This September, Stonington Gallery will be featuring the work of Tlingit sisters Lily Hope and Ursala Hudson in their new exhibit, Two Sisters. The artists will showcase their weaving skills in an exhibit of traditional ensembles, modern garments, woven masks, jewelry, and collages.
Seattle has a front-row seat to enjoy the fruition of a dynamic art movement: Northwest Native Glass Art. This movement is the result of the fusion of two of the region’s most significant art genres—Native Art and Studio Glass Art.
August marks one year since we lost our dear friend, the incomparable Sun’aq Aleut artist, Thomas Stream. Stonington Gallery continues to pay tribute to the memory of this wonderful person and the brightness and vibrancy that came through in his artwork at Stonington for over 30 years.
This July, Stonington Gallery presents a powerful solo exhibition Ships that Pass in the Night by artist Hib Sabin. In this new body of original carved and painted juniper sculptures and accompanying studies on paper, Sabin explores our fears and hopes around climate change and the complexities of our American political climate.
Inspired by the poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the masterpiece, Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, Sabin casts light on the vast gap in human communication in these days of extreme individualism and individual freedoms sought out at the expense of the greater good. The realm of our subconscious and the great unknown are always looming and the light and dark natures of humanity remain ever at play.
Stonington Gallery’s group exhibition this June, Equilibrium, focuses on the earth and the many aspects of nature in which we find meaning and power and the importance of bringing about balance in an ever-changing environment and ecosystem.
The many prints, carvings, and drums depicting birds of all kinds will be landing in Stonington Gallery’s May exhibition and will offer a unique opportunity to examine Pacific Northwest Coast art in the contemporary form through the lens of mythology and culture.
Stonington Gallery presents a solo exhibition titled Post-Apocalyptic: A Solo Exhibition by Kari Morgan featuring carvings, paintings, and prints by Nisga’a artist, Kari Morgan, starting Thursday, April 7-Saturday, April 30, 2022.
Stonington Gallery presents a solo exhibition featuring pastels and monotypes with a focus on drypoints by artist Rick Bartow (1946-2016), starting Thursday, March 3-Saturday, April 2, 2022.
Stonington is honored to be bringing into our gallery a number of the pieces that were featured in glass artist Dan Friday’s (Lummi) exhibition at the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner, WA. We also bring in new glass pieces by Preston Singletary and Raven Skyriver.
Reconnection: A Group Exhibition Celebrating Coming Together, opening First Thursday, December 2, 2021, 5-8 pm. Open through Saturday, January 29, 2022. We look forward to exhibiting a diverse body of work ranging from acrylic paintings to weavings and carved masks.
Seattle has a front-row seat to enjoy the fruition of a dynamic art movement: Northwest Native Glass Art. This movement is the result of the fusion of two of the region’s most significant art genres—Native Art and Studio Glass Art.
Stonington Gallery dedicates this autumn season to celebrating three Indigenous master glass artists of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Preston Singletary (Tlingit), Raven Skyriver (Tlingit), and Dan Friday (Lummi) in our October-November three-person exhibition: Luminosity.
Always Good to See You is a powerful collection of new works by two deeply intuitive artists, Lena Amason (Alutiiq) and Drew Michael (Yup’ik/Inupiaq). We hope these works will inspire you and help to draw you back to your core, to pay attention to messages Mother Nature is sending, and to allow yourself to feel and relate to the works in whatever way is most meaningful to you right now.
One of the splendors of living in the Pacific Northwest is having four distinct seasons. However, when spring transitions into summer something remarkable happens in our neighborhoods. More people are outside walking and taking in the opulence of our flowers that are blooming and all of birds that seem to announce a new day! These Colors of Summer remind us of the beauty that surrounds us and that we are very blessed to live in a place of grandeur.
We are super excited to show off Thomas Stream’s newest original gouache paintings on paper. You’ve got to love it when the artist pivots away from his unique, signature piece that he has added to his paintings over the years. You know the Aleut Hunting Visor that he often adorns one of his animals? Well in these new pieces they are not placed on the animals that take center stage in his work. Rather you will see it more subtly in his signature. As always, the vibrancy in his work reflects his love and respect for his Sun’aq Aleut heritage. Come marvel and inspect how he uses pointillism and symbols in each of his pieces. We are so honored to celebrate Thomas Stream in his latest body of works, Colors of Summer!
One of the enduring dualities or dichotomies of humankind is the relationship between light and darkness. Many creation myths in the west involve light emerging from darkness, while many destructive myths involve darkness engulfing light. Light and dark are opposites, but there is never one without the other.
Over the millennia, darkness has become associated with evil, hell, fear, death, power, negativity, and irrationality; while light is thought of in terms of goodness, heaven, peace, righteousness, life, positiveness, and rationality.
Hib Sabin’s creativity emanates equally from the unfettered, unconscious dark side of his being as from his rational light side. Once a raw, creative idea emerges from the darkness, his conscious, rational mind shapes and fine tunes it into a finished product.
The work in this exhibit explores light and darkness from a number of points of view. In most instances Sabin has actively attempted to strike a balance between light and darkness.
This June we are proud to present Tradition Keepers, a group exhibition honoring and celebrating women of the Pacific Northwest Coast– their contributions, vibrancy, and creative spirit. Women are the essential source of life. They are incredible leaders, protectors, and healers. They are the teachers who pass on knowledge both present and past, while giving support and encouragement to the next generation. Through stories from long ago, through language and songs, and through art, sacred traditions are handed down by mothers, aunties, grandmothers, and community. Women are the warriors who pave the path for their children. The life lessons imparted on future generations are all wrapped in tradition–a bridge between past, present, and future.
Port Gamble S’Klallam artist, Jeffrey Veregge, showcased “Sol” in addition to his many former limited edition giclée prints. Due to serious illness, Veregge was limited in his ability to complete all artworks for this exhibition. Nevertheless, this exhibition was stunning and clearly expressed Veregge’s dedication to his unique craft.
Please consider supporting Jeffrey Veregge and his family with medical expenses via his GoFundMe page: https://bit.ly/32TCLlv
New works have arrived in every medium: glass feathers and basket, bronze sculptures, carved masks, offset lithograph, serigraphs, giclées, and more! Springtime is a bounty at Stonington Gallery!
Over this past year Jerrod Galanin–Tlingit artist, dad of a new baby, human being–found himself at home in lockdown like the rest of the world, trying to make sense of the changes and challenges life now presented. During this time, many found new ways of channeling stress, anxiety, confusion, and fatigue—all of the emotions that were building up over the course of the many months isolated from the rest of our families, co-workers, and friends. Some took up gardening, some read many more books than ever before—Jerrod, found himself seeking out new ways of expressing himself creatively as an artist. Check out some of his new drawings using markers, color pencils, pastels, graphite, and charcoal on paper. He also has some fresh graphic design pieces that are near and dear to his heart. Lastly, learn the meaning behind Yéilch Aan ḵut ḵuwliyél Daakeit- (The box that raven tricked people with). We are so excited to share this with you!
In Pacific Northwest Native cultures, stories pass from generation to generation. Children learn the ways of their ancestors through the quiet, gentle teachings of their parents, grandparents, aunties, and those actively keeping traditions alive. These children, in turn, having carefully learned, appreciated and absorbed the wisdom from the past, further passing these same customs, conventions, and practices down to their own children. It is this torch, this sharing, this perpetual giving to the next generation that keeps these rich and vital art and cultural traditions alive–built firmly upon these closely knit, familial relationships. Stonington Gallery is honored to feature artwork in March by five generations of artists in one family. The Wilbur Peterson household was always and remains to this day the quintessential artists’ household. Skokomish artist Andy Peterson and his wife, Ruth, are both skilled and prolific artists. Read more to learn how Andy’s great-grandfather Henry Allen influenced his life, but also how Andy taught his father Dennis Allen, his own family and now their grandchildren. It is a remarkable story of cultural revival and thriving in the art world throughout our region.
The Stonington Gallery employs a full-time framer, the wonderful Terry Upshall, who frames 99% of the flat work you see in the gallery. But did you know that we will also frame works you bring in to us? Terry uses conservation-grade materials and is available five days a week for consultations.
During the month of February, take 20% off all new framing projects, regardless if they are work purchased in or out of the gallery.
You can also take 20% off the framing cost of all framed works* in the gallery. We pre-frame many prints, paintings and flat media, and this is your opportunity to knock down the framing price and take home a piece ready for hanging.
And all works you buy flat at the gallery automatically qualify for 20% off the framing price if you choose to frame with us.
The Stonington Gallery is also honored and humbled beyond words to be able to highlight works by the late Rick Bartow. This solo exhibit, Delving Deep, is extraordinarily special. For those of you who knew Rick he had faced some of his darkest times in his journey on this planet and was able to use […]
We can all agree it has been a very challenging year on Planet Earth! So for our last exhibit of 2020, we thought it would be comforting and wise to look skyward to our celestial neighbors for inspiration. The sun, moon, planets and cosmos have stirred our imaginations and dreams since humans first looked up. We invite you to join us on this remarkable journey of looking skyward and to marvel at the world above us.
As we round the corner towards the winter solstice, our days will grow longer and–we hope–brighter. Step outside your normal routine, look up into the heavens and find that perspective and peace that will carry you into the New Year. Natural law tells us that the sun will rise tomorrow; be that light to those around you!
We hope in these pieces you will find a beautiful ending to a difficult year.
An encore presentation of our gorgeous glass exhibition, with new works added for November!
Northwest Native Art Glass is the confluence place where contemporary Northwest Indigenous art and the studio glass movement collide. The result are works in the medium of glass that reflect on, honor and explore Indigenous heritage, made by contemporary glass artists at the height of their powers. We are honored to represent three of the most important Indigenous glass artists working today: Dan Friday (Lummi), Preston Singletary (Tlingit), and Raven Skyriver (Tlingit).
Northwest Native Art Glass is the confluence place where contemporary Northwest Indigenous art and the studio glass movement collide. The result are works in the medium of glass that reflect on, honor and explore Indigenous heritage, made by contemporary glass artists at the height of their powers. We are honored to represent three of the most important Indigenous glass artists working today: Dan Friday (Lummi), Preston Singletary (Tlingit), and Raven Skyriver (Tlingit). We feature these three Washington-based artists in October, as part of the Refract Festival that brings glass to the forefront in Seattle.
With Stonington Gallery’s current exhibit “Honoring the Salish Sea”, we seek to pay homage to this remarkable region that is rich in both culture and ecology. The watershed of the Salish Sea includes many river systems whose origins are born in both the Cascade and Olympic ranges. These rivers have teemed with epic salmon runs for millennia. This abundant ecosystem has fostered and nurtured diverse nations of Indigenous people who have relied on that bounty for thousands of years. Though these nations are discrete, and carry different traditions and art styles, many share linguistic roots, and are tightly woven together by a shared environment and history.
Threats to the waterways of our region are also abundant: pollution, damming, overfishing, damaging pipelines and potentially catastrophic mining projects. Whether we are able to course correct and preserve what natural beauty remains from further degradation is an open and pressing question. Indigenous communities across the Northwest and Alaska continue to bravely and tenaciously resist the exploitation of their lands, reminding us of a history of broken promises and urging us to do better.
Over the past decades, Stonington Gallery has watched as the Indigenous people of this region have staged an extraordinary revitalization of their culture, art, traditional practices, and languages. We are honored and proud to work with elders, adults and youth of these nations, and those beyond. This show also welcomes artists who live outside of the Salish Sound region, but who are deeply tied to and concerned with the health and safety of their own local waterways.
Many works in this exhibit show the intermingled influence of urban landscapes and natural materials, the mix of media representing the dynamic range of identities and traditions that exist today along the Coast. Our current exhibit represents only a fraction of the creators on the Coast, but provides a glimpse of the creativity, fortitude and spirit with which they keep culture alive and move it into the future.
This August we are proud to present a joint exhibition by three young artists with Alaska Native heritage: Lena Snow Amason (Alutiiq), Ceara Lewis (Aleut), and Jennifer Angaiak Wood (Yup’ik). All three have participated in group exhibitions at our gallery in the past, but this represents the first spotlight exhibitions for each of them.
Lena Snow Amason (Alutiiq) grew up in the village of Port Lions, Alaska. Amason draws upon imagery of sea life around Kodiak Island for much of her carvings, paintings and drawings. Her work is included in collections at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, Alutiiq Museum, University of Alaska Museum of the North and the Anchorage Museum. Her work has also been included in an exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York.
Ceara Lewis (Aleut) grew up in Cannon Beach, OR, but spends her summers commercial fishing with her family in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Lewis carves mask forms from yellow or red cedar, incorporating a mixture of traditional and contemporary materials, such as hammered copper, porcupine quills, sinew, abalone, and beads. She graduated from Willamette University with a degree in Cultural Anthropology. She currently apprentices under Greg A. Robinson, a Chinook carver/artist.
Jennifer Angaiak Wood (Yup’ik) is an artist of Yup’ik, Irish and Italian descent, and was born and raised in Fairbanks, AK. The Yup’ik side of her family comes from Tununak, AK, on the coast of the Bering Sea. Jennifer’s inspirations include historic masks, stories, and her time spent in Tununak growing up. She usually adds modern materials and concepts to her work, and she uses her art as a way to connect with her Yup’ik heritage and bring a little bit of Yup’ik history into the modern world.
July, 2020
Exhibition opens to the public on July 8th, with our current schedule: Wednesdays-Saturdays, 11am-3pm. (Also open by appointment.)
This July we welcome Hib Sabin (Non-Indigenous) for a solo exhibition of new works in juniper and bronze. The title of Sabin’s show hails from T.S. Eliot’s “Four Quartets”, which is book-ended by two versions of a similar, inverted phrase: In my beginning is my end / in my end is my beginning. The first use of the phrase at the top of the poem speaks of the beginning of new plans and new life with a hidden core of entropy and ending nested secretly inside like a mechanism that will slowly and silently wind down in time. The end of the poem–which is where the title of Sabin’s show is found–speaks of the “end” as being just another step on a longer journey, and that reaching that end is actually the arrival at a new jumping-off place. Sabin’s works explore themes of aging, death and life cycles, memory and creativity, isolation and solitude, and the next steps in that great beginning-anew.
This exhibition will premiere online, and we hope to be able to debut it to visitors later in June! While we are currently still closed for safety, it is our hope that we can open sometime during the upcoming month. More details as they emerge.
We celebrate the re-emergence into public life with works by Trevor Hunt, Jason Hunt and Jeffrey Veregge that were previously only available online. We also introduce the cut-feather works of Chris Maynard (Non-Indigenous) for the first time, a perfect confluence as we open and emerge into nature once more. Maynard is based in Olympia, WA, and uses only the shed feathers of birds to make his detailed compositions celebrating patterns in nature.
Join the Stonington Gallery on June 3 and 4 as we raise funds for local non-profit Solid Ground, which works to address racial justice, advocate for BIPOC communities, mitigate homelessness and poverty, and make a change. One person will win “Huk Dzap” (The Artist), a beautiful limited edition print by David R. Boxley (Ts’msyen) in conservation framing .
To enter our raffle:
-Make a donation directly to Solid Ground of $25 or more.
-Take a screenshot or a photo of your donation receipt. This is your raffle ticket!
-Send your proof of donation to art@stoningtongallery.com
-We will choose and contact the winner on Thursday night.
Thank you for participating!
Inspired by the hopeful outlook of the technical and scientific innovations of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and Century 21 Expo, Jeffrey Veregge (Port Gamble S’Klallam) continues his exploration of hope, teamwork, scientific inquiry, and positivity through the lens of Americana, nostalgia and pop art. Like his 2019 exhibition–“Bold Americans: Above and Beyond”–which highlighted achievements in aerospace and aeronautics, Veregge places a spotlight on a time when Americans set aside differences to achieve what was considered impossible, held strong beliefs in science and mathematics, and looked to the future with ingenuity and hope. Utilizing Coast Salish designs in his signature Salish Geek style, Veregge uses 1960s colors and designs to pay tribute to some of the lasting architecture built for the Expo that has left its indelible mark on the city. These include the Monorail, the airy arches at the Pacific Science Center designed by Minoru Yamasaki, and–of course–the Space Needle, which is still the global icon of Seattle architecture to this day.
