About Venancio:
Venancio Aragon, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, is a textile artist known for blending traditional weaving techniques with dynamic polychromatic designs. Venancio’s “Expanded Rainbow Aesthetic” uses upwards of 250 colors of both synthetically and naturally dyed wool yarns to create work centered on themes of water and meteorological phenomenon. With dual degrees in cultural anthropology (University of New Mexico) and Native American and Indigenous studies (Fort Lewis College), Venancio’s background intersects history, archaeology, anthropology, and art, and has led him on a journey of researching and reviving portions of the Diné weaving repertoire that are in danger of being lost. Prior to becoming a full-time artist, Venancio worked for the National Park Service as an interpretive ranger in various parks and monuments throughout the Southwest. He was selected as the 2020 Rollin and Mary Ella King Native Artist Fellow at the School for Advanced Research (SAR) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where his work centered on documenting and recreating lesser known Diné weaving techniques. Venancio lives and works in Farmington, New Mexico where he continues to educate and promote the continuation of Diné weaving as a form of decolonial expression.