Raven Halfmoon: Monumental Presence in Contemporary Ceramics
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Oklahoma-born sculptor fuses ancestral pottery techniques with monumental scale to create powerful statements of Indigenous presence and resilience
In the world of contemporary ceramics, few artists command attention quite like Raven Halfmoon. Standing among sculptures that tower up to twelve feet tall and weigh over 800 pounds, the 34-year-old Caddo Nation artist has carved out a monumental presence in galleries from New York to Los Angeles, challenging stereotypes and asserting Indigenous power through clay.
Born in 1991 and raised in Norman, Oklahoma, Halfmoon's journey to artistic prominence began in her teenage years when she was introduced to working with clay at the age of
thirteen and was influenced by Caddo artist Jeri Redcorn. This early exposure to ceramics would prove transformative, connecting her to a rich tradition that spans thousands of years.
This established a foundation that would later inform her artistic practice in profound ways. Her academic journey took her to the University of Arkansas, where she earned a double Bachelors Degree in ceramics/painting and cultural anthropology, a combination that would prove essential to her artistic evolution.
Cultural Roots Run Deep
For Halfmoon, her art is inseparable from her identity as a member of the Caddo Nation. Her work today fuses the inherited Caddo pottery techniques of coil building (a tradition of making mostly done by women) with contemporary artistic expressions. The cultural significance extends beyond technique to the very materials she chooses.
As Halfmoon explains her connection to ancestral practices: "Clay as a medium was an important part of Caddo traditions for thousands of years, so when I was in school, studying art at the Archeological Survey at the University of Arkansas, holding all these clay pots my ancestors made, I knew that I wanted to continue this tradition of using clay. But I wanted to make things that were contemporary, to make pieces that spoke true to my voice and my experience as a woman, as a Native American living in the 21st century."¹
She works primarily with black, white, red, and as of recent blue glazes, colors that she explains are significant to "the imagery of ancient Caddo iconography, symbols of Oklahoma, and the Red River that runs through our homeland". This connection to place and ancestry is central to her practice. When discussing her material choices, she emphasizes the need for durability: "I need a clay body that's gritty, can withstand the elements, can go outside."²
However, Halfmoon is careful to distinguish her contemporary practice from traditional methods. "I don't like to use the word 'traditional' when speaking about my own work because I feel like it's a disservice to the people who make pottery the traditional Caddo way. They dig their own clay from the ground and never use commercial products or tools, there are a lot of elements that go into replicating the ancient practice".
From Traditional Forms to Contemporary Portraits
While rooted in ancestral techniques, Halfmoon's artistic vision is decidedly contemporary. Rather than recreating historical forms drawn from the thousands-of-years-old tradition of Caddo pottery, Halfmoon uses portraiture in clay as her choice expressive media. Portraiture is reclaimed in Halfmoon's work as an expression of Indigeneity and self-determination.
"I do a lot of human forms. I do a lot of forms that look like my mother and grandmother. I think that's where the figure is born. Out of the human experience of what we've gone through—not even as a people but me, personally, in my family," she explains.¹
Her sculptures draw inspiration from diverse sources, with inspirations that traverse centuries from ancient Indigenous pottery to Moai statues to Land Art. She incorporates contemporary influences as well: "I use a lot of Red River iconography—that spiral design that you see on Caddo pottery. Caddo also traditionally had a lot of tattoos, so I'm influenced by tattoo artists. My work ties to color theory as well as contemporary art and classical painters. I'm influenced by graffiti artists and this idea of tagging a work and really placing your work in a moment in time and putting your name on things."¹
The scale of her work grew during pivotal residencies. Artist residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation for Ceramic Arts, Helena, MT, and California State University's Long Beach Center for Contemporary Ceramics provided Halfmoon with access to large-scale kilns. Her figures gradually grew from life-size to monumental.
