For the June edition of the First Friday Artwalk in Durango, Colorado, Blue Rain Gallery will be hosting a show featuring glass art from some of the top Native American artists working with the medium today. For more than 20 years, Blue Rain Gallery has been a cornerstone of the contemporary Native American glass movement in the Southwest, starting with the representation of Tlingit artist Preston Singletary. Today, the gallery houses a number of glass works and collaborative pieces from Native American artists across the country.
Jody Naranjo (Santa Clara) and Preston Singletary (Tlingit), Coral Reef, blown and sand-carved glass, 12 x 10”
The upcoming show will include a totem by Lummi Nation artist Dan Friday and a fish series in cast glass by Singletary, as well as multiple collaborative pieces by Tammy Garcia (Santa Clara Pueblo), Jody Naranjo (Santa Clara Pueblo) and Harlan Reano (Kewa Pueblo).
Tammy Garcia (Santa Clara), Untitled, blown and sand-carved glass, 12½ x 10½”Singletary’s glass sculptures incorporate traditional symbols and imagery of his Tlingit culture, and yet they’re sleek and modern—some even look as though carved from ice. The collaborative piece Coral Reef, by Naranjo and Singletary, appears decidedly icy. The blown and sand-carved glass vessel features frosty-blue glass with schools of fish and coral winding around it.
“The color and shape represent the coral reefs, which rise naturally in the blue ocean. I imagine the fish living their lives among them. A whole beautiful ecosystem,” says Naranjo.
Preston Singletary (Tlingit), Blue Salmon Trio, cast glass with metal stand, 13 x 15 x 4”
“When I collaborate with other artists I usually let them direct and design most aspects of the piece. I will then blow the piece of glass as to their specifications,” says Singletary. “In this case the artist is Jody Naranjo, who I have been working with for several years. Through these collaborations I can help the artist understand the possibilities with glass and the process of working together gives me insight to how other Indigenous people create work for the contemporary collector market. We all have connections to sacred symbols of the land, and I believe that glass brings another dimension to our culture. Glass is both durable and fragile at the same time, and I feel like it reflects our lives in many ways. I also love Jody’s playfulness within her work and happens to bring me great joy and happiness to have them around as I work on them.”
Dan Friday (Lummi Nation), Stellar Jay Totem, furnace-sculpted glass, 18 x 4½ x 6¼”
Naranjo adds, “Working with Preston is such a privilege. He has introduced glass to many Native artists including myself. He lets the collaborating artist shine through and create their own ideas, shapes and designs. I am grateful for this opportunity.”
The First Friday Artwalk Feature – Glass Show will be on view June 7 to 21, with an opening reception on Friday, June 7, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Blue Rain Gallery
June 7-21, 2024
934 Main Avenue, Unit B, Durango, CO 81301
(970) 232-2033, www.blueraingallery.com
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