ONLINE EXHIBIT: In April we feature brothers Jason Hunt and Trevor Hunt, who hail from the famed artistic lineage of the Hunt family of Fort Rupert on Vancouver Island (BC). Many of the brothers’ family members–including father Stan Hunt–are renowned artists known for their incredible masks, panels, paddles, and drums, and these two continue that tradition with modern flair and tools. We look forward to seeing what kinds of spectacular Vancouver Island-style works will emerge for this joint show.
Special Event:
Qwalsius Shaun Peterson & Andrea Grant
March 25, 6:30pm / Free to attend
Contemporary Coast Salish artists Grant and Peterson join us to preview stories and illustrations from their forthcoming collaborative book, “Killer Whale-Wolf & the Isle of Women”. Illustrated by Peterson and written by Grant, the book re-imagines traditional stories from various Coast Salish peoples and re-tells them in the modern day.
The event brings the two artists together in a presentation about the forthcoming publication, and will include a spoken word performance by Grant.
Though the Stonington Gallery physical space will be closed until at least April 1st, we can still share the work of our fantastic artists with you! (We are also working from home, and reachable by email and phone during business hours.) We are thinking of you all and sending each of you our love and very best wishes.
As so many of our daily routines are interrupted, please find time to be outdoors and enjoy the early signs of spring. In the Northwest we are savoring our springtime rituals as nature responds to the lengthening days. The steelhead are returning to their rivers. The robins are in our parks and gardens. The Indian Plum blossoms are nourishing the Anna’s hummingbirds and native bees. The sun paints the woods a light-dappled green. Soon, the frogs will fill the night air with their beautiful chorus and herald one of Planet Earth’s most glorious events: springtime.
Qwalsius – Shaun Peterson (Puyallup) debuts a body of new prints on paper and aluminum panel in “Where the Moonlight Meets the Water”. The digitally-designed works are illustrations for a forthcoming book on reimagined Coast Salish myths, “Killer Whale-Wolf & the Isle of Women,” created with Andrea Grant (Coast Salish). Peterson focuses on individual characters from Salish myths in many of the works, building the images from a dense layering of transparent colors and shapes. Peterson revisits familiar stories and flips their perspectives, excavating new meanings and motives from archetypes.
Special Event: Qwalsius Shaun Peterson & Andrea Grant
March 25, 6:30pm / Free to attend
Contemporary Coast Salish artists Andrea Grant and Peterson join us to preview stories and illustrations from their forthcoming collaborative book, “Killer Whale-Wolf & the Isle of Women”. Illustrated by Peterson and written by Grant, the book re-imagines traditional stories from various Coast Salish peoples and re-tells them in the modern day.
In March we highlight the art of weaving up and down the Pacific Northwest Coast, whether in the form of baskets, hats, robes or rattles. This mini-show exhibits varied weaving practices of many of our longtime artists, with a particular focus on the Salish blankets of Susan Pavel / sa’hLamitSa. Other works in the show are by Lisa Telford, Isabel Rorick, Deborah Head, Alison Bremner, Kandi McGilton, and Paul Rowley.
Pavel, a master weaver in her own right and the inheritor of the knowledge of subiyay Bruce Miller, debuts four new blankets / robes that are dyed with natural dyes made from locally sourced plants. Coast Salish weaving is a specific genre and technique unto itself. The art was retained by a few master weavers, including the late subiyay Bruce Miller, a Skokomish spiritual leader, who chose Pavel as an apprentice in the mid-1990s. Pavel, who is not Native, was chosen to carry on the technique by Miller. Traditionally, Salish blankets/clothing are woven using a variety of animal and plant fibers including mountain goat wool, canine hair, hemp, fireweed, milkweed, cattail, cotton grass, and yellow and red cedar bark. Various plants were used to create the colors used in dying the wool.
We begin our 2020 exhibition season with a show of original paintings and carving by the Juneau-based mixed media artist and entrepreneur Crystal Worl (Tlingit/Athabascan). The core of this exhibit are eleven original watercolors Worl created for the new trilingual children’s book, “Cradle Songs of Southeast Alaska”. The book includes lullabies in three languages–Tlingit, Haida, and Ts’msyen–and is newly available for wide release. These vivid watercolors are celebrations of communication between generations, and their bold colors connote the joy and strong sense-memories of childhood.
Bears spend much of the winter in a state of torpor–a slightly less intense version of true hibernation–and they’re a rare sight until spring. That’s why we’ve decided to shine a spotlight on these majestic animals during winter 2020, as a reminder of their power, grandeur, and important role in the ecosystem. Even if humans don’t enter torpor in winter, we can certainly understand the allure of remaining “in the den” during this time of year: staying warm and comfortable, delighting in good food and nourishing activities, and laying low with friends and family. Enjoy these works in many styles and media honoring bears of all kinds: fierce or gentle, cozy or roaming, protective or welcoming.
The Stonington Gallery employs a full-time framer, the wonderful Terry Upshall, who frames 99% of the flat work you see in the gallery. But did you know that we will also frame works you bring in to us? Terry uses conservation-grade materials and is available each Tuesday-Saturday for consultations.
From Jan 12- Feb 28:
-Take 20% off all new framing projects, regardless if they are work purchased in or out of the gallery.
-Take 20% off the framing cost of all framed works in the gallery. We pre-frame many prints, paintings and flat media, and this is your opportunity to knock down the framing price and take home a piece ready for hanging.
-Any flat work you purchase with the gallery automatically qualifies for 20% off the framing costs if you choose to frame it with us.
Exhibition opens during the First Thursday Artwalk, December 5, 6-8pm.
Exhibit runs December 5, 2019 – January 2020.
Stonington Gallery celebrates a milestone: our 40th anniversary! We have been exhibiting masterworks of the Northwest Coast and Alaska for four decades, and we are proud to continue representing the talented artists of our region into the future. We have seen the rise of cultural renaissance, the advent of recessions large and small, three locations, upturns, downturns, and everything in between. Our staff has used typewriters, word processors, and computers of every size and speed. And all of that is not even mentioning the hundreds of incredible artists, clients and supporters without whom we would not be here today. Join us for a group exhibition of stellar works in every medium, style and size this December as we celebrate our community and look towards the future.
In November 2019 we present a solo exhibition by contemporary Aleut painter Thomas Stream (Sun’aq Aleut) who presents a new body of work focusing on birds in their winter habitats. Stream’s vivacious animals wear traditional Aleutian hunting hats. In Stream’s iconography these visors celebrate the individual spirit of each animal, while connecting them to the Aleut people, who share the same environment.Aleut artist Thomas Stream was born in Kodiak, AK in 1941. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Cornish School of Allied Arts in 1976. He began the Aleutian Painting series in 1996, an exploration of natural forms, vivid colors and delicate patterns. This series is encapsulated by the phrase, “We are still here,” a simple—yet poignant and powerful—statement that sums up Stream’s outlook on his heritage and his artwork.
Our featured October artists translate and honor their Indigenous heritage through the medium of glass. Both from the Tlingit Nation, they approach their work from different angles: one through the lens of ecosystem and animal-life; the other through Northwest Coast mythology and traditional objects.Raven Skyriver (Tlingit) presents an exhibition of blown and hot-sculpted glass marine animals from oceans and river systems that are threatened by pollution, ocean acidification, and over-fishing. Skyriver uses the techniques he has learned from blowing with William Morris and other glass luminaries to render lifelike creatures, giving us eye-to-eye encounters with deep sea creatures we don’t often see.He is joined by fellow Washington glassblower Preston Singletary (Tlingit), who presents works in glass, bronze and on paper. Singletary uses intricate Northwest Coast formline design to render shamanic implements, woven hats and baskets, and legendary characters in glass. Known for his world-spanning collaborations with other indigenous artists, Singletary plans to debut the first-ever collaboration with Skyriver in this exhibition.
In September we welcome two Coast Salish artists to the gallery who honor their roots with vibrant, brilliant color and vivacity.
Dan Friday (Lummi Nation) has been working in glass for decades, and makes sculpture informed by the anthropological and historic objects made and used by his ancestors. His “woven” mosaic glass baskets are tributes to the weavers of the Lummi, while his small glass totemic sculptures are a testament to the Lummi totem carvers, including his great-grandfather, Joseph Hillaire. Friday recently won the Audience Choice award at the Bellevue Arts Museum for his mixed-media installation of glass salmon swimming across the walls and up into a woven cedarbark reef net, surrounded by sxwole (reefnet anchors) in blown glass.
Maynard Johnny, Jr. (Penelakut/Kwakwaka’wakw) uses bright color and bold design to interpret his dual Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw heritage through his prints, paddles and paintings. He is first and foremost a painter; his designs exhibit clarity, confidence, motion and grace. The ultimate success and transcendence of both Northern and Salish art hinges on an understanding and clarity of line, and this is something he has proven time and time again.
In August we present exhibitions by Jason Gobin (Tulalip Nation) and Trevor Hunt (Kwaguʼł Nation), two mid-career artists creating contemporary versions of traditional objects such as masks, paddles, and panels.
Gobin– known as Hik Stubs in the Tulalip dialect–focuses on the revitalization of Salish artforms through the use of multiple media, including painting, carving, weaving, and digital. Gobin is also a commercial fisherman, and the caretaker and one of the skippers for the tribal sea-going canoes at Tulalip.
Hunt hails from farther up the Northwest Coast, and is part of the famed Hunt family of Fort Rupert on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. He comes from a long line of hereditary carvers and artists that have been instrumental in the survival of the Kwaguʼł art form on the Northwest Coast. His father is Stan Hunt, his grandfather was Henry Hunt and his great-grandfather was Mungo Martin.
Exhibition opens July 11th, 6-8pm. Exhibit runs July 3-28th.
Special Event: Lecture and Book Signing Wednesday July 10th, 6:30pm.
In July we present a new body of work by Santa Fe sculptor Hib Sabin, in conjunction with the release of his book “The Other Side of Silence, The Far Side of Time”. This 128-page hardcover book is the first major collection of Sabin’s work, and we are proud to host an exclusive book-signing with Hib Sabin on July 10th. Join us on the 10th for a sneak peek at his new exhibit and for the signing, or on the 11th for the First Thursday (technically Second Thursday, due to the July 4th holiday) opening reception.
Wednesday, July 10th – 6:30pm
at Stonington Gallery. Free to attend.
Join us on the evening of July 10th to meet Santa Fe-based sculptor Hib Sabin, who is here for the opening of his newest solo exhibition. Sabin will speak on the themes of his new exhibition, and sign copies of his new hardcover book. This beautiful publication was released in May 2019, and contains 128 pages of the artist’s works. The book is available to purchase through our gallery.
In June we present a group exhibition celebrating the power of masks and their makers.
“Masks were used to become someone, or something, to tell the stories and explain the histories of our rights and privileges,” says contemporary Ts’msyen artist David R. Boxley, perfectly capturing the importance of this evocative art.
Today, masks continue to be both forms for ceremony and active practice, as well as aesthetic expressions of artistic mastery. The masks in this exhibit reveal the diversity of mask-making practices from living cultures spanning a geographic distance from the Columbia River all the way north to Utqiaġvik, AK. They also provide a glimpse into the how each individual artist chooses to incorporate traditional or non-traditional materials and concepts into their practice.
Join us on May 21st at 6:30pm for an artist lecture by featured artist Jeffrey Veregge (Port Gamble S’Klallam)! Veregge has created art for over 100 Marvel, Valiant and IDW publications, but his current show with us takes his Salish graphic designs in a new direction. Learn about Veregge’s passion and focus that led to this show, his major mural projects for places including the Smithsonian, and his signature Salish Geek style.
Illustrator and designer Jeffrey Veregge (Port Gamble S’Klallam) delves into American history to honor exemplary men and women in the fields of science and aviation, utilizing Coast Salish formline design to convey a blend of nostalgia and respect for these pioneers. Veregge writes, “We are in a dark time as a country; divided and angry. I want an art show that brings us back to a time of hope, bravery and imagination. I want people to see and remember real heroes from various times in our country: a visual form of patriotism that isn’t hate-fueled.”
“Bold Americans” debuts new prints honoring aviators including Mae Jemison, Amelia Earhart, Mercury 7 astronaut Gordon Cooper, the Tuskegee Airmen, and Chuck Yeager.
Special Event: Charles Froelick Speaks About the Life, Works and Legacy of Rick Bartow – Wednesday, April 10th, 6:30pm.
This April we are proud to feature works on paper by late artist Rick Bartow (Wiyot). Some of these original paintings and monotypes are emerging from the artist’s archive and have not been readily available since his passing. All bear the signature hallmarks of Bartow’s oeuvre: energetic, organic marks from his hands and fingers; enigmatic words and numbers emerging from the subconscious; and a tight connection to the natural and spirit worlds. Bartow’s artistry taps into the vitality of a parallel world where mythic characters clash and clamor with tangible force. His work invites us to enter this reality, and guides us through its rhythms and rituals. In his hands, the realm of the spirit is not a quiet abstraction, but a place that can bite, bleed and sing.
Contemporary mixed media sculptor Drew Michael (Inupiaq / Yup’ik Nations) returns to the gallery for his fourth solo exhibition this spring. The young sculptor has been delving deeply into the concepts including shadow selves, spirals, and journeys through mazes to reach understanding. Michael utilizes traditional Yup’ik and Inupiaq mask forms as a launch-pad from which to then explore his contemporary life, adding non-traditional materials and found objects that imbue his masks and mask-forms with resonance. Michael’s works often exhibit a mixture of influences, from Alaska Native to Byzantine icon, 1900s fashion and history to contemporary design, and beyond. Michael is making artwork that draws from his complex and overlapping identities, which include being Alaska Native, Polish, adopted, queer and two-spirit, and peripatetic in his practice.
This new body of work goes in new directions and breaks fertile ground. For the first time in many years, Michael returns to strictly mask forms with this show, moving away from the draped figures that have recently dominated his aesthetic. These mask forms are the outcome of tapping deep into his emotional and intellectual landscape and emerging with tangible symbols representative of what he finds therein. Using a mixture of carved and found objects, Michael creates assemblages that represent places, people, experiences and moods that have inspired or influenced him, and each exhibition can be read almost as a moment-to-moment diary.
We are honored to present works from the Todd Collection, a spectacular array of works collected over a 25 year period. In 2018 we presented the first segment of the Todd Collection, selling many exquisite works immediately. Now, we are excited to re-feature this collection of master-quality works with new pricing. This array includes some of the most important names in contemporary Northwest Coast art, and pieces made at the height of these artists’ powers. The collection has a special focus on masks by Vancouver Island artists in Kwakwaka’wakw, Kwagiulth and Nuu-chah-nulth traditions. This exhibition brings together masks, bowls, chests, panels and objects from some of the Northwest Coast’s most revered artists, and represents a dazzling survey of some of the most important carvers working on and around Vancouver Island from the mid-to-late 20th century.
Art talk at Stonington Gallery, April 10th 6:30pm.
Free to attend. First come first seated.
Stonington Gallery proudly welcomes Charles Froelick to give a presentation on the life, legacy and works of renowned artist Rick Bartow (Wiyot) during the run of Bartow’s exhibition at our gallery. Charles worked with Rick as his primary gallerist and archivist for many years, and the two formed a deep and lasting relationship. He has toured the country speaking and presenting on Bartow’s life and art, both during Bartow’s life and since his passing in 2016. Charles was instrumental in the creation of Bartow’s retrospective exhibition–What You Know But Cannot Explain–that opened in 2015 and continues to tour the country even now, and he provides insight of a rare caliber and depth into this enigmatic artist’s canon.
In March we present works fresh out of the studio from several artists working up and down the Northwest Coast. We invite these artists to shake off the doldrums of winter and think fresh, dream bright, and start anew. Small, focused bodies of works from sculptors, painters, jewelers and printmakers will converge in an exhibition that welcomes spring and heads in new directions.
We kick off the year with an exhibition by two ambitious young Alaska-based mixed media artists, Alison Marks (Tlingit) and Crystal Worl (Tlingit/Athabascan). “Two Ravens” will present new works by both artists, including paintings, sculptures and a print debut.
Traditional Tlingit society is built on two matrilineal moieties, otherwise known as clans, and all modern Tlingit people are either part of the Eagle or Raven moiety. In the past, people were required to search for a suitable marriage partner of the opposite moiety. Both Marks and Worl are of the Raven moiety, forming the title for their show. But Raven is more than just their clan marker: Raven is one of the most important mythic characters on the Northwest Coast, featuring in hundreds of myths as a catalyst for change, a trickster stirring up mischief, and a transformative being who takes on many guises. It is in the spirit of transformation, experimentation, and boundary-pushing that Marks and Worl present “Two Ravens”. Much like Raven, these two ambitious artists are always up to something!
