Biography of:
Phillip M. Haozous
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Phillip M. Haozous (Chiricahua Apache) was born in December of 1941 in Lawton, OK, one of five sons born to Anna Marie and the late Allan Houser, one of the foremost painters and sculptors of the 20th century. Haozous promotes his fathers legacy by sharing his art with the public at the Allan Houser Compound, a 110-acre area nestled in the sandy, softly rolling high desert dotted with juniper, near Santa Fe in New Mexico and speaking throughout the world. The Allan Houser Sculpture Garden was a collaborative project between Phillip and his father, each piece thoughtfully positioned in the beautiful open landscape with Santa Fe Mountains as a backdrop. Phillip Mangas Haozous was named for his great-great grand father and leader of the Warm Springs Chiricahua Apache, Mangas Coloradas.
Haozous’ first undertakings in fine art were born out of a need for authentic American Indian jewelry during his three-year partnership in the Western Theatre, Inc., in Cripple Creek, CO, where he created belts and various other ornaments for his costumes. In 1973, Haozous enrolled in the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM, to begin study under the direction of then-professor, Skip Holbrook. While there, he was selected most outstanding jewelry student of his class, which encouraged him to further refine his talent as a silversmith. Haozous’ love of music and the ability to play the flute sparked his interest to learn the age-old tradition of flute-making passed on by his grandfather, Sam Haozous. Eventually, his work evolved into sculpting. Haozous began most of his sculpting later, following his father's death in 1994. Working in the abstract modernism vein that prevailed in much of Allan Houser's work, Phillip Haozous' sculptures are lyrical meditations on nature, history and emotion.
Over the years Haozous' work has evolved into a highly personalized and expressive style with much emphasis on social interactions and human relationships. Many of his sculptures reflect the intricacies, complexity and tensions of relating, physically, emotionally, spiritually, culturally and intellectually, as well as through spatial and aesthetic considerations. The work is compelling and personal, yet welcomes the viewer with its calm and universal familiarity. Its full spectrum of design application, aesthetic refinement and human emotion is revealed in every angle and curve, every twist and fold, every expression of love and beauty.
During the span of his professional artistic career, he has received a number of important awards, including several first place ribbons at the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Eight Northern Indian Pueblo Artists and Craftsmen Show, in New Mexico and the Otero Award for Creative Excellence. Haozous’ work also received two blue ribbons at the Heard Museum Indian Market in 2007. Constantly working toward the new, yet honoring the traditions of Native culture, heritage and creativity, Haozous’ sculpture is always original and speaks from both personal experience and universal insight.
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HEARD MUSEUM
