Marwin Begaye

Marwin Begaye (Navajo/Diné) is an accomplished painter and printmaker, particularly known for his highly detailed linocut and woodblock carving. His imagery often combines figurative elements related to his cultural identity, along with ornately patterned backgrounds inspired by weaving designs. Begaye deploys humor and sharp-edged wit in some of his images that critique corporate advertising and “culture jamming”—when advertisers bombard the public with pop-culture messaging regardless of negative effects on people. Begaye is especially deft at indicating issues that affect Native people.

Begaye is an Associate Professor of Painting and Printmaking at the University of Oklahoma (Norman, OK). He has an MFA in Printmaking and a BFA in Painting, both from the University of Oklahoma, and also holds Associates degrees from the Institute of American Indian Arts (Santa Fe, NM) and the Art Institute of Pittsburgh (PA). Begaye’s work has been exhibited extensively around the nation, as well as many international venues including shows in Argentina, Australia, China, Estonia, Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, and Russia. He is the recipient of multiple awards including the Oklahoma Visual Artists Coalition Visual Arts Fellowship in 2007, a Red Earth award in 2009, and earlier in 2018 was a guest Artist-in-Residence at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, NM, and a visiting guest artist at Goldsmith’s College in London, UK. This will be Begaye’s first time working at Crow’s Shadow Press.