Guadalupe Gallegos

Mata Ortiz

Guadalupe Gallegos Garcia began his pottery career in 1992 at the ripe old age of 15. By then he'd spent several years hanging out in the Quezada household in Barrio Iglesia and had seen enough and was inspired enough to learn the art himself. Then he started hanging out with his uncle Hector Gallegos and aunt Graciela Martinez and they helped to hone his skills further.

Guadalupe often paints his designs in rich colors. He's also experimented with building pots with extra thick walls, then carving local scenes into them. He's also been known to cover a pot entirely with a red slip, then scratch away the red to reveal the white clay beneath. Sometimes he does this to create a mottled background on which he paints modern interpretations of ancient fish, ants, birds or lizard designs.


Sgraffito and painted wildlife, nature and geometric design on a polychrome plate
Polychrome plate decorated with a sgraffito wildlife, nature and geometric design
2.25 in H by 9 in Dia
Sgraffito and painted nature design on a miniature polychrome lidded jar
Miniature polychrome lidded jar with sgraffito and painted nature design
2 in H by 1.5 in Dia
Sgraffito and painted wildlife and nature design on a miniature polychrome lidded jar Miniature lidded polychrome jar with sgraffito and painted wildlife and nature design
2 in H by 1.5 in Dia
Miniature polychrome lidded jar with a sgraffito and painted bison and desert scene surrounded with a geometric design A geometric design surrounds a sgraffito and painted bison and desert scene on a miniature polychrome lidded jar
2 in H by 1.5 in Dia
Sgraffito and painted wildlife and nature design on a polychrome bowl Polychrome bowl with sgraffito and painted wildlife, nature and geometric design
1.25 in H by 5.25 in Dia
Sgraffito and painted wildlife, nature and geometric design on a polychrome lidded jar
Lidded polychrome jar with sgraffito and painted wildlife, nature and geometric design
7.25 in H by 6.25 in Dia
Measurement includes stand
Sgraffito wildlife and nature design on a miniature black-and-white lidded jar
Miniature lidded black-and-white jar with a sgraffito wildlife and nature design
1.5 in L by 1.5 in W by 2 in H

Mata Ortiz/Casas Grandes Potters