With a major lunar eclipse on the way on Sunday/Monday, January 21st, it’s the perfect time to turn our attention to the skies overhead. The eclipse is the confluence of three major events: a “blood moon” (where the moon turns a coppery color); a total lunar eclipse (where the planet’s shadow completely envelops our satellite); and a Super Moon (where the moon appears much larger than normal).
To celebrate all of this celestial activity, we’re spotlighting works in the gallery that focus on the sun, moon and stars. Many of these pieces will reference the most famous myth on the Coast, of Raven stealing the light. Though it has many permutations and the details change depending on the telling, the basic story tells of how the world was in darkness and Raven–through many trials and clever schemes–finds a way to free it. Raven steals the light–sometimes referring to the sun, other times the sun, moon and stars–and releases, drops, or throws it into the sky where it remains to this day.
Exhibit Opens December 6, 6-8pm / Runs December 6-Early January 2019
Paddles and skateboards move us forward, fast! Paddle blades and the lines of a skate deck are strikingly similar, and for good reason: they’re meant for speed, for slipping through air or water like a knife, and for cutting through resistance to get us where we need to go. The paddle is a traditional form of transportation, a perfectly engineered object that has been in continuous use on the Northwest Coast for millennia. The skate deck, its modern counterpart, has captivated the hearts of people across both rural and urban communities due to its economy, its freedom of movement, and its countercultural cache. This winter, we’ve invited our artists to adorn longboards, traditional skateboards and paddles in a huge group exhibition celebrating the power, speed, and creativity of these modes of transportation.
We are proud to present a new solo exhibition by Washington-based glassblower Raven Skyriver (Tlingit), which will include collaborations with his partner Kelly O’Dell (Non-Indigenous). Raven is creating works that will explore the ecosystems and wildlife of places of confluence, where salt water meets fresh and streams of life converge. Confluence also refers to the idea of the coming together of crux points: the tipping points between losing species and saving them; the time ebbing away to head off or reverse climate change; the simultaneity of learning more about our planet and its wildlife at the same time it is becoming less habitable for them. Raven is deeply concerned with the state of our environment and the significant challenges faced by marine life of the Salish Sea and wider Pacific Ocean. He is a board-member of SR3, a sea mammal rescue, rehabilitation and education non-profit.
Sunday, NOVEMBER 11, 1-4PM
1-3pm: Carving demonstration
3pm-4pm: Artist talk
Free to attend
We are proud to present a talk and carving demonstration with emerging culture-bearer and artist Saał-Kaa Fred Fulmer (Tlingit) on Sunday, Nov 11. Fred has recently returned from an extended stay in Juneau and Hoonah, Alaska, where he took part in cultural events and projects. He is eager to share his insights from these experiences, and to show visitors his carving techniques. Please join us for his talk at 3pm!
Stonington Gallery is proud to present a solo exhibition by contemporary Tlingit glassblower Preston Singletary this autumn. The gallery will show the wide breadth of Singletary’s work, which includes blown glass, cast bronzes, limited edition glass jewelry, and limited edition prints. This exhibition is a celebration both of the wide scope of interest and media that Singletary brings to his work, and also of the opening of his major Museum of Glass exhibition in Tacoma, WA.
Special related event: Panel Talk on Northwest Native Art Glass with Preston Singletary, Dan Friday and Raven Skyriver.
October 17th, 6-9pm. Tickets available to purchase online.
Tuesday, September 18th, 6:30pm at Stonington Gallery. Free to attend.
Join Dan Friday (Lummi Nation) at the Stonington Gallery during his solo exhibition as he speaks about his new body of work and the inspiration and glassblowing techniques behind it. Friday has recently completed a new residency at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, delving into his family’s history and that of the larger Lummi nation. This exhibition debuts a new series of works, the sxwole anchors, derived directly from the artist’s research and heritage. Dan is a lively and engaging speaker, and you don’t want to miss this talk!
We open our Season of Northwest Native Art Glass with a solo exhibit by Seattle-based glass artist Dan Friday (Lummi Nation). Dan returns to the gallery with blown and hotsculpted works in glass, focusing particularly on the proud tradition of reefnet fishing amongst the Lummi nation. Reefnet fishing an indigenous fishing practice that is one of the most sustainable and humane in the world, but that was almost completely wiped out in the twentieth century.
Reefnetting was spread amongst the tribes around the Salish Sea but was invented by the Lummi. Reefnet fishing was traditionally done by suspending a a sxwole (woven reef net) between two canoes.
In honor of the reclamation of these practices, Dan Friday renders some of the most important tools in reef netting out of glass for his new exhibition. They join other works honoring his Lummi heritage, including woven cedar baskets made from a complex glass mosaic technique; model totem poles in hot-sculpted glass, and others.
ARTIST LECTURE: Tuesday, Sept 18th, 6:30 pm at Stonington Gallery.
Northwest Native Art Glass Panel Talk with Preston Singletary, Raven Skyriver and Dan Friday: Wednesday October 17th, 6-9pm.
Tickets are $15. Purchase online at: https://stoningtongallerynorthwestnativeglass.brownpapertickets.com/
6-6:30pm Pre-panel refreshments at Stonington Gallery.
6:45-8:15 Panel talk and questions at The 101, just four doors down the block.
8:15-9pm Post-panel tour through the Preston Singletary exhibit at Stonington Gallery.
We are devoting our autumn season to back-to-back-to-back exhibits by three of the region’s top Native glass artists, in a celebration of the Northwest Native Art Glass movement. September brings Dan Friday (Lummi), October is Preston Singletary (Tlingit), and in November we close with Raven Skyriver (Tlingit). All three of these artists uses the medium of glass to reflect on aspects of their vibrant Northwest Coast Native heritage, but each does so with a different focus.
EXHIBITIONS:
Dan Friday Solo Exhibition: Sept 6-30, Opens Sept 6, 6-8pm
Preston Singletary Solo Exhibition: Oct 4-28. Opens Oct 4, 6-8pm
Raven Skyriver – Confluence – Solo Exhibition: Nov 1-30, Opens Nov 1, 6-8pm
EVENTS:
Dan Friday Artist Talk: Tuesday, Sept 18th, 6:30pm. At Stonington Gallery. Free to attend, not ticketed.
Northwest Native Art Glass Panel Talk with Preston Singletary, Raven Skyriver and Dan Friday: Wednesday October 17th, 6-9pm. Panel talk at The 101 in Pioneer Square, pre and post-panel refreshments and meet-and-greet with the artists at Stonington Gallery. Ticketed event. More information on ticket purchases tba.
In August we present hot new arrivals into the gallery, in tandem with highlighted works from our collection. New works are flowing into the gallery for summer, including an elegant new paddle by Qwalsius – Shaun Peterson, two jaw-dropping original sculptures by Preston Singletary, new prints by lessLIE, carved panels by Dennis Allen, and more. We’ll rotate through works during the month to highlight the depth of innovation being produced right now on the Northwest Coast.
Coast Salish design and Northern-style formline lend themselves fantastically to bold designs. In Northwest Coast art, each shape has a traditional role to play. Lines and shapes lock together, bounding fields of color into negative and positive spaces, resulting in complex, detailed images. For some artists, formline design is a toolkit to create detailed images featuring animals, humans, spirit faces and crest imagery. Others go beyond the figurative, stretching these shapes to become semi-abstract or fully abstract compositions that evoke motion, energy, pattern and movement.
Hib Sabin (Non-Indigenous) returns for a new solo exhibition featuring his sculptures in juniper and bronze, inspired by global mythology, philosophy and the liminal times of dreaming and sleep.
We’re welcoming summer with a celebration of our amphibian friends, frogs! The state of Washington has ten indigenous species of frog, including the bullfrog, Pacific chorus frog, Northern leopard frog, cascades frog, and Oregon spotted frog. (I guess you could say we’re hopping.)
Amongst the indigenous peoples of the Northwest, the Frog was often a symbol of prosperity and wealth, and its penchant for singing or chirping leads to many myths about why it’s sounding off. Frog was said to have warned humans of impending danger, and indeed, we know that frogs are indicator species of an ecosystem’s overall health.
Stonington Gallery is bringing the finest contemporary Northwest Coast art to visitors from around the world at SeaTac airport! This ongoing exhibition in partnership with the Port of Seattle is a rotating spotlight on the diverse art styles, media and viewpoints of contemporary artists of the Coast. We are honored to share works with locals and visitors by regional luminaries including Preston Singletary (Tlingit), Dan Friday (Lummi), Raven Skyriver (Tlingit), Robert Davidson (Haida), Thomas Stream (Sun’aq Aleut), Lillian Pitt (Wasco/Warm Springs/Yakama), Shaun Peterson-Qwalsius (Puyallup) and more.
All works in the exhibition are for sale through Stonington Gallery. Please call 206.405.4040 or email art@stoningtongallery.com with inquiries.
The exhibit is located at the Gina Marie Lindsay Arrivals Hall at the South end of the Main Terminal, on the baggage claim level. In layman’s terms, it is the large atrium with the suspended airplanes in the waiting area of the Arrivals section.
In what has become a hotly anticipated annual tradition, we present “Masters of Disguise IV” a group exhibition of masks by artists around the Northwest. In the past we have seen masks that run the gamut from highly traditional to completely experimental, and everything in between. This will be an invitational exhibition featuring both emerging and established artists from the Northwest Coast, and we can’t wait to share their visions with you this June.
The octopus also has a rich history of being rendered as a character and spirit helper among the indigenous cultures of the Pacific Northwest. In this online-only exhibit we’re highlighting some of the creative ways in which our contemporary artists honor this intelligent, fascinating creature.
“The Octopus is a remarkable, unique, eight armed sea creature. The final spirit helper – its transformative nature is represented by its natural ability to incorporate its body into its surroundings and its means of capturing and devouring its prey. It has the ability to change colour, shape and even texture, as well as to eject dark ink in self-defense. It constructs its dwelling place by moving rocks and pebbles, it examines its environment, collects food and defends itself by raising its arms and seems to use its large eyes for intelligent observation. The natural behavior suggests both supernatural and human connections. Octopus is common in shamanic art, undoubtedly because of its amazing transformational abilities.”
-Excerpt from Understanding Northwest Coast Native Art by Cheryl Shearar
Artists Lillian Pitt (Warm Springs/Wasco/Yakama) and Dan Friday (Lummi) debut works in glass which were made collaboratively at a multi-day blow earlier in 2018. These are primarily basket or vessel forms that were blown and fused by Dan Friday under the direction of honored elder artist Lillian Pitt. Dan brought over twenty years of glassblowing experience, and Lillian brought the aluminum stencils based on Columbia River and Plateau designs that would be incorporated into each piece. The imagery on this new series of blown and fused glass baskets was directly inspired from two sources: twined imagery on traditional Wasco Sally bags, and the ancient pictographs and petroglyphs carved on rock walls in the Columbia River Gorge. By the end of the process the two had fused their concepts and vision together into a brand new series of rich, vibrantly colored vessel that reflect time-honored images from the artists’ ancestors.
In March and April we are honored to present works from the Todd Collection, a spectacular array of works collected throughout the 1990s and 2000s. The collection has a special focus on masks by Vancouver Island artists in Kwakwaka’wakw, Kwagiulth and Nuu-chah-nulth traditions. This exhibition brings together masks, bowls, chests, panels and objects from some of the Northwest Coast’s most revered artists, and represents a dazzling survey of some of the most important carvers working on and around Vancouver Island from the mid-to-late 20th century.
The collection includes works by Art Thompson (Nuu-chah-nulth), Susan Point (Musqueam), Jay Brabant (Cree), Duane Pasco (Non-Indigenous) Calvin Hunt (Kwakwaka’wakw), Beau Dick (Kwakwaka’wakw) and John Livingston (Non-Indigenous/Adopted Kwakwaka’wakw), Mervyn Child (Kwakwaka’wakw/Tlingit/Nuu-chah-nulth), Simon Dick (Kwakwaka’wakw), George Hunt Jr. (Kwakwaka’wakw), Scott Jensen (Non-Indigenous/Adopted Tlingit), Don Yeomans (Haida) and numerous others.
Adding company and context to Drew Michael’s February exhibition is “Unexpected Alaska”, a group of contemporary Alaska Native artists who are pushing the boundaries of traditional art-forms. Many are incorporating non-traditional media to realize their art–such as the glass work of Preston Singletary (Tlingit) or Larry Ahvakana (Inupiaq), or the milagros found on Kathleen Carlo’s (Koyukon Athabascan) masks. Others–such as Lena Amason-Berns (Alutiiq) or Thomas Stream (Sun’aq Aleut)–forge new styles that are a meld of designs used for thousands of years with a personal vision. Many of these artists are friends or mentors to Drew Michael, making them welcome companions to his solo exhibition, and widening the horizon on artists who are creating new frontiers for Alaska Native art.
Yup’ik/Inupiaq sculptor Drew Michael returns to Stonington Gallery with a brand new body of work in winter 2018, kicking off our new year of exhibitions. Michael received a major and prestigious grant at the end of 2017, spurring the creation of new sculpture in his Alaska-based studio and a reinvigorated commitment to his sculptural practice.
The holiday season is upon us, and we know you are looking for the perfect artful gift. Whether it’s a piece of fine jewelry, a print to brighten a wall, or a luminous sculpture in wood, bronze or glass, we have an elegant solution. Even better: buying from our gallery supports regional artists and a small local business! Everything we show at Stonington Gallery is hand-made by regional artists: no mass production, no factories, no automation–just works made by artists at the top of their field.
Enjoy this curated selection of works that will make this holiday extra special. Please call or email the gallery to purchase works. We will endeavor to keep the listings current, but we do apologize if work sells and is not immediately updated.
Enjoy this curated selection of works that will make this holiday extra special. Please call or email the gallery to purchase works.
We welcome fine art jeweler Joan Tenenbaum back to the gallery to show the work in silver, gold and precious stones that she has been creating all year. As always, Tenenbaum is deeply inspired by the landscape, ecology, and animal life of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, and draws the colors and textures of the region into her exquisitely-crafted jewelry. Join us to discover what she has in store for this December exhibition!
“It is in our quiet moments that we draw sustenance from those places of nature we have touched. Whether it’s a wild creature or a wild place, just knowing it’s there gives us a sense of peace. As we reflect on our evocative encounters with the natural world we instinctively move to physically touch a symbol of those connections.”
-Joan Tenenbaum, 2017.
“The Sky World” completes the three-year series of group exhibits began by “Resurgence: Rivers” and continued by “Into the Woods: Forests”. Now we look to the sky to finish this cycle of winter group shows focusing on the indelible ecosystem, landscape and mythic heritage of the Northwest.
The Sky World theme offers a rich number of possibilities. Since the dawn of civilization mankind has looked to the skies and tried to make sense of our place in the immense, extraordinary and magnificent universe. Draw your eyes up to the heavens and contemplate all the ideas the sky, the atmosphere, the weather, the planets and stars present. Each generation is stirred and moved by the beauty and fragility of our skies.
From November 25 through January 1st we are offering all handcarved silver jewelry by Haida artist Walter Davidson for 20% off. These beautiful earrings, rings, pendants and cuffs are unique, hand-made creations from Davidson’s studio and are loving expressions of culture and attention to detail. All works are priced in Canadian, and depend on the day’s exchange rate, which usually hovers between .80-.85 USD. For those buying in the US, this results in a lower price than listed.
Opening Reception: First Thursday, November 2nd, 5-8pm
View the full exhibit online starting at 10am Thursday, November 2nd.
Exhibition will be installed Oct 29-Nov 2nd.
In November we are proud to present a collaborative show between husband and wife Scott Jensen and Courtney Lipson (Non Indigenous/Adopted Tlingit). Those who have followed the gallery over the last few years cannot have missed their wondrous collaborative micro-mosaic masks, a form they have pioneered. The two have taken all of 2017 to create the body of work for this exhibition, and we are amazed at their skill, technique, creativity and fortitude. This exhibition will include sculpture with micro-mosaic inlay, weaving, and jewelry. A print exhibition catalog will be available beginning on opening night.
