When he starts on a sculpture, Doug Hyde doesn’t work from a drawing or have a detailed plan. “I prefer to start in on the stone and let the colors and shape and the textures help me create the idea,” he says.
This August, Hyde will show sculptures in a variety of stones at Nedra Matteucci Galleries in Santa Fe. “Doug Hyde’s work has been a cornerstone at the gallery for years, so we’re very excited to hold a dedicated show for his stone pieces,” says Nedra Matteucci, gallery owner. “Viewers will get to see not only his technical skill, but also the important cultural traditions he preserves in his work.”
When the Dance is Over, black steatite, 12 x 17 x 13"
In Watching the Night Sky, a bear sits on a rock formation, looking up at the sky. Hyde imagines that she’s watching a meteor shower, gazing back and forth as the lights make their way across the expanse.
It’s sculpted out of pink Portuguese marble, which is one of Hyde’s favorites stones to work with. “Not a lot of people know this, but stone has a grain to it,” he explains, and one of the first things he does when he gets a new piece of stone is pop off a piece of every corner. “Two sides will break really easily, and then the other pieces will be a real challenge. That’s good information to have when you’re starting on a piece.”
Traditional or Contemporary Designs, pink Portuguese marble, 17 x 18 x 14"
His sculpture The LaCross Player is an homage to his son, who is Onondoga and grew up playing the sport. The subject has a long braid, meant to intimidate opponents, and if the viewer looks carefully, they may notice a knife hiding behind the webbing of the stick. “Eastern tribes wore their knives right up there on their chests because they did a lot of hunting in the bushes and streams and it was easier to grab the knife that way,” Hyde explains.
Watching the Night Sky, pink Portuguese marble, 18 x 19½ x 10½"
The LaCross Player is made of limestone from Indiana, which Hyde notes is a great stone for outdoor pieces. “Marble reflects the light, but limestone absorbs it,” he says. “With the limestone, the pieces changes all day long depending on the light, revealing new shadows and textures.”
The LaCross Player, limestone, 23 x 20 x 13"
One of Hyde’s newer pieces on view is titled Traditional or Contemporary Designs. It features two women in conversation, and Hyde says they are discussing the nature of design. While they speak, they are encircled by a variety of traditional and contemporary designs. “It’s a very elaborate, highly detailed piece, and one design flows into the next one which flows into the next one,” Hyde says. “There’s pieces of pottery that have traditional designs on them alongside deer and hummingbirds and flower patterns.” Made of pink Portuguese marble, Hyde estimates the piece weighs in at around 300 pounds.
Doug Hyde: Collection of Unique Stone Works opens August 12 and will remain on view through September 2. —
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