NAVA, John

NAVA, JOHN, b. United States, 1947, and John Nava was born in 1947 in San Diego, California. He pursued his undergraduate studies at​ UC Santa Barbara in 1969 completing his MFA at Villa Schifanoia, Graduate School of Fine Art, Florence, Italy in 1973. Nava’s renowned work is held by both private and public collections in Japan, Europe, and the United States. His famed work includes paintings and original tapestries commissioned as public works, and in Japan he was commissioned to design and sculpt a mural and large fountain for the Tokyo Grain Exchange. Nava’s most celebrated works are the large tapestries he designed for the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles titled, The Communion of Saints​ and The Baptism of the Lord​​. In 1999, commissioned by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, he designed a series of panel tapestries that were able to enhance the musical quality and acoustics of the vast space. Nava perfected the balance of this forgotten artform with the new work media and showing the beauty of faith with the work entitled, The Communion of Saints​​.  His other tapestry designs include the Trojan Family tapestry for the University of Southern California. His latest exhibition in 2019 was partnered with the California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks titled, Empathy Beneath the​ Surface​., “NAVA, John,” UCSB ADA Museum Omeka, accessed November 22, 2024, http://art-collections.museum.ucsb.edu/items/show/4689.