A Voice That Demands to Be Heard
The monumental scale of Halfmoon's work is intentional and deeply meaningful. "I create work that is large and powerful. I build sculptures that demand to be heard and experienced. My artwork exists to break the mold of the romanticized Native American stereotype and to simply say: We are still here and we are powerful."³
The physical demands of her practice are substantial. As she describes: "When you start working at this scale and moving these large ceramic works across the country, you have to think about how you are going to build and move the piece before you even start. First you order clay. I went through about 8,000 pounds of clay with my hands."¹
Her relationship with clay is deeply intimate: "Clay is my most intimate relationship. I'm continuously learning this medium. Not only does it capture fingerprints to an exact tee, it's tied to time and place. Clay is specific to where it was made on the land. Everything I make, I touch all the pieces. I build them."¹
This message of contemporary Indigenous presence resonates throughout her practice. "If there's one statement of everything I'm about, it's that Caddo people are still relevant. I'm still building traditions, and there are a lot of other artists with me. We are still here, still resilient, still powerful!"
Her work incorporates unexpected contemporary elements, including populist gestures—often tagging her work (a reference also to Caddo tattooing and ancient pottery motifs), creating a unique fusion of ancient and modern expression. As she explains the significance of her signature: "I'm the third generation to have my last name, so the element of tagging the work is important as well. My name carries history and culture that I will pass to my children. It's remembering family and what Native people have been through."¹
Rising Recognition
Halfmoon's artistic achievements have garnered significant institutional recognition. In 2023, Raven Halfmoon's first institutional exhibition, entitled "Raven Halfmoon: The Flags of Our Mothers", opened at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum. The exhibition will travel to the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. Her work has been featured in exhibitions at prestigious venues including the Museum of Art and Design, Jeffrey Deitch, and Ross + Kramer in New York.
Currently represented by galleries including Kouri + Corrao in Santa Fe, Halfmoon continues to expand her artistic reach while maintaining deep connections to her cultural roots. Her practice spans multiple materials beyond clay, working in bronze and stone to create what she describes as torso-scaled and colossal-sized stoneware, bronze and stone sculptures, with some soaring up to twelve feet and weighing over eight hundred pounds.
Cultural Preservation Through Innovation
At its core, Halfmoon's work represents both cultural preservation and evolution. By interrogating the intersection of tradition, history, gender, and personal experience, she creates art that honors the past while speaking powerfully to the present. Her sculptures serve as monuments to Indigenous resilience, challenging viewers to confront their assumptions about Native American identity and contemporary relevance.
Through her monumental ceramics, Raven Halfmoon ensures that Caddo traditions continue to evolve and thrive, while her powerful artistic voice carries the message that Indigenous peoples and cultures remain vital forces in contemporary art and society. In a world where Native voices are often marginalized or romanticized, Halfmoon's work stands as an undeniable testament to Indigenous presence, power, and artistic innovation.
Looking Ahead: New Orleans Exhibition and High Line Commission
Art enthusiasts will have the opportunity to experience Halfmoon's powerful work firsthand
when her exhibition "Raven Halfmoon: Flags of Our Mothers" opens at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans on September 13, 2025, running through March 8, 2026. This traveling exhibition features new and recent works made over the last five years, including the debut of Halfmoon's largest works to date—featuring a three-part stacked ceramic sculpture standing over twelve feet tall. The exhibition, which was commissioned by The Aldrich and Bemis Center, continues to carry her message of Indigenous resilience and contemporary relevance to new audiences across the American South.
In an even more significant development for her career, Halfmoon has been selected for a prestigious commission by High Line Art in New York City. Her work "West Side Warrior" will be installed on the High Line in fall 2025, joining the park's distinguished roster of public art commissions. This placement on one of New York's most celebrated public art platforms represents a major milestone, bringing her monumental sculptures to one of the city's most visited cultural destinations and introducing her powerful message of Indigenous presence to an even broader international audience.
To see more of Raven Halfmoon's art, please visit her website at https://www.ravenhalfmoon.com
You can also follow her work on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ravenhalfmoon/
Sources:
Southwest Contemporary. "8,000 Pounds of Clay with My Hands: An Interview with Raven Halfmoon," June 2024. https://southwestcontemporary.com/8000-pounds-of-clay-with-my-hands-an-interview-with-raven-halfmoon/
McGreevy, Nora. "This Indigenous Artist Is Making Monumental Ceramics That Push Clay to Its Limits," Whitewall, November 2024. https://whitewallmag.com/art/raven-halfmoon-ceramics-ogden-museum-southern-art/
Ogden Museum of Southern Art. "Raven Halfmoon: Flags of Our Mothers," exhibition materials, 2025. https://ogdenmuseum.org/exhibitions/raven-halfmoon-flags-of-our-mothers/