The Northwest’s hot love affair with glass has been smoldering for 40 years, and only grows in intensity as new artists are drawn to the flame. Glass is a transformative material: it must be heated and gathered, blown and shaped, cooled and refined. Smooth and clear, rough and opaque, delicate or dense, it changes its form many times as it finds its ideal shape. The legends of the Native peoples of the Northwest are similar: they change their properties as they are retold and re-imagined, and we turn them over and over to reveal new facets and truths. What better modern material to use, then, to render the characters and cultures of the Coast than glass? Join us as we honor the artists using the medium of glass to celebrate their indigenous heritage, including Preston Singletary, Raven Skyriver, Dan Friday, Allie High, Lillian Pitt, Susan Point, Marvin Oliver and Alano Edzerza.
October brings a show of Lillian Pitt’s silver jewelry, inspired by her Wasco/Yakama/Warm Springs heritage. Many of these works are based on the rock petroglyphs and pictographs from the Columbia River Gorge, and honor the mythological stories and characters drawn by her distant ancestors there.
Stonington Gallery has proudly represented the paintings of contemporary Aleut painter Thomas Stream for thirty-five years. Our exhibit schedule and storage capacity is such that not all his wonderful works can be on display at once, and we want them to be in homes where they will be treasured as they deserve! Therefore, we are offering a select collection of original framed paintings from past years at a rare discounted price: 20% off the framing and an additional 20% off the painting.
Stream’s bright palette and the curvilinear, geometric designs in his painting are very much inspired by the traditional painted steam-bent hats made and worn by the Aleut hunters at sea in their kayaks. These hats are to Stream what the spindle whorl is today’s Coast Salish artists: the object that represents the very core or spirit of their people. It is an object so specific to the industry and thus survival of the culture, that it at once sums up the accumulated knowledge of a people and their mastery of the skills required to flourish in a specific environment.
Young glass maestro Raven Skyriver (Tlingit) returns for an exhibition of sea-life from oceans and river systems that are threatened by pollution, ocean acidification, and over-fishing. Skyriver was born in the San Juan Islands in Northwest Washington, raised with a constant connection to nature. In his life he has seen that the Puget Sound and wider Salish Sea are the foundation of life in this region. The health of the rivers is the health of our Sound; its health is the health of our watershed. All water systems are connected, and if one is threatened and compromised, so are they all.
This exhibition is also a family affair: it will include a collaborative work by Raven and fellow glassblower–and wife–Kelly O’Dell, and the photography of his sister, Summer Moon Scriver (Tlingit). During the exhibition opening we are proud to host a pre-release book signing by Raven’s mother, Irene Skyriver (Tlingit), who has written a book on her family history and her wild solo kayak journey from Alaska to Washington.
In August we welcome Lummi glassblower Dan Friday back to Stonington for his second solo show. Friday utilizes the medium of blown and hotsculpted glass to show reverence for his Lummi Nation heritage, and to honor specific Lummi artists who paved the way.
Friday grew up with revered Lummi weaver Fran James (1924-2013) as one of his Aunties, and he honors the Salish craft of cedar bark weaving with his series of blown mosaic baskets. He silvers the glass to give it a nacreous luminescence, changing the color of the glass as it is seen in different light and against different colors. Mimicking the wide, open weaving style of Coast Salish cedar bark baskets, Friday translates his Auntie’s legacy to a new medium and a new audience.
Dan Friday’s great-grandfather was Joseph R. Hillaire (Kwul-kwul’t), a famed Lummi totem pole carver. Among Hillaire’s most renowned commissions were two totem poles carved for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. One pole traveled around the USA to publicize the upcoming Fair; and one was created for Seattle’s sister-city of Kobe, Japan. Hillaire’s totem poles were a magnificent expression of the Lummi people’s relationship to the natural world and its inhabitants. Friday pays tribute to his great-grandfather’s carvings with his glass totems.
Hib Sabin (Non-Indigenous) returns with a body of work that considers ideas about age in a world where youth is lauded, applauded, and sought after with almost religious fervor. Now in his 80s, Sabin turns his critical eye and dexterous carving hand upon himself, with work that reflects upon the process of aging, the need for nostalgia and review of the past, and the fearlessness of the future. What are the opportunities that close to us when we make decisions, and what happens when the “Road Not Taken” is passed by? Where are the crux points in our lives, and are they the ones we think they are when faced with them? What is the job of an artist in his older years, and how does he both reflect the world and his own truths? The works in this exhibition discuss these themes using the characters Sabin has become famous for: Owl, Raven, Raptor, Human, Bear, and more.
For the first time we will be offering Sabin’s concept sketches for sale alongside the finished sculptural works. And a physical and digital catalog will be available for this landmark show.
This June we continue to explore the tradition and innovation of mask-making on the Northwest Coast. Contemporary sculptors, painters and jewelers will bring their perspectives to bear on the act of hiding, disguising, transforming and storytelling, resulting in a collection of masks that tell us about our history, our present, and our future. As with the first two iterations of this group exhibit, expect works that range from traditional to groundbreaking, and that encompass media as disparate as glass, wood, stone, hide, fiber, metal and ceramic.
Stonington Gallery will be in the epicenter of the inaugural Upstream Music Festival this May, taking place in Pioneer Square May 11-13. In the spirit of the festival, we present artists who use motion, energy, vibrant color and an edgy design sensibility in their work to convey the cultures, environment and contemporary spirit of the Northwest.
Opening Reception: First Thursday April 6th, 6-8pm. This exhibit runs from April 6th-30th.
The Northwest boasts over thirty edible berries in its ecosystem, so it follows that indigenous peoples have made berry-picking a central seasonal activity for millennia. April is the first blush and bud of the salmonberries and Indian plum, and marks the time when the tribes make preparations for gathering.
Berry baskets are small baskets woven from spruce root or cedar bark, often with a loose or open weave. Their technique and materials differ from area to area, but are ubiquitous along the entire Northwest Coast and Alaska. We are pleased to present an exhibition of berry baskets in glass by Preston Singletary (Tlingit), and traditional woven berry baskets by artists including Isabel Rorick (Haida), Lisa Telford (Haida), and Deborah Head (Tlingit).
Stonington Gallery presents an exhibition of emerging star Drew Michael (Inupiaq/Yup’ik). He continues to evolve his deeply personal mask-forms based on his own life and on the culture and mythologies of the Yup’ik and Inupiaq peoples. Two major themes run through the 2017 exhibition: works that look inward, and works that look outward. The inward pieces were largely created in 2016, and deal with the artist’s continuing exploration of his emotional states, self-portraiture, his relationships, and with healing and growing.
We are proud to present a tightly-focused exhibition of work in stone and wood by master sculptor Larry Ahvakana (Inupiaq). This spotlight exhibition is a peek into what the multimedia sculptor is focusing on in his studio, and at the many facets of his practice.
The Stonington staff has selected works from the gallery’s collection to exhibit during the month of March, drawing focus to works that resonate on a personal and aesthetic level. We are privileged to work among these objects on a daily basis, and it is our great pleasure to present the works that delight, challenge, surprise and engage us day after day. Whether it is a monumental work that needs greater attention to its intricacies, or a piece that is small enough to be passed by, we shed light on art that captures us.
The works will be displayed with accompanying commentary by a Stonington staff member, illuminating our perception of the piece and why it provokes such a distinct reaction in us.
This year, we continue to explore what makes the Northwest such a vibrant, unique environment with Into the Woods: Forests of the Northwest Coast. Forests have many faces: they are backdrops for epic journeys, where people become lost or found; places of transformation where what goes in is not the same as what comes out; places where our imaginations run wild and we face our own darkness, myths and secrets. Great mythological beings that inhabit these forests are as complex and fascinating as the web of life they live within. In much of Northwest Coast mythology they are places where animals and human-kind meet, clash, transform, and where the prey/predator divide is stark.
We are proud to present an exhibition of Joan Tenenbaum’s fine art jewelry in beautiful silver, gold, cloisonne enamel and gems.
“This is a collection of stories about memories, and the colors that surround them. Certain experiences in our lives: kicking crispy leaves while walking to school, moonlight shimmering on water, yellow cottonwoods beside a river running through an ancient pueblo, an evocative sunset sky…these moments are etched in our memories by the quality of the colors, the sounds, the light.
When I was in the first grade our teacher would put Johann Strauss’s “Tales from the Vienna Woods” on the record player in our classroom and have us finger-paint to the music. I can still remember her gesturing arms in the front of the room, just as a conductor would do. My finger-paintings were so unique and expressive that I was chosen to be in a government-produced documentary being filmed at our school. Even today, that music brings me back to that classroom.”
-Joan Tenenbaum, Artist Statement, 2016
Digital exhibition catalogue available for this exhibition.
“We are all a part of a giant complex weaving of life that requires respect and love to further interconnection. The trees are nourished by earth’s elements and by the life cycle of the plants, insects, fish and all the other animals. In return the trees provide gifts of life for all those who are living. It is the same for the roots that connect us to our ancestors.
Weaving, painting and carving are a part of this sacred cycle and the energies that we portray are stories that come through us when we allow it and when we take the time to listen and feel. This is the way of our ancestors.”
-Isabel & Robin Rorick
In October we present an exhibition of new Coast Salish-style weavings by one of the contemporary masters of the art, Dr. Susan Pavel (sa’hLamitSa). Coast Salish weaving is a specific genre and technique unto itself. The art was retained by a few master weavers, including the latesubiyay Bruce Miller, a Skokomish spiritual leader, who chose Pavel as an apprentice in the mid-1990s. Pavel, who is not Native, was chosen to carry on the technique by Miller, and has herself now taught over 500 students.
Pavel says, “We started as just two. Now, there are hundreds. My students have taught other students. Now I know that this will not die with me when I go. The journey has been and continues to be remarkable. The essence of weaving is fulfilled because … I am obedient to the call.”
In summer 2016 she will have a major retrospective exhibition at the Suquamish Museum of her weavings–both new and from her archive. The new works will be available in her exhibition at Stonington Gallery in October.
In October we invite Alaska-based contemporary artist Allie High (Aleut/Haida/Ts’msyen) to debut new prints and painted drums at the gallery, as well as possible works in silver and glass. High’s print series are well-loved by collectors, who fall for her prints of animals rendered in flowing formline, and her boldly painted drums. In the past, she has contributed works in ceramic, wood and hand-carved sterling silver to our exhibitions, and we eagerly look forward to seeing what emerges from her studio for this show.
In September we present works by painter Thomas Stream (Sun’aq Aleut) and glassblower Dan Friday (Lummi), both contemporary artists who utilize bold, brilliant color to show their respect and love for their heritage and the environment around them.
We are proud to present a new exhibition by contemporary Aleut painter Thomas Stream, whom we have had the pleasure of representing for decades. Stream is renowned for his dazzlingly detailed gouache paintings of wildlife that combine pointillism, Audubon, and traditional Aleutian spiral-and-dot patterns. Inspired by the traditional hunting visors of his Aleutian ancestors, Stream uses those bright colors and swirling patterns on the ancient hats to render the wildlife of the Northwest and beyond.
Raven Skyriver returns to Stonington Gallery after a whirlwind year of blowing, teaching and exhibiting in places as diverse as Japan, Turkey and Norway. He continues to add to his arsenal of techniques and expertise, using some of the most complex and difficult procedures to create marine creatures that are astoundingly lifelike. The exhibition this year will bring an incredible Mahi Mahi (shown above) blown this past spring at Pilchuck Glass School, and many more works of dazzling coloration, gravity and audacity.
Digital exhibition catalogue available.
We are proud to present a solo exhibition of new work by sculptor Hib Sabin (Non-Indigenous) in July, featured works in juniper, bronze and glass. Sabin continues his exploration of human nature by way of animal forms, embodying our best and worst qualities in cackling ravens, haughty owls, and dignified bears. Complex tableaus with multiple creatures interacting–such as “Ship of Fools”–show us the folly of letting the blind and proud navigate treacherous waters. Sabin also debuts new collaborative pieces made with glass-blower Peter Wright.
Last year’s Masters of Disguise mask group exhibition was a runaway success. And that should be no surprise: few traditional objects are as iconic to the Pacific Northwest Coast as masks, which offer such a rich platform from which to explore the cultural and art history and contemporary issues of our region. While many objects on the Coast combine functions of magnificent utility and aesthetic, the mask holds a place of prominence because of its use in ceremony, theater, healing, and family wealth.
Many masks depict specific characters from mythology. These character masks are each part of a lineage reaching back centuries. These ancient myth beings are defined and recognized by their physical attributes and features which reveal aspects of their personalities, environment, and history.
We are thrilled to unveil the first collection of jewelry at Stonington Gallery from legendary jeweler Denise Wallace (Chugach Aleut). Wallace is widely known for her sumptuous silver, gold and fossilized ivory jewelry that combines contemporary elegance and traditional themes. Wallace’s unique creations have made her the best-known Alaska Native jeweler of our time. The themes of her pieces are rooted in the rich stories and customs of arctic peoples of Alaska, stories that deal with ideas of healing, growth, nature and transformation. Wallace’s work will be highlighted in the main gallery in the month of May, and throughout the spring and summer. The majority of the works in this collection center around masks, faces and transformation. Those familiar with Yup’ik style masks will recognize those forms in her sterling silver, gold and fossilized ivory creations.
May brings fresh, fine new jewelry by micro-mosaicist and metal-smith Courtney Lipson (Non-Indigenous/Adopted Tlingit). Tidepools, denizens of the shore, and the little jeweled creatures that live in those safe cracks in the rocks are the artist’s inspiration for this year’s exhibit, and she’s rendering nudibranchs, sea stars, octopuses, and urchins in her signature micro-mosaic. Long-time collectors will remember the past series that Lipson has done with tidepools and sea creatures, but she revisiting the theme with new eyes and a more abstracted feel. Nudibranchs are the focus of the collection, allowing us a glimpse into the unbelievable variety, colors and kinds that this species has to offer. Nudibranchs are soft-bodied molluscs, and they live at almost any depth of the water column, but the most eye-popping coloration occurs in warm, shallow reefs and tide-lines. Lipson’s creations are a mix of her own imagination, and those from reference photos. The wilder the colors, the more genuine it’s likely to be. Lipson has gone one step further, interviewing each little nudibranch as it takes form in her studio, and finding out their names and personalities.
In April we present works that have flown beneath the radar, and give them their due time in the spotlight. These include new blown glass by Preston Singletary (Tlingit), a body of collaborative work by friends George David (Nuu-chah-nulth) and Spencer McCarty (Makah) who have been working out Neah Bay way, an astonishing panel by the multi-talented Shawn Hunt (Heiltsuk), a jaw-droppping panel by Jay Haavik (Non-Indigenous), a silken cedar panel and a painting by Carl Stromquist (Interior Salish), a new hand-colored woodblock print version of Marika Swan’s “The Sacred Heart Waters” (Nuu-chah-nulth), Allie High’s glasswork (Aleut/Haida/Tsimshian), and more.
In March we will show select works by venerated printmaker, painter and sculptor Rick Bartow (Wiyot), from 2015 and previous years. Though the work will be on multiple topics, one primary theme will be the human face: how we mask, hide, transform and reveal. Identity is constantly on the shift in Bartow’s works, as animals and humans meld into a liminal, uncertain now, heedless of what they were before or might be in a moment. Bartow transfers the moment of creation into each work, with an improvist’s energy and visionary skill. The artist often creates multiple works on the same panel or paper, working one image to completion before he paints or draws directly over it and obliterating it completely.
Stonington Gallery is proud to present the debut exhibition by ambitious young Inupiaq/Yup’ik artist Drew Michael. A sculptor of great sensitivity, grace and elegance, Michael is inspired by the traditional forms of Inupiaq and Yup’ik masks, but morphs them into what has become his own deep iconography of characters and images.
The works in Heart of Our Understanding were produced during his 2015-2016 residency at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, and reflect the deep thinking and feeling that Michael underwent in his time there. In many ways, Michael is a nomadic spirit: he and his twin brother entered the foster care system in Alaska as infants, and were in and out of foster homes in their youth. Today, Michael works and travels between many studios and cities, finding inspiration and connection in a peripatetic lifestyle. This yearning for relationships, trust, and a sense of home radiates through his work: there is a serenity, a solid certainty in his hooded feminine figures.
