Past Exhibitions

Preston Singletary: Threshold Special Exhibition May 22–November 30, 2003 SAM Third Floor Galleries

SAM is pleased to exhibit thirteen recent works by Preston Singletary, a Tlingit artist whose glass artwork draws upon his Alaskan Native heritage. Singletary’s blown and sandblasted hats, screens, vessels, and totem forms engage the dramatic elements of fire, gravity, light, and transparency in new ways and create a provocative counterpoint to the long-established Northwest Native carving traditions that are well represented in SAM's permanent collection. Preston has been a leader in the nascent Native glass movement and has been instrumental in bringing other Native artists to Pilchuck Glass School.

While his works have clear stylistic affinities to the older forms that serve as his inspiration, Singletary's training and approach have been cross-cultural and experimental. For this exhibition, the artist is fabricating a large glass screen that will combine traditional Tlingit formline designs with new techniques. Singletary’s unique and luminous pieces invoke the vibrant and evolving art of Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest. This exhibition also coincides with the Thirty-Third Annual Glass Art Society Conference, to be held in Seattle June 12-15, 2003.

This exhibition has been curated by Barbara Brotherton, Curator of Native American Art.

Preston Singletary American, b. 1963 Tlingit Crest Hat, 2001 Mold; blown, sand-carved glass 6 x 16 in. Courtesy of the artist

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