“Salish Sound Waves” is coming up in May, and we’re introducing you to some new faces! Ronnie Fairbanks (Tlingit/Ts’msyen/Chippewa) comes to us from Alaska, and his awesome formline skateboards are turning our heads. They double as wall art and as conveyance — pop some wheels on them and you’re ready to roll. Does that longboard remind you of the shape of a traditional paddle blade? It sure does to us.
When you think of a Native Artist from Albuquerque, New Mexico, the last thing that comes to mind is a Tlingit/Ts’msyen/Chippewa, but that’s exactly Fairbanks’ story. He writes in his bio: my Mother comes Ketchikan and Craig, Alaska and my Father from White Earth, Minnesota. I Graduated with a Bachelors of Arts with a focus on Fine Art from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. I teach Native Art’s Carving at the Craig Middle and High school in Craig, Alaska. I have three Beautiful Children, two boys, a daughter, and very loving and supportive Wife. My medium of art is Northwest Coastal Form-line Design which branches into 2-D and 3-D carving and painting.
We’re excited to show Fairbanks’ hand-painted and limited edition skate decks, as well as his beautiful little lino-cut prints in our upcoming May 2017 exhibition, Salish Sound Waves: Cutting-Edge Indigenous Visual Artists.
