Michael Kanteena (born September 1, 1959) is an award-winning potter from Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico. He is best known for his pottery, which is inspired by Chaco, Mesa Verde and other Ancestral Pueblo pottery types.

He specializes in recreations of historic and pre-historic styles. His studies of ancient pottery have led him to explore the design motifs of the Mimbres and ancient Mexican peoples, which have also found their way into his contemporary styles. Due to the merging of cultures, old and new, Kanteena’s pottery animals, pots and effigies are distinctive from other pueblo potters. Kanteena also makes pottery inspired by historic katsina dolls and katsina masks.

His work has been exhibited in the Maxwell Museum in Albuquerque, the Wheelwright Museum in Santa Fe, and at many galleries. Kanteena also shows his work at the annual Santa Fe Indian Market. Michael received the Wingspread Collector’s Guide Award of Excellence and Judges’ Choice at the prestigious Heard Museum Indian Artists’ Show in Phoenix.

Kanteena lives in Arizona after recently moving there from at Laguna Pueblo with his wife, Cynthia, daughter, Shawnee, and son, Joseph. He still sources his clay from within Laguna Pueblo and makes the journey to do so several times throughout the year. He received a BA in Fine Arts from Eastern New Mexico University in 1981. He has also taught pottery-making at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in southwest Colorado.

SOURCES CITED:

Chuck Hall of Armadillo Trading Co.: Stories shared verbally while dropping off new works on July 2, 2020. Notes taken by Dana Boucher-DeChant, Assistant Director, Morning Star Gallery

River Trading Post
www.rivertradingpost.com/kanteena.htm

Nedra Matteucci Galleries
www.matteucci.com/michael-kanteena