Faust Gallery

Sheldon Harvey

Artist & Educator · Diné (Navajo)

b. 1978, Lukachukai, Arizona  ·  Diné (Navajo Nation)

Sheldon Harvey at Faust Gallery, Scottsdale

Sheldon Harvey is a celebrated Navajo artist whose work bridges ancestral tradition and contemporary expression. Born in 1978 of the Taa'chii'nii (Red Running Into Water) and Áshįįhí (Salt) clans, he was raised in Lukachukai, near the heart of the Navajo Nation, and introduced to art at a young age by his uncle, Aaron Harvey, and his grandfathers, Edward and Leo Harvey—revered medicine men whose teachings laid the foundation for his lifelong artistic and spiritual path.

Harvey is known today for his striking Yei sculptures and his acrylic and oil paintings, all depicting the stylized spirit beings of Navajo story. The Yei are spirit beings drawn from the Diné creation narrative, in which mankind progresses through four successive worlds. Harvey's work focuses on the very first of these—a realm believed to be pitch black and inhabited by the insect-like Air-Spirit Beings.

Three wood stylized Navajo Yei sculptures by Sheldon Harvey

He brings these beings to life through a rich, unconventional palette of materials: many kinds of wood, acrylic and oil paint, fabric, stains, and macaw and parrot feathers, integrating elements of Cubism and Expressionism into forms that move freely between the representational and the abstract. Each piece embodies both the spiritual essence of Diné folklore and a contemporary, abstract sensibility.

Butterfly painting on canvas by Sheldon Harvey

Largely self-taught, Harvey nonetheless studied at Diné College and worked alongside fellow Diné artists, developing a vision entirely his own. Today he gives back as a professor of art at Diné College in Tsaile, Arizona, teaching painting and mentoring the next generation of Native artists.

Harvey's talent has earned him widespread recognition. At the 2008 Santa Fe Indian Market he achieved a rare triple win—his sculpture Twins took Best of Classification, while his oil painting Trixter Way won both Best of Classification and Best of Show, a feat few can remember being accomplished before. His work is held in dozens of major collections throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, and he is sought after by collectors worldwide. With his vision for design, texture, color, and style, Sheldon Harvey has reshaped how the world sees the Navajo Yei—ensuring the continuation of a rich artistic legacy for generations to come.

Faust Gallery is proud to represent the work of Sheldon Harvey, whose sculptures and paintings carry the spirit beings of the Diné creation story into the present—honoring tradition while reimagining it for a new generation of collectors.