Scott Jensen

A Solo Exhibition

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 millenia. Scott will give a guided tour of the exhibit Saturday, June 7th at 2 pm.

Annual Duwamish Tribe Gala Dinner and Art Auction

Honoring Seattle's First People

You are warmly invited to join a celebraion of Duwamish culture and Northwest art hosted by the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI). Enoy a vibrant live show by Gene Tagaban, a cocktail reception and silent art auction, performance by TIlibshudub ("Singing Feet"), and a traditional live auction of valuable art from Northwest artists such as Preston Singletary and Marvin Oliver.

Proceeds from the gala will benefit Duwamish Tribal Services (DTS), a nonprofit organization that provides critical support to nearly 600 tribal members.

When: Sunday, June 08, 2008
4:00 pm doors open
4:30-7:00 pm live show, reception and silent art auction
7:00-8:30 pm traditional feast and live art auction

Where: Museum of History & Industry
2700 24th Ave. E, Seattle| (map it!)

Festive cocktail attire. Free parking available onsite.

Masks & Panels

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.

Currently at Stonington

With the coming of Spring, new work is flowing into Stonington! Rain or shine it's always interesting and run to drop into the Gallery to check out what's new in Pacific Northwest Coast and Alaskan art.  In March, 2008, Stonington Gallery will feature a variety of works including a phenomenal argillite Wasco Bowl (Wolf/Killerwhale transformation) with removable dorsal fin by Christian White, the foremost Haida carver of this material found in the Queen Charlotte Islands. Known for his lovely flowing lines, intricate inlays and interesting and sometimes whimsical subject matter, Christian's Wolf Bowl is a jewel. The Gallery is proud to be able to make this piece available to  its collectors.

Also featured will be hats and baskets by Isabel Rorick and Nancy Burgess;a unique colorful Small Glass Kachina and other glass works and prints by Marvin Oliver; glass panels, paintings and prints by Alano Edzerza; and a large selection of new ivory and whalebone carvings from the Inupiaq Eskimos living in the Bering Sea coastal region of Alaska.   

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.

RAIN: A GROUP CELEBRATION

Stonington Gallery and its 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. 

HIB SABIN: 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.

Alano Edzerza:
Northwest Coast Formline Art in
Glass, Pencil, and Acrylic

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.

Angela Swedberg:
The Art of Medicine

Angela Swedberg's blown glass and beaded sculpture draws inspiration from the objects common to the tribes of the Plains and Plateau: gourd rattles, sacred necklaces, and ladles. Swedberg, world renown for her tradtional quill and bead work, and particularly for her show work for Appaloosa's, is taking the traditional bead work and incorporating it with hand blown glass. This body of work was created while Swedberg was dealing with a serious illness. The creation of the pieces was healing and inspired her to develop work that addressed the importance of ritual objects in the healing arts of all native tribes, though these items are representations, not actual items used for ritual.

Swedberg States: "The Native American concept of 'medicine' is much different from the modern world's concept of it. Their healing process concerns not only the physical, but the mental and spiritual worlds as well. One is not whole when the others are out of balance. Power and healing come from many different sources: animal, plant, and the forces of the earth. This exploration in glass is inspired by the people around me that are currently dealing with medical uissues, as well as other problems that life throws at you. It may be that I'm getting older, or it may be a sign of the times, but in my world, there are more friends that have been battling cancer and other life threatening health problems. I want to help them all, but for the most part all I can do is pray for them and send positive thoughts. This got me thinking about what traditional healers did, as well as what they used for healing people. I decided to show the beauty of certain items used to heal. I am making each item as a prayer for better health and recovery to those around me."

Swedberg's good friend, Joe David, whose work is simultaneously being featured in November at Stonington Gallery in the "Engraved in Tradition" jewelry exhibit, also explores the healing powers of amulets and jewelry. Both artists are renowned for their wealth of knowledge of tribal cultures as well as their refined craftsmanship. The opportunity to see a body of work honiring sacred healing objects by both of these artists is a rare and wonderful opportunity.

Engraved in Tradition-
A Jewelry Exhibit

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.

Lecture Series

Wednesday, 7pm  $5 admission

Please join us for an evening with Scott Jensen, November 7, 2007 when he will discuss the body of art that will be created for his SOLO EXHIBIT as well as the old works that have inspired his career. Please call to reserve tickets. Admission $5.

Lecture Series

Wednesday, 7pm  $5 admission

Please join us on Wednesday, October 17th at 7pm for an evening with artist and scholar, Barry Herem, for his lecture on KADJIS DU AXTC, A TLINGIT MICHELANGELO.  The style of Kadjis du axtc (circa 1750-1850) is recognized in several known works, the most famous of which are the houseposts of the Whale House in Southeast Alaska.  Images of reproductions of this man's work by Steve Brown and others in the 1980's will be included.  Please call to reserve tickets.

Lecture Series

Wednesday, 7pm  $5 admission

Please join us for a special lecture with Joan Tenenbaum, THE ARTIST LINGUIST, TRANSLATING FIELD RESEARCH INTO WEARABLE ART, on Wednesday September 12 at 7pm.  Joan will share her experiences from her years spent living with the Athabaskans and Eskimos in Alaska.  It is a story made all the more remarkable after learning how her memories are translated into her exquisite jewelry. Joan will also be available to sign copies of her re-released book, DENA'INA SUKDU'A: TRADITIONAL STORIES OF THE TANAINA ATHABASKANS. Please phone or email for tickets. 

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.