We are honored to present select works from the Rose Collection, a private estate of Northwest Coast art by some of its finest practitioners. Collected with a keen eye for excellence and elegance, this top-level collection includes early and mid-career works by Northern and Southern artists. For collectors of grandmaster Bill Reid, this is exhibit is an opportunity to find an original stone lithograph and etching, as well as a complete folio of his Haida Myths series. Early works by Christian White, Don Yeomans and John Livingston allow insight into the evolution of their techniques. And exquisite recent works by Susan Point and Napachie Sharky are gems in this treasure trove.
Lithographs, serigraphs, giclees, woodblocks, monoprints, and embossing; the print-makers of the Northwest Coast employ many terms and tricks to get the job done. Formline design is particularly conducive to printing, as the 3-D curves and excisions of sculpture are reduced to elegant, flowing lines and negative/positive space.
Print-making amongst indigenous artists in the Northwest took off in the 1960s, with early pioneers –such as Henry Speck, Tony Hunt, Roy Vickers, and Doug Cranmer–kicking off a trend that would blossom through the next decades. In 1971 in Seattle–directly across the street from where Stonington Gallery now stands–Joe David, Barry Herem and Duane Pasco stood around a press on the third floor of Dick White’s gallery, pulling their first serigraphs.
To close out the year we are honored to present a group exhibit featuring some of the finest artwork and most significant Pacific Northwest Coast artists working today.
Every river generates a unique ecosystem and culture to go with it. Just as rivers carry fish, feed forests and carve through rock in individual ways, they also influence the peoples who live on their banks and use them for transportation. From raging rivers to placid waters, revitalized watersheds to endangered places, we ask our artists reflect on rivers that have meaning in their lives and bring us to sacred places with their art. Please join us as we bring together the region’s finest artists to give proper due to our Rivers, their people, and the surrounding environments. We honor the resilience of watersheds, and also their fragility; their remarkable ability to connect peoples; to feed and carry us; to sustain those who rely on them.
A wizard of many media, the young Tahltan artist Alano Edzerza returns to the gallery with an army of cutting edge formline inspired equally by his heritage and his metropolitan life. Edzerza is known for working across media, but always retaining his ineffable sense of cool. Glass, wood and metal, serigraphs and paintings, even fashion and jewelry: he can do it all.
This landmark exhibit will feature Edzerza’s prints, etched glass, wood sculpture, jewelry and giclees on canvas. This is the first solo exhibit for this young, forward-thinking artist at Stonington Gallery in many years, and we cannot wait to see what he has up his sleeve. Included in this email are works in progress at his studio, which have us salivating for more.
Courtney Lipson has honed her ability to portray textiles, flowers, feathers, rock striations and more in intricate detail using micro-mosaics. Combining ancient metalsmithing techniques with color and texture, the work in this exhibit explores further some of her favorite subjects. Monarch butterflies, ravens, eagles and weaving patterns return, as well as unique pieces inspired by some of Lipson’s favorite books and poems. Not limiting herself to jewelry, Lipson includes a few other mediums in this exhibit with prints and weavings.
We are proud to present new works in glass, bronze and print by internationally acclaimed artist Preston Singletary (Tlingit). Primarily known for sculpture in glass, Singletary has begun to expand his forms of expression to richly patinated bronze, and to two-dimensional drawings on paper.
Singletary has long been inspired by the myth of Raven stealing the sun, moon and stars from the bentwood box where it was hidden by a chieftain. It is a legend he returns to in glass, prints, and bronzes, and from many angles. The most recent imagining of this myth is in the model pole “Raven and the Box of Daylight”, a new limited edition bronze. He also presents his Tlingit Glass Basket series, honoring the weaving traditions of the Tlingit and other northern nations.
We are proud to present a three person exhibit featuring paper artist Nikki McClure (Non-Indigenous), painter Thomas Stream (Sun’aq Aleut) and jeweler Joan Tenenbaum (Non-Indigenous). These three Washington artists are deeply inspired by the landscapes and wildlife of the Northwest, and each renders their vision of this place in exquisite detail and skill.
We welcome Olympia-based cut paper artist Nikki McClure back to the gallery for her second show with us. Last year, she presented extraordinary two-tone and monochrome scenes made with paper and an exacto blade from her forthcoming 2015 calendar. We can’t wait to see what scenes she has in store for us this year!
We are proud to present a three person exhibit featuring paper artist Nikki McClure (Non-Indigenous), painter Thomas Stream (Sun’aq Aleut) and jeweler Joan Tenenbaum (Non-Indigenous). These three Washington artists are deeply inspired by the landscapes and wildlife of the Northwest, and each renders their vision of this place in exquisite detail and skill.
Tenenbaum will present a new body of wearable art by combining her cloisonne glass work with her intricate silversmithing. Using nature photography as a reference, Tenenbaum crafts a bird out of glass and gold wires, and then surrounds the cloisonne with a setting silver that reflects its natural environment.
We are proud to present a three person exhibit featuring paper artist Nikki McClure (Non-Indigenous), painter Thomas Stream (Sun’aq Aleut) and jeweler Joan Tenenbaum (Non-Indigenous). These three Washington artists are deeply inspired by the landscapes and wildlife of the Northwest, and each renders their vision of this place in exquisite detail and skill.
Stream (Sun’aq Aleut) has long been inspired by the tragic story of young Aleut women who were taken from their homes by armed Russian traders in the 1700s and were ultimately killed in cold blood on the trip back to Siberia. In this exhibit, he honors their memory in one of the most moving and beautiful series of paintings he has ever produced. Select works from Stream’s archive will also be included in the exhibit, as well as small new works.
Hib Sabin makes a triumphant return to Stonington Gallery with a solo exhibit, States of Awareness. Featuring a handful of exquisite new carvings in juniper, the exhibit also debuts a new bronze and several beloved bronzes that have not been seen at the gallery for years.
Sabin uses bird forms to represent human souls or spirits. Whether asleep or aware, bound or free, traveling or stationary, they are each rendered with captivating detail and skill. As Sabin enters his 80th year, he proves his mastery of expression in wood, with delicate humanoid figures and expressive birds. Over the years, he has shifted from the abstract to a more realistic style, where every feather and talon is rendered with purpose and detail.
We are proud to present the newest solo exhibit by glass artist Raven Skyriver (Tlingit). The majority of works in this exhibition were blown over the last few months at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, as well as in local studios around Seattle. Skyriver was the recipient of a prestigious “Fuel their Fire” residency at the museum, and many of the works in this show are the result of that program.
Each year Stonington Gallery presents one or two large themed group exhibits that showcase the astonishing variety of styles, skills, and imaginations of artists living between Northern California all the way up to the northernmost tip of Alaska.
This year, we are proud to present an exhibit that focuses on the myriad ways in which we represent the human face, in Masters of Disguise: On Masks & Faces. Traditions of masking are found all up and down the Northwest Coast, from the subtle and realistic portrait masks of the Tlingit people, to the fantastic and famed transforming masks of the Kwakwaka’wakw. But masks are not all about tradition: we use the art of masking when we face the outside world, we show different faces to different people, and we find ourselves transforming throughout the course of our lives.
Join us as we explore the moods of masks in this exhibit of the very best contemporary artists on the Northwest Coast.
We are proud to present the first American gallery exhibit of contemporary Vancouver artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (Haida tribe). His dynamic work has been seen in museums and galleries across Canada, Asia and Europe, but he makes his Seattle debut with Stonington Gallery and the Seattle Art Museum.
Yahgulanaas is known for his hyper-kinetic drawings that combine the bold lines of traditional Haida formline, and the narrative form of Japanese comics. He dubs the style “Haida Manga”, an unexpected and successful genre pairing that he has explored in varied media. He makes use of the buoyant and exaggerated caricatures seen in cartoons and comics, and uses the elegant lines of Northwest Coast design to both border the action and direct the flow. The result are narrative paintings that burst with motion, exuberance, humor and arresting characters, while tying together the graphic traditions of two disparate Pacific Rim island-dwelling cultures.
Digital exhibition catalogue available for this exhibit.
One of the best things about Barry Herem’s work in corten steel is that it can be made again and again. That means that if you missed out on a piece the first time you saw it, you haven’t lost your opportunity! Corten steel works can be made in custom sizes and with many different colors and patinas. Come and see new works and some old favorites in March, as we turn the spotlight on Barry Herem (Non-Indigenous) and his elegant, vibrant sculptures.
Also available in this exhibit will be select prints from the artist’s long history of print-making, and select paper casts. These are works you may have never seen before, or missed the chance to collect the first time around!
Digital catalogue available for this exhibition.
It is rare in this age to discover an untouched body of work by a skilled artist who worked in relative isolation, and without bowing to the dictates of the art market. Yet, Roger Purdue was just one of these cases. Purdue created stunning serigraphs primarily for his and his community’s enjoyment, and his work has never been seen outside of Whidbey Island and Orcas Island, WA.
The artist was inspired by his great grandmother, who was Tsimshian, as well as many summers spent sailing the coast of British Columbia and Southeast Alaska.
Roger Purdue passed away in January 2014 from complications with Parkinson’s Disease. Sadly, we were never able to meet the artist, but we are fortunate to know him through the artwork he has left behind. His artistic legacy is a portfolio of meticulously pulled prints in dazzling colors, and made with a keen eye for quality and harmony. Purdue’s gradation of colors and clean lines are so precise that they almost appear digitally designed, or ink-jet printed, but each was hand-pulled.
We are proud to work with Purdue’s estate in showing a wide array of his works to a brand new audience, and to help put his name on the map of Northwest Coast art.
For over three decades Stonington Gallery has shown sculpture, photography, paintings and prints by artists who are inspired by the Northwest Coast: its Native traditions, its environment, and its translation into new materials. Stonington culminates its 35th year in Seattle with an invitational group exhibit that illustrates the broad range of traditional and cutting edge work made by our represented artists.
Stonington Gallery at 35 Years is a snapshot of who we are right now, after three decades, hundreds of exhibits, dozens of events, and thousands of art objects.
We welcome Santa Fe artist Hib Sabin back to the gallery to exhibit a new body of his carved and painted juniper sculptures. In this exhibit the artist delves deeply into the idea of “silence” and brings us works of great meaning and emotion.
Printed and digital exhibition catalogues available for this exhibit.
Scott Jensen (Non-Indigenous, Adopted Tlingit) returns to the gallery this fall with a new body of work in sumptuous alder and cedar. This exhibition will have a special focus on masks, a medium that allows for Jensen’s serene faces, smooth knife-finishing and subtle hand with pigments to shine through.
From Jensen’s artist statement:
“Living close to the land has always been the most important connection in maintaining the inspiration that keeps me focused and moving in the direction I am interested in pursuing. If one takes the time to sit quietly and observe the natural world, putting aside the artificial environment of the modern world, the mind opens to search places one would otherwise never go. To create the pieces I want, I need to try to go to a place and a time that does not exist any more, with the exception of the natural world and the culture as it exists today. I need to understand the animals and their habits that I am representing in my carving, and I need to stay in touch with the spirit of the land in the Pacific Northwest. With this set of masks I wish to illustrate the remarkable ability to capture realism within the abstract with this refined and expressive art form created by the Native people of the Northwest Coast.”
Printed and digital catalogues available for this exhibition.
Fifty Playful Things debuts necklaces, bracelets, and earrings that have been a year in the making, and are a testament to the many techniques and materials that Tenenbaum utilizes. In the work are themes of geology and the Earth itself: folding, striating, creasing, sliding, crystallizing, and hints of hidden veins of precious metals.
We welcome Qwalsius Shaun Peterson (Puyallup) this autumn and his body of work inspired by the lunar eclipses and “blood moons” of the past year. Many key myths among the Coast Salish tribes revolve around the moon and sky, and Shaun incorporates and retells these stories in his work. This October preview will include new prints, a giclee on canvas, and a new series of gray whale fins rendered in steel and cedar.
Like her great grandmother, Isabella Edenshaw, Haida spruce root weaver Isabel Rorick has set the standard for spruce root weaving for the next generation. Her work will be studied and analysed for its fineness, difficulty and spiritual quality. Weaving of this sort is a rarity and we are fortunate to be living in the time of Isabel Rorick.
The Awakening is an exhibit featuring Haida weaver Isabel Rorick’s famed spruce root weavings. In her artist’s statement, Rorick speaks of the need for an awakening of how we treat our world:
“It is with great conviction that this show comes, because we are amidst great changes here in time. The world as we know it is going through massive changes. The weather, the way we grow food, the way we package and process food, the way we communicate. It is a world that is spread very thin and there are a lot of things that are not following the sacred way things were meant to be. The land is not honored in the sacred way it was intended for use. Our water deserves tender care and protection. There has to be a lot of the old ways restored to honour our mother with the prayers the songs, the dances, and all the practices that the Native people practiced in endless time: we are all hungry for our way home, our home is in all aspects of our life.”
This September we urge you to focus your eyes and to look closely at the work of three artists who create in the minute, the detailed and the delicate. Nikki McClure (Non-Indigenous), Thomas Stream (Sun’aq Aleut) and Courtney Lipson (Non-Indigenous, Adopted Tlingit) each build up a large image from the smallest details, utilizing their very different media to create wholes from disparate parts.
Courtney Lipson (Non-Indigenous, Adopted Tlingit) creates fine art jewelry using tiny glass seed beads set into grout, creating “micro-mosaic” art that can be admired on the move. Inspired by patterns and coloration found in nature, Lipson has created series portraying feathers, wings, stones, striations, leaves, and more. In this exhibit she shows her widening array of silversmithing techniques, and works based around the natural beauty of precious stones.
Digital exhibition catalogue available
This September we urge you to focus your eyes and to look closely at the work of three artists who create in the minute, the detailed and the delicate. Nikki McClure (Non-Indigenous), Thomas Stream (Sun’aq Aleut) and Courtney Lipson (Non-Indigenous, Adopted Tlingit) each build up a large image from the smallest details, utilizing their very different media to create wholes from disparate parts.
These works are made by cutting a single sheet of black paper with an X-Acto blade and laying the fragile paper-cut atop a white or colored backing. It is in some ways a paradox that the strength in of these familial bonds is presented by the medium of knife and paper, by tearing, excising and cutting away. A science of subtraction, this method allows McClure to focus on negative space, while improvising as she goes. Nikki McClure is well known around the Northwest for her calendars, books and paper goods. The works in this exhibit will be original cut-paper. McClure was most recently seen in a solo exhibition at the Bellevue Arts Museum in 2012.
Digital Catalogue Available.
This September we urge you to focus your eyes and to look closely at the work of three artists who create in the minute, the detailed and the delicate. Nikki McClure (Non-Indigenous), Thomas Stream (Sun’aq Aleut) and Courtney Lipson (Non-Indigenous) each build up a large image from the smallest details, utilizing their very different media to create wholes from disparate parts. These three artists are also all inspired by the landscape, wildlife and natural rhythms that surround us here in the Pacific Northwest. Though they use varying media and focus on different aspects of nature, each is clearly deeply connected to this Northwest place.
Thomas Stream (Sun’aq Aleut) paints the denizens of the air with brilliant gouache and in incredible detail. As a contemporary Aleut artist, Stream combines the iconography of his heritage with modern painting. Stream is inspired by the bentwood hunting hats of his Aleut ancestors, especially the spiral and dot patterns painted along their length. Paying tribute to his heritage, he places a visor on each animal he paints, and incorporates the traditional patterns into the bodies of his creatures.
Light Dinner and Lecture at Little London Plane
July 16th – 6:30pm
SOLD OUT!
Tickets include light dinner & lecture at Matt Dillon & Katherine Anderson’s elegant Little London Plane in Pioneer Square. Dessert reception at Stonington to follow.
We welcome Raven Skyriver (Tlingit) back to the gallery for a solo show of his blown glass marine creatures. His expertly blown glass sculptures capture the elegance and mystery of the wildlife of the Puget Sound and Pacific Ocean, and are evidence of Raven’s mastery in sculpting glass. Sea lions, salmon, seals, otters and other marine life make appearances in this exhibition.
Digital exhibition catalog available.
Hib Sabin (Non-Indigenous) returns to the gallery with a body of sculpture honoring the mystery and grace of owls, ravens and other birds. Working in juniper wood and pigments from his studio in Santa Fe, he incorporates world mythology and a deep reverence for shamanic practices into his own visual vocabulary. His recurring themes revolve around change, self and journeys: boats filled with figures who venture to the horizon; characters with smaller versions of themselves tucked carefully into exposed chest cavities; and figures caught mid-transformation, liminal and uncertain.
Digital exhibition catalogue available.
