"I began making jewelry as a child. I saw it as a form of playing and being able to express my ideas. I still see it this way today. I feel jewelry allows me to escape into another realm. It enables me to create beauty for myself, as well as others, to enjoy. It also provides me with a good sense that I am able to pass something to the future generations. I create art through metal. I use the silver and gold to express the stability. I use the stone and shell to express emotion. I am always interested in finding new ways of creating. I feel artists must push themselves and not be afraid to create new designs or ideas; this is what helps an artist grow."

David Gaussoin, born in Santa Fe, New Mexico of Picuris Pueblo, Navajo, and French decent, stems from a long line of artists on his mother's side with various silversmiths, painters, rug weavers, sculptors, and wood workers.

David's primary teacher has been his mother, Connie Tsosie Gaussoin. She taught him the basics of jewelry and encouraged him to discover his own methods. He has expanded his knowledge of techniques with classes at the University of New Mexico, Pueblo V Design Institute, and the Institute of American Indian Arts. He received his BBA in Business Marketing from the Anderson School of Business at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM. Additionally, David has traveled extensively throughout the European continent, from the Scandinavian Countries down to Italy, as well as the countries of Japan, Mexico, Israel, Mozambique, and South Africa.

David actively participates in various juried art shows throughout the country; including the Santa Fe Indian Market and the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ. His jewelry is in various permanent collections as well as many private collections throughout the world. He has taught at the Institute of American Indian Arts, the Poeh Arts Center, the Idyllwild School of Arts, the Santa Fe Community College, and the Heard Museum.

David works with gold, sterling silver, and various precious and semiprecious stones, as well as incorporating materials not necessarily associated with jewelry, such as steel and aluminum. He uses various techniques, from traditional Tufa casting and hand stamping to wax castings and lapidary, and he continually looks for new techniques and ideas. David focuses his work towards the perfection of craftsmanship and he pushes his designs to new unexplored realms of jewelry.

SHOP FOR DAVID'S CURRENT WORK HERE

Selected Awards & Honors:

12 New Mexico Artists to Know Now, Southwest Contemporary

guest juror Andrew Connors, NM– 2020

40 under 40 Award, NM Business Weekly, NM

– 2007

King Fellowship Award, School of American Research, Santa Fe, NM

– 2006

Collectors Choice Award, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe, NM
– 2002
The Peter S. Reed Foundation Grant, New York, NY
– 2002
Heard Museum, Heard Museum Indian Fair, Phoenix, AZ
– 2005,2004, 2001, 1998, 1991, 1990 (2007 Jewelry Judge)

SWAIA, Southwest Association for Indian Arts, Santa Fe, NM
– 2003, 2001, 2000, 1998, 1996, 1995, 1993
ENIPC, Eight Northern Pueblos Council Annual Summer Show, NM
– 2001, 2000, 1999, 1997, 1995, 1990

Permanent Collections:

Museum of Art and Design, New York City, New York

Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts
Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Mayo Clinic Hospital, Healing Garden, Scottsdale, Arizona

School of American Research, Santa Fe, New Mexico
San Diego Museum of Man, San Diego, California
Casino Arizona at Salt River, Scottsdale, Arizona

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Albuquerque, NM

Selected Invitational Exhibitions:

Grounded in Clay, Vilcek Foundation/School of American Research, Santa Fe, NM

12 NM Artists to Know Now, Southwest Contemporary guest juror Andrew Connors

Museum of Contemporary Native Art, "Connective Tissues", Santa Fe, NM

Peabody Essex Museum, "Native Fashion Now", Salem, MA

University of San Diego (David W. May Gallery), “Silver & Stones”, San Diego, CA

Wheelwright Museum, “Tsosie Gaussoin Family ”, Santa Fe, NM

Wheelwright Museum, “Radical Jewelry Makeover”, Santa Fe, NM

UNESCO Creative Cities, “Showcase for UNESCO”, Seoul, South Korea

Museum of Art & Design;"LOOT", NYC

Museum of Art & Design;"Permanently MAD: Revealing the Collection", NYC

Museum of Art & Design;"Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation", NYC

Museum of Indian Arts & Culture; "Native Couture I & II: A History of Santa Fe Style", NM

Museum of Indian Arts & Culture; "Here, Now, & Always", NM

Museum of Contemporary Native Arts; "Connective Tissues", NM

Museum of Contemporary Native Arts; "TOTEM", NM

Museum of Contemporary Native Arts; "Opulence", NM

Millicent Rogers Museum; "Enchanted Jewelry Show ", NM

Santa Fe Community Gallery;"Waste/Not ", NM

Santa Fe Community Gallery;"Generations", NM

Grahmstown Art Festival; "IAIA Invitational", South Africa

Heard Museum, “Native Style-Where Fashion is Heard”, AZ

Heard Museum; "Young Jewelers: Forging a Future ", AZ

Heard Museum; "Norman Sandfield's Seed Pot Collection", AZ

Navajo Nation Museum; "Invitational Art Exhibition", AZ

Mesa Contemporary Arts;"Transcending Tradition ", AZ
Heard Museum North; "Containers Exhibit", AZ
Desert Caballeros Western Museum; "2002-2003 Invitational", AZ

