Preston Singletary: Echoes, Fire, and Shadows
July 11, 2009 – September 19, 2010
Organized by Museum of Glass
Sponsored by the Leonard and Norma Klorfine Foundation, the Windgate Charitable Foundation, JoAnn McGrath, Tulalip Tribes Charitable Funds, The Seattle Times, City Arts Magazine and Encore Arts Programs

The Museum of Glass is pleased to present Preston Singletary’s first mid-career survey, Echoes, Fire, and Shadows, opening July 11, 2009. Singletary is recognized internationally for his work, which combines two of the 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.

A resident of Seattle, Singletary was introduced to glassmaking at the age of 15 by his friend Dante Marioni, son of Studio Glass pioneer Paul Marioni. After graduating from high school, Singletary was hired as a night watchman at Seattle’s Glass Eye Studio in 1982. Within months, he was promoted to glassblower, which enabled him to learn fundamental glassmaking techniques by creating paperweights and ornaments.

In 1985, Singletary accepted a position on Benjamin Moore’s glassblowing team where he worked in varying capacities for the next fifteen years. He learned traditional Venetian techniques by working with some of the glass world’s most prominent artists including Americans Sonja Blomdahl, Dan Dailey and Richard Royal and Italian masters Pino Signoretto, Checco Ongaro and Lino Tagliapietra. In 1993, Singletary and Dante Marioni were invited to accompany Tagliapietra to Northern Europe to assist him with a series of workshops and demonstrations. In Sweden, Singletary met Åsa Sandlund, his future wife, who introduced him to modern Scandinavian design. These experiences and relationships contributed to Singletary’s mastery of traditional European glassblowing techniques.

During this same period of time, Singletary became interested in the artistry of his Tlingit heritage. (The Tlingit are a Native American group in southeastern Alaska.) As a child, he had heard Tlingit stories from his great-grandmother, Susie Johnson Bartlett. Then in the 1980s, Singletary met two individuals during sessions at Pilchuck Glass School who significantly influenced him. Anthony (Tony) Jojola, a member of the Isleta Pueblo tribe, and David Svenson, a Northwest Coast woodcarver, both encouraged him to further explore the legends and artistic traditions of his people. Over the next decade, Singletary began to merge the influences of European glassmaking technique and Tlingit design into a definitive style.

In 2000, again at Pilchuck, Singletary collaborated with Nootka master carver Joe David. “Joe impressed upon me that once you become a keeper of cultural knowledge, it becomes a responsibility,” comments Singletary. Since then, Singletary has dedicated his work to both honoring Tlingit tradition and infusing it with new vitality. “What I’m trying to do in my own way is represent my culture. It’s sort of a reclamation process of taking charge of what it is that our people do and declaring who we are—contemporary people as opposed to an anthropological study.”

Singletary’s unique interpretations of Tlingit myths and legends are visible in his stunningly beautiful works. He uses a complex combination of techniques, including glassblowing, sand carving, and inlaying, to create contemporary glass sculpture from traditional forms such as amulets, baskets, crest hats, masks and rattles. Inspired by his heritage, Singletary translates the visual vocabulary of Native American woodcarving and painted art into glass.

“Preston Singletary has left an indelible imprint on Tlingit tradition, modern art and contemporary glass,” states Museum of Glass curator Melissa G. Post. “Sophisticated and spirited, his work reflects a synthesis of his experiences, exuding a profound reverence for his Tlingit heritage and European-style craftsmanship, executed with American ingenuity and flair.”

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. Prototypes and new works designed specifically for this exhibition, including those created during Singletary’s 2008 Visiting Artist residency in the Museum of Glass Hot Shop, will also be presented. The atmosphere of the exhibition is enhanced by original music and video, signaling a new artistic direction for Singletary.

The signature piece of the exhibition is Clan House. Commissioned for the Museum’s Permanent Collection by the Leonard and Norma Klorfine Foundation, this 16-foot by 10-foot cast-glass triptych references both Tlingit architecture and art. Comprising two bas relief carved house posts framing an elaborately ornamented screen, this monumental glass sculpture recalls the composition of the interior of a Tlingit longhouse.

A catalog co-published with the University of Washington Press includes essays by Post, noted Northwest Coast scholar Stephen Clay Brown, and Tlingit storyteller Walter C. Porter. A Museum-produced documentary about the artist and his career will be introduced on KCTS Channel 9 (PBS) on May 11, 2009 and will be shown in the Museum’s theater throughout the course of the exhibition. The documentary is included in DVD format with the catalog.

Following its showing at the Museum of Glass, the exhibition will travel to venues across the country through 2012.