Joan Tenenbaum will share her experiences from her years spent living with the Athabaskans and Eskimos in Alaska and be available to autograph books at 7pm on Wednesday, September 12.  Please call to reserve tickets.  Admission $5.

Thomas Stream

An Aleutian Presence

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.

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.

Courtney Lipson

Patterns

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

Joe Feddersen

New Dimensions:  Collage & Silhouette

PATTERNS will also showcase the distinguished printmaking of Joe Feddersen.  Feddersen's prints, much like his blown glass, utilize patterns to examine the changing cultural landscape.  Traditional Plateau designs combine with the pattern of modern items such as tire treads.  Feddersen currently has a large installation piece at the Smithsonian, National Museum of the American Indian in New York City.  In conjunction with Courtney Lipson's exquisite jewelry, PATTERNS will be both an intense and delicately woven experience.

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. 

To this end, Stonington Gallery has spearheaded a two month community-wide event to coincide with its exhibit.  PUGET SOUNDSCAPE: A COMMUNITY CELEBRATION OF PUGET SOUND THROUGH ART, ECOLOGY AND CULTURE will illuminate the issues facing the Sound and open a dialogue among the community to examine the complexities of these issues.  Stonington Gallery is excited to be joined by a number of the area's finest cultural organizations and other local businesses who all will be offering compelling and diverse programming and experiences that will enlighten, entertain and hopefully solidify our support for saving the Puget Sound ecosystem, and, in turn, boost awareness to a larger audience including both local residents and tourists alike.  With this summer celebration we hope to set a precedent for the future by encouraging people to come together and utilize the resources and knowledge available through a wide variety of institutions whose mission it is to preserve the history, culture and ecological state of one of the nation's most spectacular natural settings, our very own Puget Sound.

Visit WWW.PUGETSOUNDSCAPE.COM for additional information about the community wide celebration.

Joe David

Personal Moments

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

The Origin of Song

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

A Group Exhibition

WINTER CELEBRATION is a group exhibition celebrating the rituals and traditions surrounding the solstice season.  Participating artists include: Yukie Adams, Robert Barratt, Rick Bartow, Steve Brown, Joe David, Robert Davidson, Dave Franklin, Barry Herem, Scott Jensen, Courtney Lipson, Marvin Oliver, Duane Pasco, Shaun Peterson, Isabel Rorick, Joan Tenenbaum, Loren White and more. 

Myths' Immortal Characters

Hib Sabin: A Solo Exhibition

    MYTHS' 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 MYTHS' IMMORTAL CHARACTERS, a full color 24 page catalogue highlighting Sabin's work and experiences, available for $10 at the gallery.  Please contact Stonington at stonington@qwest.net or (866) 405-4485 to place an order.
 

Jean Ferrier

A Solo Exhibition

JEAN FERRIER'S exhibition features handmade books and mixed media paintings on paper and wood.   Ferrier's handmade books are exquisitely detailed with hand painted illustrations and text in calligraphy.  Her books honor the important tradition of storytelling among the northwest coast tribes and provide an excellent format for her nuanced figurative paintings. 

Loren White

A Solo Exhibition

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's cedar and glass sculptures are another contribution to the expanding body of work which marries the traditions of Northwest Coast art and studio glass.

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.

Thomas Stream

A Retrospective

THOMAS STREAM: A RETROSPECTIVE highlights the 30+ year career of this talented Aleutian artist.  The expressive and finely detailed gouache paintings feature local flora and fauna adorned with traditional Aleut hunting visors.

Bering Spirit

Works from the Alaskan & Siberian Yup'ik and Interior Arctic Corridor

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...

Micro-Mosaic Jewelry by Courtney Lipson: A Solo Exhibition

...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. 

Borne of Myth & Fire

Celebrating Northwest Coast Art in Glass

BORNE 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.

Dimensions

Exploring Scale through Monumental Sculpture and Intricate Jewelry

DIMENSIONS presents the contrasts between two equally significant Pacific Northwest Coast art traditions: monumental sculpture and jewelry.  Exhibiting the grand with the diminutive demonstrates and celebrates the pervasive role of art in Northwest Coast cultures.  Participating artists include Steve Brown, John Goodwin, Jerry Hill, Courtney Lipson, Wayne Price, Jay Simeon, Joan Tenenbaum, Janet & Owen Walker, Connie Watts and Jean Regal Westgate.

Winter Solstice Exhibition

A Celebration of the Season

WINTER SOLSTICE EXHIBITION pays tribute to the season of tradition, honoring community spirit and celebration.  Participating artists include Yukie Adams, Robert Barratt, Joe David, David Franklin, Barry Herem, Scott Jensen, Maynard Johnny Jr., Duane Pasco, Shaun Peterson, Wayne PRice, Thomas Stream, Isabel Rorick, Hib Sabin, Jay Simeon, Loren White and others.

Through the Eyes of the Northwest Coast Woman

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.

Jean Ferrier

Paintings on Wood and Paper

Jean Ferrier's exhibition of mixed media painting on cedar panels celebrating characters and mythology from Pacific Northwest Coast culture demonstrates the innovation that she brings to the tradition.  Jean has developed into one of the most accomplished painters in the region.

Courtney Lipson

Micro-Mosaic Jewelry

Courtney Lipson's glass beaded jewelry honors the tradition of mosaics on a micro scale.

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.  Hib has studied the mythology of the Northwest Coast native cultures and interprets them in his Juniper carvings.

Totem

Icon of the Pacific Northwest

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.