EXHIBITS

Journey to Alaska—The Ways of the North: Heather Johnston

a solo exhibition

This April, Stonington will be showcasing the work of Unangan (Aleut)/Alutiiq artist Heather Johnston. Johnston has said that her work directly responds to her surrounding environment, and that she uses everyday experiences as a starting point for her pieces. Often, her works depict and converse with ordinary objects, such as maps or sheet music–objects that, outside of the context of being a framed “piece of art” in a gallery, might go unnoticed.

Dennis Allen

a solo exhibition

This February Stonington will be showcasing artwork by elder Skokomish (Twana) tribal member Dennis Allen. He began his artistic career later in life, but has been at it for thirty years now and is a master of his craft. His prolific catalogue of panels, paddles, boxes, drums, prints, and more will be on display all month starting February 2nd for the First Thursday opening reception.

Fluid in Nature

This October and November Stonington Gallery presents the illustrious works of Dan Friday (Lummi), Preston Singletary (Tlingit), and Raven Skyriver (Tlingit) in our glass exhibition, Fluid in Nature. These three glass masters have played dynamic roles in the advent and development of Northwest Native Glass Art, a movement which ties the contemporary medium of glass with the tradition and imagery of Native cultures.

Remembering Thomas Stream

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.

Equilibrium: A Group Exhibit

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.

Post-Apocalyptic: A Solo Exhibition by Kari Morgan

Kari Morgan (Nisga’a)

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. 

New Works

Cedar carvings, serigraphs, painted collage, weaving, glass sculptures

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.

Luminosity: Native Glass Art by Preston Singletary, Raven Skyriver, and Dan Friday

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.

August

Colors of Summer

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!

Tradition Keepers: A Women’s Exhibition

June

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.

New Arrivals into the Gallery

April 2021

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!

A Family Exhibition: 5 Generations

March

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.

Delving Deep: An Exhibition of Works by Rick Bartow

February

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 […]

Encore Presentation: Northwest Native Art Glass

November

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).

Honoring the Salish Sea

September

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.

Hib Sabin: In My End Is My Beginning

July

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.

Fundraiser Raffle: Win A Framed Print by David R. Boxley

June

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!

Jason & Trevor Hunt: Bloodlines (Online Exhibition)

April

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.

Online Exhibition: The Hope of Spring

March

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.

Woven Together: Mini Exhibition with Spotlight on Susan Pavel

March

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.

In The Den: Digital Exhibition on Bears

February

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.

Stonington Celebrates 40

December

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.

Raven Skyriver & Preston Singletary

October

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.

Jason Gobin & Trevor Hunt

August

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.

Special Event: Book Signing and Artist Talk by Hib Sabin

July

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.

Special Event: Artist Talk by Jeffrey Veregge: May 21st, 6:30pm

May

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.

Rick Bartow: From the Archive

April

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.

Spotlight On: Masters of Vancouver Island & Beyond – The Todd Collection

April

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.

Splendor In Spring II

March

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.

Skylight: The Sun, Moon and Stars in Northwest Coast Art

January

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.

Raven Skyriver: CONFLUENCE

November

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.

Preston Singletary: Solo Exhibition

October

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.

Dan Friday: Solo Exhibition

September

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.

Three Autumn Exhibitions

September - November

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.

An Online Exhibition

July

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.

Spotlight On: Frogs

June

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.

Masters of Disguise IV: Group Mask Exhibition

June

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.

Reflections of Our Ancestors: Dan Friday & Lillian Pitt Collaborative Exhibition

May

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.

Unexpected Alaska

February 2018

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.

Holiday Season: Gifts for the Northwest Coast Art Lover

December

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.

The Sky World: Winter Invitational Exhibit

December

“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.

Born of Myth and Fire II: Celebrating Northwest Coast Art in Glass

October - Group Exhibit

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.

Special Offer on Select Thomas Stream Original Paintings

Autumn 2017

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.

Dan Friday: New Works in Glass

August

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.

Masters of Disguise III: A Group Mask Exhibition

June

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.

Salish Sound Waves: A Group Exhibit of Cutting-Edge Indigenous Visual Artists

May 2017

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.

Drew Michael Solo Exhibition

March

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.

Dealers’ Choice: A Staff Picks Exhibition

February

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.

Joan Tenenbaum: Memory and Light

November

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.

Susan Pavel: 20 Years of Weaving

October

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.

Dan Friday & Thomas Stream: Spectrum

Opening Reception: First Thursday, September 1st 6-8pm

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.