Selected Invitational Fashion Shows

SWAIA, "Indian Market - Haute Couture Fashion Show", Santa Fe, NM

Portland Art  Museum/Peabody Essex Museum, "Native Fashion Now", Portland, OR

Beyond Buckskin/Idylwild School of Arts, "Native Couture Fashion Show, CA

Heard Museum, "Preview Night - Couture Fashion Shows", Phoenix, AZ

Heard Museum, "Haute Couture Fashion Show Invitational", Phoenix, AZ

IFAM, "Street Couture", Santa fe, NM

MOCNA Museum, "Fashion Heat - Couture Fashion Show", Santa fe, NM

MOCNA Museum, "Show of Power" - Couture Fashion Show", Santa fe, NM

Pueblo Opera Program, "Red Hot for POP", Santa fe, NM

Pueblo Opera Program, "Fashion Pops at Swig", Santa fe, NM

Selected Residencies/Instructing:

Society of North American Goldsmiths Conference, Chicago, IL 2019

Turangawaewae Marae Ngaruawaahia, Aotearoa, New Zealand 2019

Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe, NM 2010, 2011,2012,2013

PIKO Gathering of Indigenous Visual Artists, Waimea, South Kohala, HI, 2007

The Answers Lie Within, South Africa & Mozambique, 2007

School of American Research, Santa Fe, NM, 2006

Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ 2001, 2006
The Idyllwild School of Arts, Idyllwild, CA 2003 - 2004
IAIA, Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, NM 2002 - 2003, 2011, 2012
Poeh Arts Program, Pojoaque, NM 2001 - 2004
San Diego Museum of Man, San Diego, CA 1996
Wheelwright Museum, Santa Fe, NM 1991

Selected Publications:

Grounded in Clay, Elysia Poon & Rick Kinsel, Merrell Publishing,, 2022

Passing the torch, RoseMary Diaz, Metalsmith Magazine, Vol. 42 No. 2 2022

12 New Mexico Artists to Know Now, Southwest Contemporary guest juror Andrew Connors,
NM– 2020, February-March issue

Connective Tissue: New Approaches to Fiber in Contemporary Native Art, Manuela Well Off Man, 2017 Native Fashion Now: North American Indian Style”, Karen Kramer, 2015
Beyond Buckskin Look Book, Jessica Metcalfe, 2013
Cutting Edge- Smithsonian Magazine, Aug issue, Theresa Barbaro, 2013
Beyond Buckskin Look Book”, Jessica Metcalfe, 2012

High Street Fashion Jewelry, Jessica Metcalfe, Beyond Buckskin Blog, 2011

Santa Fe Indian Market 2011 Fashion Event, Jessica Metcalfe, Beyond Buckskin Blog, 2011

Making it New, Chee Brossy, Santa Fe Reporter, Aug 17, 2011

Natives look for evolution at Indian Market, Chee Brossy, Navajo Times, Aug 25, 2011

Podcast: Tsosie-Gaussoin Studio, Jessica Metcalfe, Beyond Buckskin Blog, 2010

Masters of Contemporary Indian Jewelry, Nancy N. Schiffer, Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2009

Contemporary Southwestern Jewelry, Diana F. Pardue with the Heard Museum, 2007

A New Era in Jewelry: Forging a Future, Diana Pardue, Ornament Magazine, Vol. 31 No. 2, 2007

Strains of Helsinki, Berlin Infuse Navajo Jeweler's Work, Gussie Fauntleroy, Santa Fe Trend,

Summer 2007.

Creating with Metal, Dr.Gregory Schaaf, Native Peoples Magazine, Sept/Oct 2007

A Native jeweler in Santa Fe takes his family’s traditions into modern times, Dottie Indyke,

Southwest Art Magazine, September 2006

Artists Tackle New Genre for Mayo Clinic, Dottie Indyke, El Palacio,Vol.111/No3, 2006
Native Artists Collaborate on Bench Project in Mayo Clinic’s Healing Garden, Heard Museum

Journal, 2006
FASHIONATION, Native Designers Step it up, Susan Heard, Native Peoples Magazine, 2006
Turquoise Jewelry, 2nd Edition, Nancy N Schiffer, 2005

PRECIOUS, Native Jewelry by 20 Living Masters, Dr. Gregory Schaaf, Native Peoples Magazine,

Sept/Oct 2004
Breaking New Ground, Russ Tall Chief, The Santa Fean Magazine, Aug 2004
American Indian Jewelry I, 200 Artist Biographies, Gregory Schaaf, CAC Press, 2003
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 1, Taubman & McFadden, American Craft Museum, 2002
The World of Digital Camera: PHOTO GALLERY, Takatoshi Sato, World Photo Press (Japan), 2000
Indian Jewelry, World Photo Press - Japan, 2000
PUEBLO ARTISTS: Portraits, photographs by Toba Tucker and essays by Alfred Bush, Rina

Swentiell, and Lonnie Vigil, 1998
Artist Tastes, collected by Barbara Harjo with test by Julie Person Little Thunder, 1998

Boards and Memberships:

Museum of New Mexico Foundation Board, Santa Fe, NM.
Avant Garde, Steering Committee, Santa Fe, NM.

City of Santa Fe, Arts in Public Places - Grant Review Committee, Santa Fe, NM.

Native Underground, Co-Chair, MIAC/AG, Santa Fe, NM.
Pueblo Opera Program, Santa Fe, NM.
Southwestern Association on Indian Affairs (SWAIA) Board of Directors, Santa Fe, NM
Friends of Indian Art, MIAC, Member, Santa Fe, NM.
SFCC Jewelry Dept. Advisory Committee, Member, Santa Fe, NM.

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