Max Curley
I’m happy to represent traditional carver Max Curley. I love Max’s distressed dolls often carved from rough cottonwood root; what Walter Howato used to call “junk wood”. Here’s Max introducing himself in his own words:
Hello I'm Max Curley, my Hopi name is Puhuhongva. I come from the Hopi village of Musungnovi located on Second Mesa in Northern Az. I am Qaöwungwa (Corn Clan).
As a child I watched my older brother work with different mediums of art, from carving to modern graffiti he was a big influence to me.
Later looking for my own muse, I picked up a piece of paako and taught myself how to carve and develop my personal style. Meeting local carvers that gathered at the Hopi Cultural Center were huge influences as well. Observering and getting to know the local carvers I was further introduced to the "traditional style" of carving. This began my long and loved journey with natural hand collected mineral paints.
Since then I've been carving traditional style working and developing my craft.
My work has traveled across the United States and even as far as Japan and for that I am very thankful.