Hib Sabin: Solo Exhibit

Opening Reception: First Thursday, July 7 6-8pm

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.

Denise Wallace: Northern Light

Opening Reception: First Thursday, May 5th 6-8pm

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.

Splendor in Spring

Opening Reception: First Thursday, April 7 6-8pm

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.

Drew Michael: Heart of Our Understanding

Opening Reception: First Thursday, March 3rd 6-8pm

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.

Print Matters: Printmakers on the Northwest Coast

Opening Reception: First Thursday, February 4th 6-8pm

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.

Alano Edzerza: MOVING FORWARD

Opening Reception: First Thursday, November 5 6-8pm

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.

Preston Singletary: New Works in Glass, Bronze and Paper

Opening Reception: First Thursday, October 1 6-8pm

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.

Joan Tenenbaum: The Landscape Beckons – Birds in their Habitat

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.

Hib Sabin: States of Awareness

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.

Masters of Disguise I – Group Mask Exhibition

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.

Barry Herem: Spotlight

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.

Stonington At 35

An Invitational Exhibition

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.

Joan Tenenbaum: Fifty Playful Things

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.

Isabel Rorick: The Awakening

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.”

Nikki McClure: Look Closely

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.

Art & Science Lecture by Raven Skyriver & Seattle Aquarium Veterinarian Dr. Lesanna Lahner

Special Event

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.

Hib Sabin: Owls, Ravens and Other Birds

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.

Barry Herem: In Steel

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.

Thinking of Raven

A Group Exploration

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?

Duane Pasco: Life As Art

A Solo Exhibition

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.

Joan Tenenbaum: The Idea of Color

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.

Preston Singletary: Bronze, Glass & Paper

A Solo Exhibition

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.

Thomas Stream: Worlds in a Wing

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.

Rick Bartow: Origin of Song II

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.

Facing Forward

A Group Mask Exhibition

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.

Hib Sabin: The Journey

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 Rises

A Group Exhibition

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.

Alaska: Far Away, Up Close

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.

Barry Herem: Beyond Beyond

Solo Exhibition

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.

Red & Black

A Group Exhibition on the Power of Color

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.

Raven Skyriver: Abyss

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.

Hib Sabin: The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

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.

Rick Bartow – Retrospective and New Works

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.

Thomas Stream: In Flight

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 Gifts of Trees

A Group Exhibition

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.

Drums and Rattles: Sounding the Northwest’s Ancient Tradition

A Group Exhibition

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.

Raven Skyriver: On the Brink

Solo Exhibition

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.

Marvin Oliver – Solo Exhibition

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.

Joe David: Found Objects

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.

Perry Eaton: Sugpiaq/Alutiiq Masks

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.”

Alano Edzerza: New Works

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.

Isabel Rorick: Remembering the Sacredness of the Four Seasons

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.

Rick Bartow: Paintings, Monotypes, Drypoints, & Sculpture

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.

Haida Masters

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.

Raven & Eagle: Love On the Northwest Coast

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!

Hib Sabin: Life Cycles

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.

Thomas Stream: Striving for Balance

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.

Barry Herem: New Works in Wood and Steel

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.

Young Artists: The Next Great Generation

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.

Maynard Johnny, Jr. – Featured Artist

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.

Transformation and Change on the Pacific Northwest Coast

A Group Exhibition

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

David Franklin: Solo Exhibition I

This Coast Salish Place

A Group Exhibition

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).

Joan Tenenbaum: ALASKA – Connecting Culture with Landscape

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.

Courtney Lipson: ALASKA – Ravenstail Jewelry

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.

Inspired by Love: Stonington Gallery Jewelers

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, Stonington’s jewelers have created an exquisite body of work in celebration of the month of love.

Fits In Your Pocket

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

Joan Tenenbaum: The Artist Linguist – Translating Field Research into Wearable Art

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.

Art of Alaska: An Artistic Frontier

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.

Celebrate Puget Sound

A Group Exhibition in Conjunction with Puget Soundscape

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.

Rick Bartow: The Origin of Song I

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.

Hib Sabin: Myth’s Immortal Characters

Solo Exhibition

“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.

Classically Northern

Celebrating Northern Formline

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.

Courtney Lipson: “…TO SEE A WORLD IN A GRAIN OF SAND…”

…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.

Through the Eyes of the Northwest Coast Woman

A Group Exhibition

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.

Awakenings – A Gathering of Contemporary Coast Salish Artists

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.

Hib Sabin: Journey to the Interior

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.