Family ties draw esteemed jeweler to Santa Fe gallery
Sorrel Sky Gallery is honored to offer the exquisite traditional jewelry of renowned artist Victoria Adams at its Santa Fe location.
Victoria is one of the premier jewelry artists in the Southwest and is a favorite exhibitor each year at the Santa Fe Indian Market. She has not shown her work in a gallery for nearly five years, when she exhibited at Blue Rain Gallery.
“I stayed very busy with the Indian Market and decided to lay low for a while. Then, the next thing I knew Shanan opened up a gallery in Santa Fe,” Victoria said.
Shanan is Sorrel Sky Gallery owner Shanan Campbell Wells, and though the two are not blood relatives there are family ties. Wells’ father, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, also an internationally famous jewelry artist, has a longtime friendship and working relationship with Victoria’s aunt, Ann Strange Owl Raven, from their days on the Northern Cheyenne reservation. Although she has been aware of Nighthorse’s reputation for her entire life, Victoria didn’t meet Ben and his wife, Linda, until this year.
“Cody Sanderson and Ray Tracey kept telling Shanan she should get her hands on me,” Victoria laughed. “A couple of months ago I went to an opening for Ray and Ben and Linda were there – it was like old home week and I hadn’t even met them before.”
Victoria’s designs feature unique combinations of color, texture and materials. Juxtaposing precious metals, gemstones and fossils with plant, animal and human forms, she expresses her own heritage, experiences and values in life. She believes Sorrel Sky is the perfect showcase for her art.
“I had been through a lot of changes and the stars sort of lined up,” Victoria said. “I think Shanan’s vision for the gallery is something I really am in line with. It’s not just focused on American Indian artists, and it has a beautiful, clean professional feel; it’s inviting to go into and is just a lovely atmosphere.”
Victoria Adams’ is now available at Sorrel Sky in Santa Fe and she will be a featured artist during the Indian Market in August. Sorrel Sky Gallery was founded in Durango, CO in 2002 and opened its Santa Fe, NM location in 2014. It represents over 60 painters, sculptors and jewelers including bronze artist Star Liana York, painter Billy Schenck, and Ben Nighthorse, among others.