Stonington Gallery is proud to present a collection of rare and new hand-pulled serigraphs by master contemporary artist Marvin Oliver (Quinault/Isleta Pueblo Tribes). A long-time educator at the University of Washington, curator at the Burke Museum, and full-time artist, Oliver is known for his innovative experiments in glass, print-making and large scale public art. Professor of Art and American Indian Studies at the University of Washington since the 1970s, Oliver has created a new print each year to bestow on graduates of the program.
A wide range of these historic prints–many that are long since sold out–are for sale and on display from the artist’s archive in this exhibition. Also on display are select works in glass.
April means spring fever, and the desire to get outdoors. Why not bring your fine art with you? The steel sculptures of Barry Herem (Non-Indigenous) can take it! Free-standing, hung on a wall, or mounted as gates, Herem’s corten steel works can stand up to tough winters and dry summers, all while continuing to develop rich patinas. Herem creates steel sculptures that are inspired by the formline design of the Northwest Coast cultures, and by his extensive canoe travels around the Northwest. Using traditional shapes in innovative ways, his sculpture captures the tension and motion inherent in the best formline design.
Digital exhibition catalog available for this show.
A new body of whalebone, stone and ivory sculpture will debut this March, bringing the salty tang of the Bering Sea down to Seattle. Using whalebone, ivory and baleen as sculptural media remains an art form unique to Alaskan Natives, and the practice is widespread across coastal and island villages in the northwest of the state.
Most of the artists in this exhibit are from the Inupiaq or Siberian Yup’ik tribes. Many hail from Shishmaref, an Inupiaq village on a tiny, eroding barrier reef. The villagers remain because of the strategic access to sea and land hunting. In winter men go inland to hunt for moose and caribou, while in summer families fish, pick berries, and scavenge whalebone and mammoth ivory on the beach. Artists utilize the natural size and texture of the local materials to create works which reflect their activities and their connection to the animals on land and sea. Only old bones are used for carving, and whales are not killed for this purpose.
Stonington Gallery kicks off the 2014 exhibition season with Thinking of Raven, a thoughtful and creative exploration about the mythic character of Raven. Works in media as varied as glass, prints, jewelry, wood and metal sculpture will explore lesser-known sides of this character who is central in so many myths from far and wide along the Pacific Northwest Coast. Artists will consider questions such as: who is Raven in our modern world, and where do we see him (or her?) in popular culture? Is Raven—a trickster figure—a villain, a hero or somewhere in between? Raven stories are so central, so known, and so widespread in mythic tradition; what makes this character so popular and lasting?
Known for his contemplative sculptures of wise owls and clever ravens in juniper, Hib Sabin incorporates mythology from across the world in his new exhibition. Exploring the idea of the totemic figure as it pertains to a variety of indigenous cultures—including Northwest and Southwest America, and Australia—Sabin considers what totems mean to their makers and their owners.
Stonington Gallery is honored to present Duane Pasco – Life As Art; A Solo Exhibition by master carver Duane Pasco in connection with the release of his autobiographical art book, Life As Art (University of Washington Press). A master scholar of the Native cultures, art and languages of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Pasco has been a central contributor to the renaissance of formline artwork over the past fifty years.
Pasco, who is not Native, is perhaps best known in Seattle as the sculptor behind the four totemic sculptures standing in Occidental Mall in Pioneer Square: a house post, totem pole, Bear figure and woman figure.
One of the most accomplished carvers of masks, totem poles and canoes in the Northwest working today, Pasco celebrates five decades of artwork with this exhibition of both new and older pieces. This will be a rare opportunity to see a wide collection of works by one of the most renowned artists working in the formline tradition today.
Stonington Gallery is proud to present an exhibition of work by renowned contemporary Haida artist Robert Davidson, in conjunction with his solo exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum—“The Abstract Impulse”.
The exhibit at the SAM will be Davidson’s first major United States museum exhibition, but his history with Stonington Gallery goes back over twenty years. Acknowledged as one of Canada’s premiere artists, Davidson uses the ancient formline design of the Haida people to create utterly contemporary abstract works. This exhibition focuses on works on paper, where Davidson’s mastery of elegant, sweeping lines and bold color is most evident.
Acknowledged as one of Canada’s premiere contemporary artists, Robert Davidson (Haida name Guud San Glans, or “Eagle of The Dawn”)uses the ancient formline design of the Haida people to create truly modern works. Davidson has been a key figure in the Northwest Coast Native art renaissance. His great grandfather was the famed Haida artist Charles Edenshaw (1839-1924) whose iconic works were produced throughout the era when Native arts, languages and ceremonies were painfully silenced by the Canadian government. Edenshaw is recognized by many scholars as one of the finest traditional artists in modern history, and will be honored in a comprehensive exhibition this winter at the Vancouver Art Gallery, concomitant with Davidson’s Seattle Art Museum exhibit. Davidson has taken up his ancestor’s mantle in the current era and boldly pushed tradition in a new direction.
Digital exhibition catalogue available.
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Joan Tenenbaum presents art-jewelry based on her years as an anthropologist in Alaska. Included in this body of work are works in colorful cloisonné, a brand new technique that Tenenbaum has been refining throughout the year. Landscapes, animal life and myths are rendered in her exquisite style in a variety of precious metals, gems and glass.
Digital exhibition catalogue available for this show.
Stonington features new works by carver David Franklin, who has produced a host of exquisite and inspired new wood and ceramic sculptures. Many works in this show were produced during the artist’s 2012 John Michael Kohler Artist Residency at the Kohler Factory in Wisconsin. This residency allowed Franklin to translate his unique style of carving into slip-cast vitreous china.
Though the Kohler factory is in the middle of the country, Franklin brought a little of the Northwest with him, creating an extensive series inspired by the sinuous tentacles of the Pacific Giant Octopus. Simultaneously friendly, alien and elegant, they are a unique exploration of a universal theme in Northwest Coast artwork.
Skull imagery is also prevalent in Franklin’s new body of work, but it is far from somber or sad. Intricate formline designs and elegant voids transform these memento mori into celebrations of life, culture and individualism. The human skull is the ultimate blank canvas: we are all made of the same stuff, and we are connected by ties deeper than geography, culture or language.
David Franklin has worked for and with some of the Northwest’s best contemporary artists, including Duane Pasco, Marvin Oliver, Preston Singletary, Shaun Peterson and Joe David. His works can be seen in public places including libraries, playgrounds and community centers around Washington.
Digital exhibition catalog available.
Stonington Gallery is proud to announce its first exhibition by renowned Tlingit artist Preston Singletary. New limited edition bronzes designed by Singletary make their debut, alongside an exquisite selection of patterned glass baskets and limited edition prints.
For many years Singletary has been captivated by an old family story: when his great-grandmother was a child she raised a bear cub as a pet, and kept it for some time in her home. Inspired by the tale, Singletary designed a magnificent seven foot tall totem pole—including the prominent characters of the bear cub and his great-grandmother—and had it cast in bronze. With its rich patina and soulful details, this monumental bronze Family Story Totem is a testament to Singletary’s visionary design, and his continuing commitment to working with a variety of media.
The exhibit will also showcase a comprehensive selection of Singletary’s limited edition serigraph prints, as well as his Tlingit Glass Basket series, based on the woven bark and root baskets that have been made by Tlingit women for millennia.
Digital exhibition catalogue available.
Fresh off of two ambitious private commissions, Courtney Lipson returns to the gallery with a new body of wearable art. Lipson continues to experiment with patterns in her pioneering micro-mosaic technique and exploring new directions in shaping silver.
This exhibition is inspired by feathers of all colors and shapes, rendered in Lipson’s exquisite micro-mosaic.
“This year,’ says Lipson, “I am celebrating my tenth year of creating jewelry. I am honoring the creative process itself, and the history and myth that begin to gather around jewelry the minute it leaves the workbench.”
Thomas Stream celebrates summertime with a new collection of original gouache paintings featuring the bird-life of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Stream’s paintings portray wildlife as we’ve never seen it: stylized creatures in brilliant flat-color hues, set against a white backdrop that illuminates their elegant curves and lines. Working with the tiniest of brushes to achieve the minute dots, spirals and hair-thin lines, Stream creates worlds within a single wing.
Digital exhibition catalog available.
Barry Herem (Non-Indigenous) returns with a new body of work inspired by formline design and the environment of the Pacific Northwest. Herem’s formidable sense of design and passion for experimentation shine in media as varied as Corten steel, glass, wood and limited edition prints.
Drawing upon a rich lifetime of experience and knowledge, Herem’s artwork is surprising, challenging and respectful of its roots. Select pieces in this exhibition will trace the evolution of Herem’s work, a small retrospective look at his long career.
Personal experiences, cultural engagement and transformation stories animate Rick Bartow’s wood sculpture, monotypes and paintings. Bartow’s work swings effortlessly from humorous and surprising to dark and challenging—and are often both simultaneously. Pulling from his tempestuous life experiences and the mythology of his Native heritage, Bartow’s work has one foot in our reality and the other in the swirling cauldron of the spirit world. He pours pure, instinctual gesture into each work, leaving fingerprints, smudges, strings of epoxy and cryptic words in his final works—evidence of his passage and process.
Mr. Bartow recently completed We Were Always Here, a large-scale sculpture commissioned by The Smithsonian/National Museum of the American Indian. Solo exhibitions include Dog’s Journey: A 20 Year Survey, at The A.D. Gallery, University of North Carolina, Pembroke, and Missoula Art Museum, (2011-2012); a mid-career exhibit My Eye, at the Hallie Ford Museum (2002-04).
Digital exhibition catalog available.
Raven Skyriver (Tlingit/Makah) returns to Stonington for a third solo exhibition with a new, audacious body of glass artwork. Skyriver’s realistic glass sculptures will focus o the aquatic life of the Puget Sound area, highlighting creatures such as salmon, whales, octopuses and seals. Using foil to connote the iridescent scales on a salmon’s skin, or coaxing the shape of a fin out of molten glass, Skyriver’s technique continues to develop and astound.
Digital exhibition catalogue available.
Through the first months of 2013 the Stonington Gallery will pack up and move two doors down the block: from 119 S Jackson St to 125 S Jackson St. As our first exhibition in our new space, Facing Forward brings the focus on the human face. Masks change our features, hide our identities, protect our skin and transform ourselves. Helmets, hats and jewelry will also make appearances in this exhibition, as they are other ways of embellishing and adorning our faces. Our carvers, painters, weavers and jewelers will consider the idea of the human face and the way in which we adorn it, while celebrating the new face of Stonington.
Haida master artist Bill Reid spoke of the “well-made object,” a term for the masterpieces created by the region’s artists for admiration, adornment and ritual use. The natural materials of the Northwest help make these objects possible: from old growth trees to soft goat furs, bone and horn to copper and grasses. The quality of these materials has inspired artists to craft objects of beauty throughout the centuries.
The term treasure speaks to a thing of rare occurrence; the execution of an idea, the combination of beauty and profundity behind an object. In this place where sea meets forest meets mountains, treasures are discovered in each cove and cranny. The joy of finding these treasures—whether it is a totem pole returning to the earth in the forest, or being surprised by a favorite artist—is part of the aura that surrounds the well-made object. The artists in Treasures of the Northwest Coast are individuals of rare talent and vision, and collectively honor Reid’s concept with their beautifully-wrought objects.
Transformation, vengeance, yearning, the search for safety and self, and the journey home: these are the themes that imbue Homer’s Odyssey. In his 2012 solo exhibition renowned carver Hib Sabin is inspired by this ancient epic and bases his newest body of work on its eternal lines. Carving in juniper wood, Sabin has skillfully captured the spirits of owls, birds of prey, transformed creatures and humans for decades. He now focuses on the Odyssey to bring a new layer of myth to life.
Digital and print catalogues available.
A generation is rising—can you hear it? It’s the sound of brushes and adzes scraping cedar, and the hum of computers and clicking of mice. A group of young artists are coming into their own—can you see it? It’s metal and glass, wood and hide, paint and pixel and pencil.
Young indigenous artists are claiming their artistic birthright, and finding inspiration in the art forms of their ancestors. Born in the 1970s and 1980s, they are the vanguard of formline design, learning from their elders and family members, and confidently striding in new directions. As the first generation to grow up with computers at their fingertips, many of these artists are making use of digital design, printing and fabrication.
Stonington Gallery has been honored to watch the work of this burgeoning generation evolve. Helping to guide and support the careers of these artists continues to be a duty that we happily take on, and includes many surprises along the way.
Thomas Stream (Aleut) has painted a new collection of gouache paintings inspired by the natural rhythms and habitats of the Northwest and Alaska. Influenced by the connections between shore and sea, land and air, tree-top and forest floor, Stream’s settings have grown ever more intricate. His environments often break through the panels drawn to contain them, spilling exuberantly out onto the white page beyond. Migratory birds and sea-dwellers inhabit Stream’s detailed tableaux, each rendered in his signature pointillist detail and bearing the traditional wood hunting hats of the Aleut people.
Stonington proudly presents new art from across Alaska in our annual focus on the region. Featured are works by Larry Ahvakana (Inupiaq), Kathleen Carlo (Athabascan), Perry Eaton (Alutiiq), Allie High (Tsimshian/Haida/Aleut), John Hoover (Aleut), Anna Hoover (Aleut), Susie Silook (Siberian Yupik, Inupiaq), Preston Singletary (Tlingit), Dawn Wallace (Aleut) and whalebone and ivory carvers from the Bering Sea coastal villages and islands. Included for the first time are works by Siberian artists whose homeland and culture are separated from Alaska by a narrow stretch of water.
Veteran artist Barry Herem returns with a new body of work in metal, glass and wood. His formline experiments in mixed media continue to evolve in dramatic new directions. Herem’s vibrant, elegant work is made possible by fifty years of artistic experience.
Hib Sabin is well-known to Stonington’s clientele for his expressive juniper carvings inspired by shamanistic beliefs. Sabin’s limited edition bronzes have been lovingly crafted by fellow artist Peter Wright since 2000, but recently the two have embarked on a creative collaboration of their own. Combining Wright’s love of glassblowing with Sabin’s exquisite carvings, they have created the Animal Spirit Jar series. Both men have long been fascinated by indigenous art forms, and these vessels harmoniously combine flavors from mythic traditions across the world. Each of Wright’s glass vessels gracefully echo the forms of Sabin’s fetish figures, and the craquelure patterning on the glass creates a strong counterpoint to the textured wood carvings.
The deep power of black and the cleansing peace of red are dominant colors in Northwest Coast artwork. Red and black are utilized by tribal artists up and down the Northwest Coast, both in secret ceremony and in the most modern of designs. Black pigment—the background to most formline painting—was traditionally derived from grinding black iron oxide, or from charring animal bones. Red pigment—used for the inner details of figures—came from hematite, vermillion or red lead. These pigments were then mixed with salmon egg oil to produce a durable paint that found its way onto wood, stone and metal objects.
Stonington presents a selection of works by artists who pay homage to these graphic, bold colors and the power they invoke.
Weaving is a way to communicate stories — a language unto itself spoken only by weavers. The Pacific Northwest Coast has been home to a variety of ancient and distinct weaving traditions unique to each of the region’s Native cultures. Contemporary weavers are engaged in continuing and developing this ancient art form in traditional and new media. This exhibit celebrates the vitality, creativity and commitment of the weaving community and its success.
Raven Skyriver, a member of the Tlingit tribe, returns for his second solo exhibition with a new collection of his signature blown glass creatures. The result of years working under glass maestros William Morris and Lino Tagliapietra, Skyriver’s intense coloration and graceful lines prove his hot-sculpting aptitude and passion for the Northwest’s environment.
With the Winter Solstice looming, the time for ceremony and gathering begins on the Pacific Northwest Coast. Masks danced by firelight illuminate the darkness and engage our imagination with stories, myths and magic. Stonington’s incomparable artists close 2011 with a deep bow to the poignancy of winter and the ceremonial traditions which make it such a powerful and beautiful season.
Hib Sabin’s characters are at once the mythic guardians and protagonists of our dreams. Sabin’s spirit animals embody the essence of winter, and his new works bring the year to a close entrenched in spirit and vitality.
Master carver Scott Jensen reveals a new body of carvings in November: pieces that will once again prove why his works are some of the most sought-after in the Northwest art world. Jensen carves at the highest technical level; captured in his masks, boxes, bowls and poles is the unmistakable quality of the pieces carved by the old masters.
