moore. Like them, Houser often used negative spaces to emphasize a three-dimensional quality in his abstract works. The human or animal form was simplified; composed of flowing convex and concave lines that created rich contrasts of light and dark. He has been critically acknowledged as the 'patriarch of Native American art,’ but in fact his work bridges the spirit of Apache culture and modern American life; communicating the immutable emotions of family love, dignity, and the will to endure. Before his death from cancer in 1994, Houser was developing his interest in monumental welded sculpture and basic charcoal drawings and is credited with reviving stone carving in this country. When people look at my things, I want them to see the simplicity of the form. I want them to feel the warmth of the material. I have a strong desire to stimulate their imaginations.