Curator’s Pick: Guzano Rojo Tequila Series Bowl

Curator’s Pick: Guzano Rojo Tequila Series Bowl

Diego Romero explores the complexities of contemporary Native American life through a bold graphic style that bridges ancient tradition and modern storytelling. Working in both print and ceramic, he channels the visual languages of the ancient world — Greek, Anasazi, Mimbres — alongside pop culture, crafting powerful narratives that comingle the past and present.

Romero was raised in Berkeley, California, by his Cochiti Pueblo father and non-Native mother. Summers spent at Cochiti introduced him to his ancestral artistic roots. A recurring theme in Romero’s work is the destructive legacy of colonialism, particularly the impact of alcoholism on native communities. His Guzano Rojo Tequila Series Bowl is a striking example. Inside the bowl, a comic book style illustration features a bright red maguey worm among agave plants, referencing the creatures sometimes found in bottles of mezcal. It’s a cautionary tale, told with Romero’s signature wit and gravity. Framed in a European gilding technique, embedded with Mimbres symbols, a simple coiled bowl becomes a container of potent commentary.

Romero studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts, earned a bachelor’s degree in fine art from Otis College of Art and Design, and completed his master’s degree in fine art at UCLA in 1993. Since then, his work has been widely exhibited and is included in the permanent collections of major institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The British Museum, the National Museum of Scotland, and Fondation Cartier in Paris. In 2015, he was awarded a United States Artists fellowship.

–Annie Carlano is senior curator of Craft, Design, and Fashion at The Mint Museum.