“The trees draw up the essence of the landscape and transform it into an endless canopy of physical and spiritual gifts. For me, wood into art is a final transformation that is at once reassuring and full of meaning. The ancient imagery of the Northwest Coast Indians has so profoundly and eloquently captured a relationship between man, nature, and belief that it has resonated across the centuries and given form and meaning to my own beliefs. This artistic legacy is an immeasurable gift from humans to humanity and deserves to be spoken with life, authenticity and gratitude.”
In her 2011 solo exhibition, Joan Tenenbaum will explore the ways in which traditional peoples have rooted themselves within their landscape in order to embrace life. Her work this year will again derive from her ever-deepening understanding of the Alaska Native communities where she lived and continues to visit.
With her usual meticulous craftsmanship and attention to fine detail, Tenenbaum has created exquisite wearable jewelry expressing such themes as the seasonal subsistence cycle in her Alaskan family’s community, and how tradition and beliefs tie the community to their landscape. She explores how traditional travel narratives embody a mental topographic map and recount each stopping place along a well-traveled route. And she honors the salmon, who give their life to everything in their landscape.
Stonington Gallery is thrilled to be featuring in October a solo retrospective exhibition including new works by Wiyot artist Rick Bartow. Bartow draws deeply from both Native American mythological archetypes and a deeply personal symbolic catalogue, encapsulating his characters in a maelstrom of colors and pulsating lines. He is able to transfer the moment of emotion straight into his work, whether in paint, pastel, ink or wood. Bartow’s twenty-year retrospective, Dog’s Journey, is currently traveling the country through January 2012, and can be seen first at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke followed by the Missoula Museum of Art.
Clarissa Rizal debuts paintings and collages in her first solo exhibit at Stonington. An accomplished Tlingit weaver and painter, Rizal incorporates the ancient formline designs of her culture into her fully contemporary art. The paintings and collage in “A Language of Tlingit Robes” explore the theme of Tlingit robes in vibrant cubist style.
Graceful birds take flight at Stonington in Thomas Stream’s 2011 solo exhibit. Stream conjures a new body of exquisitely detailed gouache paintings that draw their inspiration from the iconic Aleut hunting headgear and the natural environment of his Aleutian ancestral homelands.
The Alutiiq, Aleut, Tlingit, Athabaskan, Inupiaq and Yupik tribes of Alaska offer some of the most profound contemporary art in the nation. Some native artists draw inspiration from connections with their ancestors, while others cultivate a new style all their own. Stonington continues its focus on the Alaska arts scene by presenting new works in wide-ranging media from all over Alaska’s wild artistic frontier.
As the sap begins to run we pay tribute to the indigenous trees of the Northwest and the myriad objects into which they are transformed. The iconic bentwood boxes, delicate halibut hooks, towering totem poles, ocean going canoes, and graceful woven basketry of the Northwest Coast peoples could never have been without the presence of these majestic trees. This group show presents works that honor the versatile uses of indigenous trees, as well as the traditional tools used for centuries to carve wood into enduring objects of beauty and power.
The ability to see, to feel and dream, to think, to project—all may be described by a single word in the English language: vision. Lipson’s June exhibit of micro-mosaic beadwork jewelry stems from a creative maelstrom of ongoing projects—beading a mural, learning Chilkat weaving, designing Tlingit beadwork—and reflects her many-faceted ideas, skills and vision.
Imagine a time on the Pacific Northwest Coast preceding all man-made sounds—the thrush at dawn, robins at dusk, Pacific winds blowing through the giant fir and cedar trees, rain. Then add some of the earliest man-made sounds—the boom of drums, the shiver of rattles, the resonant sound of voices in song. Whether they are sounded loudly through the night or admired for their artistry, each instrument adds another wonderful sound to the continuously evolving soundtrack of the Pacific Northwest. It is a rich and magnificent history and will be honored by a host of Stonington’s finest artists.
Selecting from the choicest of the choice, the Stonington Staff has picked twelve works from the Gallery’s renowned collection to exhibit during the month of March. Each staff member has chosen two pieces with which we sense a deep connection that is felt when we encounter these works. From jewelry to carvings, textiles to prints, many of these pieces are the most striking from an artist’s greater body of work, while others carry an intangible resonance almost impossible to describe. These pinnacle works will be displayed with accompanying commentary by a Stonington staff-member, illuminating our perception of the piece and why it provokes such a distinct reaction in us. The process of selecting these pieces has been a wonderful experience for Stonington’s staff, and has reacquainted us with some of our favorite artists and works!
Raven Skyriver’s masterful use of glass to capture the strange and beautiful essence of Puget Sound sea-life confirms that his artistic star is swiftly on the rise.
Skyriver grew up on the shores of Puget Sound and has cultivated a lifelong obsession with the aquatic life forms of the Northwest Coast. In “On the Brink,” he expands his repertoire to include land animals, such as Frog and Raven, creatures deeply iconic to the Tlingit and all tribes around the Northwest.
Hib Sabin- “The Storyteller”. Hib Sabin’s signature piece for this exhibition will be a tribute to storytellers from all cultures whose signature role in culture will be honored in a carving depicting a Man/Raven transformation; titled “Storyteller.” The exhibit will also include a series of “Spirit Jars”; collaborations in glass with artist Peter Wright.
Marvin Oliver is the personification of the Northwest Coast art renaissance. As artist, curator and teacher he has shaped and influenced contemporary regional art from every direction. His large public art sculptures contribute to Seattle’s dynamic cultural experience, while his experimental nature and vast cultural knowledge are a catalyst for a body of work that literally breaks the mold. Blown glass Shaman Spirit Boards, a blown and fused glass Tlingit Style Warrior Helmet, Quinault Clam Gathering Baskets woven from molten strips of glass, and an 8 foot bronze Orca dorsal fin are each included in the body of work Oliver has created for his November Solo Exhibition at the Stonington Gallery. Oliver has led the way towards integrating new media with the protocols of the ancient arts of the Northwest Coast, and has done so with a master’s eye for authenticity, beauty and spirit. We look forward to sharing this exhibition with you. Exhibit tours with gallery staff may be arranged with one day’s notice.
n October, Stonington Gallery is proud to showcase an exhibit of works by two equally gifted artists—Philip Gray (Tsimshian) and Shaun Peterson (Puyallup)—thus juxtaposing the Pacific Northwest Coast Northern style with that of the Southern. The art of each of these men conveys the essence of his culture’s historical roots, communicated in his own personal contemporary voice. Peterson draws upon the rich storytelling traditions of the Coast Salish speaking peoples of the southern coast. Gray’s classic northern style design, carving and painting are reminiscent of and equal to the works of the old masters.
Nuu-chah-nulth artist, Joe David, reminds us of an amazing aspect of Northwest Coast art and culture: its on-going ability to adapt to change and to incorporate the modern with the ancient— one of the most telling signs of a resilient, ever-evolving, living culture. In his current exhibit, Found Objects, Joe David transforms the discarded and forgotten into art; a solution that resonates deeply with his ancestral and personal narrative. David’s pieces honor his people’s history, while uniquely synthesizing his own artistic self-expression.
In her 2010 Solo Exhibit, Joan Tenenbaum continues her passion for making small objects, focusing specifically on rings. From the bold and striking to the delicate and intimate, there will be big rings, small rings, curious rings, surprising rings, classic rings, adventurous rings and special ones from the heart.
Perry Eaton (Alutiiq) carves traditionally based Sugpiaq/Alutiiq masks deeply rooted in the rich culture of Kodiak, Alaska. Eaton’s emotive masks are patterned after the ancient forms of the Alutiiq, who believed that each mask possessed its own spirit.
“Having been an artist all my life, working in several mediums, but most notably black and white photography and wood sculpture, I find myself total absorbed in the expression of my Alaska Native identity. I carve traditionally based Sugpiaq Alutiiq masks. Their form and shape are deeply rooted in the rich material culture of Kodiak Island and for me, they are a celebration of belonging, producing a deep sense of pride in being Sugpiaq. The masks have proven to be a means and method of transformation and as an artist they give me license to move and change time, place, being and even worlds.
I take great inspiration from everyday life and the rich mix of emotions that I have experienced throughout my lifetime. Simple things like getting along, self-perception, gender relationships and nature’s cycles are all subjects I explore. In addition, Sugpiaq legends, beliefs and stories serve as a never-ending inspiration for work.”
No other piece of jewelry is as culturally significant to the Pacific Northwest coastal communities as the bracelet. Bracelet cuffs are a medium on which well-known mythic narratives can be re-told in a continuous visual loop, where iconic characters tangle sinuously and familiar faces pop up in surprising ways. Their circular forms reach back to embrace ancient visual and oral traditions, while simultaneously stretching forward to usher them proudly into the future. Their flat shapes provide the ideal surface for engraving crests, patterns, floral designs and figures. This bracelet tradition has continued and flourished in the hands of today’s superb metal smiths. We have invited a select group of jewelers to each create a unique bracelet that pays tribute to this beautiful custom and represents their singular place in the Northwest Coast art world.
Tahltan artist Alano Edzerza broke onto the Northwest Coast art scene in a whirlwind of energetic, modern design. Each new body of work from this dynamic young artist is a deeply personal exploration of the mythic structure that permeates Tahltan culture. Utilizing such modern materials as glass, steel and giclée prints, and using digital design to aid his vision, Edzerza has brought an electrifying contemporary sensibility to the ancient art forms of his people.
Stonington Gallery presents The Head Adorned, a group exhibit that honors the rich heritage of headgear among tribes of the Pacific Northwest Coast. The sheer variety of headgear found in this region eloquently symbolizes the importance placed on these extraordinary objects. During ritual native dance and ceremony, the endless expressiveness of the human face is changed through adornment: the dancer is made huge and terrifying; rendered subtle and sleek; warped into otherness or morphed into the features of any familiar mythic character.
Join us at the exhibit opening when Fred Fulmer and his dance group, Lingit Kusti, will perform and Isabel Rorick will speak about her baskets. Don’t miss the unique opportunity when Bill Holm will lecture and present slides on the vast and fascinating history of headgear on the Northwest Coast. Wednesday, July 28th, 7 pm.
Stonington welcomes the traditional Haida basketry of Isabel Rorick with her solo show: Remembering the Sacredness of the Four Seasons. Rorick gathers natural materials on Haida Gwaii in the traditional method and painstakingly weaves them into gathering baskets. This show highlights four particular baskets, each of which honors the spirit of a season. These subtly patterned pieces remind us to reflect on and celebrate the natural bounty surrounding and providing for us.
Stonington Gallery is eager to host in May an exhibit that will feature new works by both Scott Jensen and Courtney Lipson during this special year when these two artists are to be married. Among the new works will be his recognizably Scott Jensen Tlingit inspired carvings including new masks, a bowl and a rattle. Also for the first time, the gallery will be exhibiting Jensen’s Plains and Plateau style bead work. Jensen’s attention to detail and rich, subtle carving style transcends our modern world and connects with a time that was pristine and inspired by the natural world and the beauty, power and magic it engendered.
Courtney Lipson’s jewelry gets more exciting with every new exhibit. In this new collection, Lipson continues her process of replicating the unique patterns found in nature. A focus of this new body of work will be rings in celebration of Jensen’s and Lipson’s August wedding. These new pieces will be in Lipson’s signature micro-mosaic glass seed bead and grout designs; expect new earrings, necklaces and her intricate and beautiful cuffs as well.
Rick Bartow’s art is cathartic for both artist and viewer. His bold, spontaneous and expressionistic approach allows the viewer to access and experience the process where art is made, both psychically and physically. The energy and dissonance exerted on the canvas and paper is frenzied, even manic, mirroring life’s challenges and chaos. And then it is worked through; Bartow (Wiyot) has immersed himself in the deep and calming waters of his native mythology, its connectedness to the natural world, and the mythic characters who inhabit it.
Balance is found and restored as revealed in the clarity and focus in the eyes of Bartow’s characters. They often gaze beyond the present; their sights resting peacefully on something just out of view: a future that appears to hold the possibility for solidity and peace.
John Wilson’s art is a studied contrast to the bold expressionism of Bartow. Wilson, a Haisla artist is currently studying with Dempsey Bob, Stan Bevan, and Ken McNeil at the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art in British Columbia, is finding his connection to culture and community through elarning and mastering traditional Haisla art. Wilson is most inclined to carve masks and has the rare ability to bring forth soul and personality in his carvings. Technically the work is accomplished, however what elevates traditional Northwest Coast masks to art is the artist’s ability to imbue a life-like essence in them. A mask is a subsitute or stand-in for a mythic or real person and should evoke a sense of life and spirit even when not being worn or danced. Wilson’s traditionally executed art resonates with life and the human spirit.
The Stonington Gallery will feature contemporary Haida art in March, including a rare opportunity to view and collect a limited edition Bill Reid 22kt cast gold “Grizzly Bear Medallion and Chain,” 1972. The Haida are from British Columbia’s Queen Charlotte Islands and are respected for their refined and elegant art traditions. The late Bill Reid is considered by many Canadians to be their country’s foremost artist and, as such, is featured on their twenty dollar bank note. Few of Bill Reid’s works are available for viewing outside of museum collections, most notable collections at the UBC Museum of Anthropology, the Provincial Museum (Victoria) and the new Bill Reid Art Gallery (Vancouver).
Stonington Gallery will aslo feature in March works by other leading Haida masters including a new sculpture, “T’samuus,” by Robert Davidson; spruce root weavings by Isabel Rorick; and argillite carvings by other well-known Haida artists.
The Stonington Gallery will be featuring small collections of work by Gallery artists during the month of February. This exhibit will allow the gallery to showcase the finest art being created along the Pacific Northwest Coast. Featured artists will include Rick Bartow, Robert Davidson, Alano Edzerza, Dale Faulstich, David Franklin, Jason Gobin, Barry Herem, Scott Jensen, Courtney Lipson, Adam McIsaac, Duane Pasco, Shaun Peterson, Susan Point, Hib Sabin, Raven Skyriver, Joan Tenenbaum, and Andrea Wilbur-Sigo.
We conclude 2009 with a group exhibit that speaks to our love of the Northwest Coast. The Stonington Gallery artists have spent their lives immersed in the mythology of the Northwest Coast. They are the finest artists of our time and their singular effort to honor the Raven stories and other myths will bring a brilliant and stunning finale to the year!
Come Celebrate in September with Stonington Gallery as we mark Joan Tenenbaum’s 50th anniversary of making jewelry. Joan will present a new body of work reprising all the themes that are dear to her heart. Her humble beginning work from 1959 and the early 1960’s will be juxtaposed with stunning new creations. From the debut of new wedding ring designs to abstract landscapes and cuff bracelets, from spiritual figurines to elegant necklaces and bold one-of-a-kind rings, those who have followed Joan’s work for the past several decades will find familiar themes treated in an entirely new manner.
Hib Sabin imbues each of his carvings with a spirit power that can be strongly felt. Sabin’s characters play a role in allowing him to express and explore the beauty and acceptance he feels with life’s cycles of birth, death, and the journey in between and beyond. His cast of figues moves in and out of an ancient and timeless spirit world. In this exhibit, Hib will continue this exploration of animal spirit and the journey of life through his sculpture.
This highly anticipated group exhibition will showcase Stonington Gallery’s extraordinary weavers including Nancy Burgess, Chloe French, Clarissa Rizal, Bill and Fran James, June Parker, Betty Pasco, Susan Pavel, Ruth Peterson, Karen Reed, Isabel Rorick, Mary Lou Slaughter, Malynn Wilbur Foster, and Jane Wiseman. Artwork inspired by weaving will also be included such as weaving and textile design micro-mosaic beadwork jewelry by Courtney Lipson, glass Salish baskets by Marvin Olver, etc. Weaving is a seminal art form within all the communities up and down this coastal region and this exhibition will honor this tradition with a breathtaking collection of the finest weaving from every corner of the Northwest Coast.
Aleut artist Thomas Stream explores what it is to be an Aleut man and artist in modern times. The Aleut culture was devastated by the relentless hunting of Sea Otter in the 19th century. The tragic result of this obsession was the near collapse of Aleut culture. More than a century later, Thomas Stream’s paintings are a splendid and unique portrayal of Aleut culture and its respectful relationship with nature. Thomas Stream is collected internationally and is a vital link to one of North America’s least known and most magnificent cultures.
This year’s exhibition is inspired by a collection of precious stones that Courtney has acquired through the years. This body of work shows the breathtaking evolution of this remarkable young artist’s work.
