Preston Singletary and Jody Naranjo AWS
Preston Singletary and Jody Naranjo A Collaboration in Glass
Preston Singletary and Jody Naranjo A Collaboration in Glass
In order to push the boundaries of artistic expression, an artist must have a strong sense of individualism and possess an aggressive creative drive. As such, there exist few artist-inventors who can profoundly influence the direction of art through finessing their own aesthetic or area of specialization. The genius as a solitary figure is one way of approaching art practice, however when two pioneers come together with a cooperative determination and shared creative philosophy to make boundary-spanning artwork, an even more powerful artistic force is harnessed. Blue Rain Gallery owner, Leroy Garcia, has an aptitude for picking artist-collaborator pairings and for twenty years he has promoted an exchange of ideas between artists of different genres, styles, and mediums. This strong direction emblazoned by Blue Rain Gallery affords these artists a competitive edge to supersede regional confines and prosper within international arenas of art connoisseurship. The very nature of Native American art is to be collectively dynamic; Native American art has an organic vitality that comes from rigorous historic perseverance, and more importantly, from cultural traditions that flourish with each new generation. Such potent dynamism is clearly present in the newest collaborative collection from Tlingit glass artist, Preston Singletary, and Santa Clara Pueblo potter, Jody Naranjo. In
traversing the boundaries of glass and clay, the genuine visual dialogue engaged in by these two innovative artists is captured superbly in this fresh new collection of pottery-inspired glass vessels. The aesthetic inspiration, taken as a whole, is a kaleidoscopic opulence of color coupled with a beguiling decadence of pattern. The swelling and contracting of form on each vessel is confirmed, if not exaggerated, by the exponentially expanding design sets. Preston Singletary is a forerunner in the international glass world for capturing and enlivening Native Northwest Coast traditions in glass. His elegant, freeformed, blown glass shapes reflect a sensitivity and dedication to the molten medium and for thirty years he has brazenly forged a sculptural language in glass that is wholly innovative and rooted in history. Furthermore, Singletary is no stranger to the collaborative process and has successfully taken advantage of joint efforts to reach new aesthetic achievements: “Through teaching and collaborating in glass with other Native American artists, I’ve come to see that glass brings another dimension to indigenous art … and, that the artistic perspective of indigenous people reflects a vital visual language which has connections to the ancient codes and symbols of the land. This interaction continues to inform and inspire my own work.”
As a fifth generation Native Pueblo potter from the Southwest, Jody Naranjo is a highly acclaimed and award-winning artist with over twenty-eight years of experience in creating sumptuously carved and sgraffito-decorated clay pots, each traditionally handcoiled and pit-fired. Naranjo possesses an elegant finesse in marrying form and pattern, such that her unique nature-based design vocabulary dances with rhythmic linearity over the perfectly pleasing, and often asymmetrical shapes. Working with Singletary (and working with glass as a new medium), Naranjo freely admits that the entire venture was a huge learning experience and that it forced her to think outside of her pottery box, “I will never look at my pots the same again.” For Naranjo, the “well, how do I do this?” regularly popped up and she found her answers came naturally by going to a source of light, “I kept taking the jars over to the ceiling lights, lifting them up to see how they would look … my kids thought I was crazy. I looked on the insides too, because my patterns looked totally different that way. I didn’t expect any of this when I first started. After the first few, I thought — okay, I am getting the hang of this.” In speaking of Singletary, Naranjo shares, “he is so calm and easy to work with … he is open to ideas and let’s others retain their own voice. Obviously, his confidence makes him that good … he doesn’t have to
take over because he has trust and respect.” Naranjo also invigorated Singletary with different momentum, “I like flat shapes or planes on forms … I pushed Preston to try new things with the shapes he was working on with me,” and, “I knew Preston would bring his knowledge of glass to the table, especially in how things would look in the end — design areas with high shine are a great example, he chose those spots on particular pieces himself.” Indeed, Naranjo’s alluring energy and optimistic “can-do” attitude is mirrored by Preston as he adds, “I have been honored that my success has inspired other artists from indigenous cultures to use glass in their work, and I hope that I can continue to encourage more innovation in this area as my own career progresses.” Through Blue Rain Gallery, Singletary and Naranjo have been given a comparative advantage for creating iconic artwork that will undoubtedly redefine the landscape of contemporary Native American art. Their artistic visions speak clearly and equally from this intrepid meeting; their individual vessels blossom into a seamless collection, which will eventually disseminate across the globe as a vital infusion to modern indigenous design. The final results confirm that this collaboration was not only fruitful in creating a bold new collection of artwork, but also in adding to the greater American lexicon of visual vocabulary.
