Preston Singletary
Artist processes
Preston Singletary grew up in the Seattle area listening to stories told by his great-grandparents, who were both full Tlingit. In high school he met and became friends with future glass artist Dante Marioni, son of glass artist Paul Marioni. Shortly after graduating high school, Singletary (who was actively pursuing a career as a musician at the time) was asked by Dante Marioni to work as a night watchman at what was then the Glass Eye, a Seattle glass-blowing studio. Singletary quickly moved from being night watchman to working the day shift to eventually joining one of the studio’s production teams. In 1984, Singletary took part in a workshop at Pilchuck Glass School for the first time. He has since been involved in Pilchuck as both a teacher and student. Singletary has blown glass around the world in countries such as Sweden, Italy, and Finland. In the late 1980s, Singletary began incorporating traditional Tlingit themes into his work and reaching out to other Northwest Coast Native American artists.
Early on, Singletary’s work drew heavily from European glass artworks, especially those done in the Modernist style. Today he is perhaps best known for his use of glass to express and explore traditional Tlingit themes. Many of his works reference clan crests, including the killer whale, which his family claims. Singletary has worked extensively with other native artists creating glass art works such as the Founders Totem Pole (2001) and Devilfish Prow, one of a series created in collaboration with Maori artist Lewis Tamihana Gardiner (2007).
British Museum, London, England, UK
City of Seattle, Portable Works Collection, Seattle, WA
Corning Museum of Glass, Corning NY (Rakow Commission)
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detriot, MI
Ethnografiska Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
Group Health Cooperative, Seattle, WA
Handelsbanken, Stockholm, Sweden
Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA
Heard Museum of Art, Phoenix, AZ
Mint Museum of Art & Design, Charlotte, NC
Museum of Art + Design, New York, NY
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Museum of Glass, Tacoma, WA
National Museum of the American Indian – Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
Seattle University, Seattle, WA
Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
St. Paul’s Cathedral, Oklahoma City, OK
The Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
The Museum of Natural History, Anchorage, AK
Washington State Arts Commission, Olympia, WA
Selected Solo Gallery Exhibitions
2013 Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA – Listen for the Raven
2012 Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA – Confluence
2011 Traver Gallery, Tacoma, WA – Contents of a Dream
2009 Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA – Beyond Primitivism
2007 William Traver Gallery, Tacoma, WA – The Uncle Who Went into the Forest
2006 Heller Gallery, New York, NY – Raven Steals the Light
2004 Instituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere de Arti, Venice, Italy – Vetri. Nel Mondo. Oggi.
Boreal Traditions, Anchorage, AK – Solo Exhibition
2002-current Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM – Solo Exhibitions
2001 Chappell Gallery, New York – Solo Exhibition, Glass Potlatch
1999 Gallery San Nicolo, Venice, Italy – Solo Exhibition, Current Work
Chappell Gallery, Boston, MA – Solo Exhibition, New Work
1998 Butters Gallery, Portland, OR – Solo Exhibition
1996-2006 William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA – Solo Exhibitions
1991-1997 The Glass Gallery, Bethesda, MD – Solo Exhibition
Museum Exhibitions
2009-2012 Museum of Glass, Tacoma, WA – Preston Singletary: Echoes, Fire, and Shadows.
Traveling to: National Museum of the American Indian, New York, NY; The Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ; Anchorage Museum at Rasmussen Center, Anchorage, AK
2005 The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA – Fusing Traditions
Museum of Art + Design, New York, NY – Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 2
2004 National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC – Our Universe
2003 Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA – Solo Exhibition, Threshold
Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ – Fusing Traditions
Arnot Art Museum, New York – Representing Representation VI
2001 Fuller Museum, Brockton, Massachusetts – Lino Tagliapietra et Amici
2000 Sheldon Museum, Haines, AK – Traditions in Glass
Birmingham International Festival, American Folk Art Museum, American Craft Museum, New York, Kentucky Art & Craft Gallery, Louisville, & Yakima Nation Museum & Cultural Center – Head, Heart & Hands