The contributions by Barry Herem (Non-Indigenous) to contemporary Northwest Coast art are numerous. Herem first fell in love with Northwest Coast art as a young man doing surveying work in S.E. Alaska. Always fascinated by the Northwest Coast art and culture, Herem’s true love for the art form was cemented when he saw the famed carvings of the 19th century Tlingit master artist, Kadjis du axtc, in the Whale house in Klukwan, Alaska. From that time on, Herem devoted his life to Northwest Coast art. He is a leading scholar, writer, lecturer, and artist on the subject. His fluency in the language of formline is juxtaposed with his love and of and openness towards modern materials, establishing new possibilities for interpreting and expressing Northwest coast art. This show will include a selection of work in corten steel, carvings in cedar, acrylic paintings and serigraphs.
In June, Stonington Gallery will feature a group exhibition focusing on small scale sculpture, paintings, prints, and jewelry. The exquisite detail of well-crafted Northwest Coast art is often highlighted best in the smaller pieces you can hold and experience intimately. This exhibit will be full of work that has been carved on laps, held in pockets, painted with small brushes and created with the knowledge that art is well appreciated when viewed up close.
This group exhibition will be an introduction to a larger exhibit scheduled at Stonington Gallery in 2010 that will focus on the younger artists whose energies have been fueled by the past 60 years of cultural renaissance. The dedication, talent and passion of these young artists have propelled them into the ranks of the next generation of great artists. Among artists included will be Alano Edzerza, David Franklin, Phil Gray, Adam McIsaac, Shaun Peterson, Andrea Wilbur-Sigo and John Wilson.
From an early age, Adam McIsaac has been rooted in the ways of the Pacific Northwest. The son of a fisheries biologist, McIsaac spent his formative years walking the forests and riverbanks of the Pacific Northwest absorbing the environmental riches abundant in this area. As he grew older, his connection to the Northwest manifested itself into a keen interest in the ways of Northwest aboriginal cultures. McIsaac spent years studying and learning aboriginal life skills. It is from this background that his passion for Northwest Coastal Indian art emerged.
We have had the pleasure of working with Maynard for over seven years. Our favorite memory of Maynard, and one we will treasure always, was from the day the Stonington Gallery opened our Awakenings exhibition, August 16th, 2005. We had spent nearly two years planning the exhibition. During that time we had made many trips to British Columbia and spent many evenings writing the exhibition catalogue Contemporary Coast Salish Art. We were immersed in all things Coast Salish for two years. It was wonderful.
However, the full impact of the cultural importance of the exhibit really did not hit home until Maynard Johnny, Jr. got up and spoke at the Opening Reception. We had an open mic available for anyone who wanted to share thoughts about the exhibit. There were so many wonderful, interesting things said that day. But what will always come to mind are the comments Maynard made and how heartfelt they were and how difficult it was for him to speak to a crowd. Maynard expressed how much the show meant to him as a Coast Salish man and artist. He spoke of the sense of great personal relief and joy that his cultural heritage was finally being celebrated and how satisfying it felt that people wanted to learn and understand the cultures that were here long before the west was settled. It felt like so much bottled sadness had been released, and in its place a sense of hope.
2008 culminates with our annual theme exhibition. This year we explore the mystery and magic of transformation and change. In Northwest Coast myths and legends, humans, animals, and supernatural characters tranform interchangeably. Living is a process of change and transformation – physically and spiritually. We look forward to exploring these ideas in their many manifestations
Renowned landscape photographer Mary Randlett, will discuss how her northwest painter friends have been an important inspiration behind her photography.
What drives my inspiration? As a child I spent my summers on a beach in California, often sifting through sandbars at low tide, finding minute seashells and sand dollars perfectly intact, but only a millimeter or so across. Was that the beginning? To find beauty and fascination in all things—even the ones we usually walk past is what fuels me. I’m drawn to texture, color, and pattern, gathering inspiration from intricate details and overall themes. In my designs I am bringing what I see into focus for you to discover.
–Courtney Lipson (Non-Indigenous, Adopted Tlingit)
This Coast Salish Place is the Stonington Gallery’s third exhibition to focus exclusively on the profoundly gratifying cultural renaissance taking place within our regional Coast Salish tribal communities. Coast Salish is a linguistic term and refers to the language historically spoken by most of the Puget Sound and Frasier River First Peoples. The passion, time, commitment, and education that have propelled this cultural renaissance are exemplified in This Coast Salish Place.
Leading artists include: Jason Gobin, (Tulalip), Maynard Johnny, Jr. (Penelakut), Marvin Oliver (Quinault), Betty Pasco (Suquamish), Duane Pasco (Non-Indigenous), Shaun Peterson (Puyallup/Tulalip), Susan Point (Musqueam), Andy and Ruth Peterson (Skokomish), Andrea Wilbur-Sigo (Skokomish/Squaxin), Malynn Wilbur Foster (Skokomish), Mike Foster (Non-Indigenous), Bunny Wilbur-Bluebird (Skokomish/Squaxin), Susan Pavel (Non-Indigenous), and Dale Faulstich (Non-Indigenous).
We are proud to present another incredible selection of new original gouache paintings by Aleut artist Thomas Stream. New characters emerge in his painted menagerie developed over the decades: the pesky raccoon, busy beaver, and regal elk are among his most recent subjects. These characters are all depicted in Thomas’s signature style, wearing the iconic Aleut hunting hats and set in the landscapes of our world that the artist respects and holds dear.
Joan Tenenbaum explores traditional Yup’ik and Inupiaq style Ulu Knife Jewelry through her as always impeccably created jewelry. Brooches, pendants, earrings and an incredible cuff bracelet convey Joan’s close associations with and understanding of the Alaskan landscapes and Eskimo cultures.
With Stonington Gallery’s annual foray into ALASKA, we are delighted to introduce a body of exquisite finely coiled grass baskets by Central Yup’ik weaver, Jane Wiseman. Jane gathers a variety of grasses along the banks of the rivers near her village in Chefornak, Alaska. She hand treats and dyes the grasses and dedicates hours to weaving beautiful lidded and open baskets, bowls, and trays.
The exhibit will also feature a breathtaking collection of new whalebone and ivory carvings from the Bearing Sea Inupiaq and Siberian Yupik carvers. Masterfully carved walrus ivory tusk and whalebone totems by Siberian Yupik artist Edwin Noongwook of Savoonga, St. Lawrence Island, whalebone dancers and hunters by Shishmaref Inupiaq artist Bill Jones; large whale scapula carvings by Inupiaq artists Edwin Weyiouanna and Richard Olanna; as well as a variety of other whalebone and ivory carvings from other Eskimo artists reflecting their lives and their culture.
Courtney Lipson expands her body of micro-mosaic glass seed bead jewelry to include the traditional Northwest Coast geometric Ravenstail band and diamond weaving patterns, using black, white and gold beads.
The long awaited second Scott Jensen solo exhibition will be sure to astound. Like his previous collection of work, these carvings are without compare. Jensen’s style is imbued with a love and respect for the early Tlingit masters who created some of civilization’s greatest masterpieces. With every carved ovoid and painted u-form, Jensen pays homage to the elegant and complicated relationship between form and line; the multi-layered tension between positive and negative space; this formline language has adorned art for the Pacific Northwest Coast native tribes for millennia.
Print catalog available.
This group exhibit will illustrate the sculptural and dramatic three dimensional aspects of masks, as well as the elegance and grace of two dimensional low relief carvings and paintings. Both are emblematic of Northwest Coast traditions. It will also be a wonderful way to share the importance of the mythological characters and legends of the coast.
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, Stonington’s jewelers have created an exquisite body of work in celebration of the month of love.
The Stonington staff are as confident as ever that we live in the most spectacular place on earth – the rich, verdant and beautiful Pacific Northwest. We also acknowledge that without the very thing that many dread come the fall and winter months every year — that is RAIN — our region simply would not be as lush and wonderful as it is. From the Cascades on the mainland to the rain forests on the Olympic Peninsula, and from the Canadian Cascades out to the Pacific coast — our region nestled in the midst of this vibrant valley witnesses a weather system that has fed and nurtured the development of rich cultures along our coastline for centuries. Provided with an abundance of food from the land and sea as well as materials for sea canoes, shelter, tools and clothing made from old growth forests, Native cultures in our region were able to take the time to develop a complicated and intricate art form that has lasted through the millennia. Therefore, we, along with our Gallery artists from our jewelers to our painters to our carvers, pay tribute to Rain – for without it, all of the beauty that surrounds us now may never have come to be just quite the way that it did.
Opening simultaneously with a December group exhibit celebrating “Rain,” Stonington Gallery is proud to present a special body of work featuring small animal spirit carvings by the popular artist Hib Sabin: “Fits in Your Pocket.” Not unlike prior works by Sabin, these explore themes of shamanism and the nature of animal spirits as manifested through spirit helper masks, spirit canoes, and spirit sticks; however, this exhibit focuses on these themes through similar items but all on a miniature scale — amulets, maskettes, mini canoes, and a lovely miniature Lyre boat
For the first time, Stonington Gallery is proud to host a solo exhibition of new two- and three-dimensional works by young up-and-coming artist Alano Edzerza. Edzerza belongs to the Raven clan of the Tahltan Nation located in northwest British Columbia east of the Tlingit and north of the Tsimshian. Edzerza’s glass sculpture and two-dimensional works have widespread appeal for their modern interpretations of the traditional principles of Northwest Coast formline art. Edzerza clearly understands and internalizes the traditional and formal aspects of Northwest Coast art, while successfully marrying them with modern aesthetics, as exemplified in his etched glass boxes and panels. The formline designs that traditionally graced the iconic steam bent boxes or wooden wall panels are now etched into glass, while the lids and bases remain old growth cedar. The outcome is exciting contemporary work merged with the foundations set by the great art of the old masters. His works can be found as the centerpiece of either the most chic, modern home or one with the most traditional of Northwest Coast art collections.
September will witness Joan Tenenbaum’s newest body of work, in which she returns to her early years as a young anthropologist who traveled to Alaska to document a little known Athabaskan language in a small rural Alaskan village.
In previous work Joan has shown us her ability to translate the Alaskan landscape, animals, people, customs and artifacts into exquisite, wearable pieces of art. Now, for the first time, she demonstrates her remarkable talents in jewelry-making by telling the story of the language itself, the experience of being a field linguist, and the traditional stories she recorded and wrote down for the first time ever in the native Athabaskan language. Tenenbaum draws on her extensive vocabulary as a goldsmith to weave her own tale related to the documentation of one of the world’s most complex languages.
Aleut painter Thomas Stream’s newest paintings will be featured, including much-larger-than-life portraits of Alaskan wildlife cultural icons Raven and Stellar’s Jay each painted in a 5’ x 7’ format.
The diversity of Alaska’s landscape is mirrored by the extraordinary range of cultures that have adapted to and thrived over the centuries. From the Northwest Coast Native cultures of Southeast Alaska, to the Aleut of the Aleutian Islands, the Yup’ik and Inupiat Eskimos of the North Pacific and Bering Sea to the Athabaskan of Central Alaska, this exhibit will honor these ancient and still vital cultures and their art traditions.
Inspired by the traditions of European mosaics and Native American beadwork, PATTERNS will showcase Courtney Lipson’s micro-mosaic jewelry, exquisitely composed from glass seed beads set into hand crafted silver and gold backings. Lipson’s new jewelry collection will focus on the rhythm of patterns found in nature as well as hand crafted objects such as baskets and blankets. In conjunction with Joe Feddersen’s new print series, PATTERNS will be both an intense and delicately woven experience.
CELEBRATE PUGET SOUND is intended to honor and celebrate the history, cultures and ecology of Puget Sound and its watershed. With this exhibit, the Gallery hopes to provide a better understanding of what was here before, determine where we are now, and contemplate what the future holds for Puget Sound.
Joe David’s PERSONAL MOMENTS is a reflection on the people and experiences that have influenced him personally and artistically. He’s been so inspired behind this exhibit, he’s “barely taken time to eat or sleep.” A fascinating side of Joe David and his vision of humanity is revealed through these human faces.
Rick Bartow continues to work in a turbulent and expressionistic style that explodes onto the surface of the paper. Provocative and exciting, Bartow’s work in THE ORIGIN OF SONG resounds with ongoing themes of animal/human transformation, focusing closely on the spiritual importance of birds in his Wiyot culture.
WINTER CELEBRATION is a group exhibition celebrating the rituals and traditions surrounding the solstice season.
“Myth’s Immortal Characters” is a solo exhibition featuring new juniper and bronze works by Hib Sabin. Hib creates a cast of figures that move in and out of the spiritual world and represent a certain ancient timelessness.
Stonington Gallery proudly presents “Myth’s Immortal Characters”, a full color 24 page catalogue highlighting Sabin’s work and experiences.
LOREN WHITE’S work includes carvings in cedar and bronze as well as glass sculpture created during his recent residency at the Pilchuck Glass School. White (Non-Indigenous) makes cedar and glass sculptures that are another contribution to the expanding body of work which marries the traditions of Northwest Coast art and studio glass.
CLASSICALLY NORTHERN celebrates the complex design system coined “formline” by noted artist and scholar Bill Holm. Participating artists include Robert Davidson, Phil Gray, Allie High, Scott Jensen, Mark Preston, Wayne Price, Isabel Rorick, Tim Runyan, Jay Simeon and April White.
BERING SPIRIT features ivory and whalebone carvings, Yupik masks, bentwood visors and cedar sculptures from the Alaskan and Siberian Yup’ik and Interior Arctic Corridor. Participating artists include Philip Charette, John Hoover, Scott Jensen, Peter Lind, Edwin Noongwook, Richard Olanna, John & Mark Tetpon and others.
…TO SEE A WORLD IN A GRAIN OF SAND…takes a close look at the world, recreating details such as butterfly wings, flowers, and feathers in Courtney Lipson’s unique mosaic style.
BORN OF MYTH & FIRE presents an elegant collection of northwest art fusing traditional themes with new media. Participating artists include Jewels Durham, Joe Fedderson, Phil Gray, Barry Herem, Scott Jensen, Ed Archie NoiseCat, Marvin Oliver, Andy Peterson, Ruth Peterson, Shaun Peterson, Lillian Pitt, Susan Point and Preston Singletary.
THROUGH THE EYES OF THE NORTHWEST COAST WOMAN is an exhibit celebrating the vision of the women artists at Stonington Gallery. This show features the work of 23 female artists spanning a wide variety of media and cultural references. Featured artists include April White, Susan Point, Debie Knight-Kennedy, Ruth Wilbur-Peterson and Nancy Taylor Stonington.
Jewelry making is an acient tradition of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Tribes from the Columbia River north to Alaska engraved and carved elaborate jewelry. Most well known are the engraved silver braceletes of the Haida and Tlingit tribes. The Stonington Gallery has strived to nurture this tradition by focusing on contemporary jewelers whose work contributes to this rich and long tradition. This November’s group show, “Engraved in Tradition”, will feature the Stonington’s jewelry artists and highlight work by Joe David, a Nuu-chah-nulth artist renowned for his carving, painting, and jewelry. David’s jewelry will allude to the important use of small amulets or jewelry as powerful and important tools to aid tribal Shamans in their healing work.
Other participating artists include: Steve Brown (Curator Emeritus, Seattle Art Museum’s Northwest Coast Native Art), Joan Tenenbaum, Jay Simeon (Haida), Jerry Hill, George Estrella, Lois Bertolino, Bill Bedard (Haida), Courtney Lipson, Owen and Janet Walker, and Jean Regal Westgate.
Three years in the making, the AWAKENINGS exhibition and its accompanying book, Contemporary Coast Salish Art, present the work of 20 artists whose art ranges from traditional expressions in basketry and weaving to innovations in glass and metal.
Courtney Lipson’s glass beaded jewelry honors the tradition of mosaics on a micro scale.
Hib Sabin’s sculptures focus on themes of looking inward, figures within figures, and travel through time and space, from birth to death. Sabin (Non-Indigenous) has studied the mythology of the Northwest Coast native cultures and interprets them in his Juniper carvings.
Today’s contemporary totem poles serve as a tribute and remembrance to the native cultures and their artists who conceived of and so skillfully executed these monuments. With old growth cedar fast becoming a memory of the past this will be a rare opportunity of a lifetime to see so many contemporary masterpieces in one exhibition.