Museum of Glass Exhibition Opens at New York’s National Museum of the American Indian

TACOMA, WA.- Preston Singletary: Echoes, Fire, and Shadows, a mid-career survey of the artist’s work organized by the Museum of Glass, opened at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City over the weekend. It will remain on view through September 5, 2011 before it will travel to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmussen Center early in 2012.

Preston Singletary (American, born 1963), Raven Steals the Sun (Gagaan Awutáawu Yeil), 2001. Blown, hot-sculpted, and sandcarved glass, 15¾ x 6 x 6 inches. Collection of Michael and Cathy Casteel. Photo by Russell Johnson.

Preston Singletary is recognized internationally for his work, which combines two of the Pacific Northwest ’s most prominent artistic influences—traditional Native American designs and the medium of glass. For nearly two decades, he has melded the symbols, patterns and legends of his Tlingit heritage with the dynamism of the Studio Glass movement, creating a distinctive and powerful body of work. Singletary uses a complex combination of techniques, including glassblowing, sand carving, and inlaying, to create contemporary glass sculpture from traditional forms, translating the visual vocabulary of Native American woodcarving and painted art into glass.

Echoes, Fire, and Shadows, which contains 54 works from the artist’s own collection as well as objects borrowed from major museum and private collections across the United States , illustrates Singletary’s artistic evolution over the past two decades. Included are icons of Singletary’s oeuvre and examples of his significant collaborative experiences, as well as many rare works—some which have never before been exhibited—and prototypes and new works designed specifically for this exhibition. The atmosphere of the exhibition is enhanced by original music and video, signaling a new artistic direction for Singletary.

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