Al Bahe creates riveting visions of his Navajo (Dine) heritage. The artist himself is very soft spoken about his paintings and that is reflected in the quiet power his artwork projects. Using an extensive palette of colors, Bahe transports his viewers to beautiful, secluded landscapes. Here we meet his subjects, most commonly a Navajo Yei figure. Upon encountering these amazing canvases, viewers sense that perhaps there is something that they are meant to learn or understand from the Yei. For this exhibit he will be creating a new series of paintings. Central to Al Bahe's efforts as a painter is a desire to impart knowledge of his own Navajo culture to viewers. This will be reflected in the upcoming exhibition as special text created with the artist, to give deeper information about the subjects of his artwork. Painting and drawing have been intensely important to Al since his early childhood days. Born on the Navajo reservation, Al attended high school at Kayenta High. Soon after school he joined the Marine Corp for a three year enlistment. He later traveled to the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe and graduated in 1985 with a fine arts Associate degree. He continued with his formal training with classes at Northern Arizona University. Today, Al dedicates much of his time in his studio working on painting his compelling canvases.

Bio by The Smoki Museum of American Indian Art and Culture