Beetle Mania Blown and sand-carved glass 8" h x 11" d
Animal Cliff Collage Blown and sand-carved glass 15.25" h x 9.25" d
Deep Blue Sea Blown and sand-carved glass 12.5" h x 9.5" d
Checkered Turtles Blown and sand-carved glass 17" h x 8.5" d
Infinity Blown and sand-carved glass 13" h x 9" d
Dancing For Rain Blown and sand-carved glass 9.5" h x 7.75" d
Peacocks on Parade Blown and sand-carved glass 14.5" h x 7.5" d
Basking in the Sun Blown and sand-carved glass 11.5" h x 10" d
Fire Fish Blown and sand-carved glass 12.75" h x 8.5" d
Mimbres Deer Holding Fish Blown and sand-carved glass 14.25" h x 8" d
Horse Stampede Blown and sand-carved glass 9" h x 13" d
Clowning Around Blown and sand-carved glass 8.5" h x 8" d
Pueblo Potters Blown and sand-carved glass 17.5" h x 6.5" d
Pueblo Life Blown and sand-carved glass 8.25" h x 9" d
The Deer Dance Blown and sand-carved glass 10.5" h x 13.5" w x 9.5" d
Our Happy Home Blown and sand-carved glass 13.5" h x 9.5" d
Twilight Flight Blown and sand-carved glass 14" h x 11" d
A Canadian Landscape Blown and sand-carved glass 11.5" h x 13" d
Birds of Prey Blown and sand-carved glass 16" h x 6.5" d
Waiting For Hunting Season Blown and sand-carved glass 9" h x 11" d
544 South Guadalupe Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 | 505.954.9902 www.blueraingallery.com
Preston Singletary and Jody Naranjo A Collaboration in Glass
In order to push the boundaries of artistic expression, an artist must have a strong sense of individualism and possess an aggressive creative drive. As such, there exist few artist-inventors who can profoundly influence the direction of art through finessing their own aesthetic or area of specialization. The genius as a solitary figure is one way of approaching art practice, however when two pioneers come together with a cooperative determination and shared creative philosophy to make boundary-spanning artwork, an even more powerful artistic force is harnessed. Blue Rain Gallery owner, Leroy Garcia, has an aptitude for picking artist-collaborator pairings and for twenty years he has promoted an exchange of ideas between artists of different genres, styles, and mediums. This strong direction emblazoned by Blue Rain Gallery affords these artists a competitive edge to supersede regional confines and prosper within international arenas of art connoisseurship. The very nature of Native American art is to be collectively dynamic; Native American art has an organic vitality that comes from rigorous historic perseverance, and more importantly, from cultural traditions that flourish with each new generation. Such potent dynamism is clearly present in the newest collaborative collection from Tlingit glass artist, Preston Singletary, and Santa Clara Pueblo potter, Jody Naranjo. In
traversing the boundaries of glass and clay, the genuine visual dialogue engaged in by these two innovative artists is captured superbly in this fresh new collection of pottery-inspired glass vessels. The aesthetic inspiration, taken as a whole, is a kaleidoscopic opulence of color coupled with a beguiling decadence of pattern. The swelling and contracting of form on each vessel is confirmed, if not exaggerated, by the exponentially expanding design sets. Preston Singletary is a forerunner in the international glass world for capturing and enlivening Native Northwest Coast traditions in glass. His elegant, freeformed, blown glass shapes reflect a sensitivity and dedication to the molten medium and for thirty years he has brazenly forged a sculptural language in glass that is wholly innovative and rooted in history. Furthermore, Singletary is no stranger to the collaborative process and has successfully taken advantage of joint efforts to reach new aesthetic achievements: “Through teaching and collaborating in glass with other Native American artists, I’ve come to see that glass brings another dimension to indigenous art … and, that the artistic perspective of indigenous people reflects a vital visual language which has connections to the ancient codes and symbols of the land. This interaction continues to inform and inspire my own work.”
As a fifth generation Native Pueblo potter from the Southwest, Jody Naranjo is a highly acclaimed and award-winning artist with over twenty-eight years of experience in creating sumptuously carved and sgraffito-decorated clay pots, each traditionally handcoiled and pit-fired. Naranjo possesses an elegant finesse in marrying form and pattern, such that her unique nature-based design vocabulary dances with rhythmic linearity over the perfectly pleasing, and often asymmetrical shapes. Working with Singletary (and working with glass as a new medium), Naranjo freely admits that the entire venture was a huge learning experience and that it forced her to think outside of her pottery box, “I will never look at my pots the same again.” For Naranjo, the “well, how do I do this?” regularly popped up and she found her answers came naturally by going to a source of light, “I kept taking the jars over to the ceiling lights, lifting them up to see how they would look … my kids thought I was crazy. I looked on the insides too, because my patterns looked totally different that way. I didn’t expect any of this when I first started. After the first few, I thought — okay, I am getting the hang of this.” In speaking of Singletary, Naranjo shares, “he is so calm and easy to work with … he is open to ideas and let’s others retain their own voice. Obviously, his confidence makes him that good … he doesn’t have to
take over because he has trust and respect.” Naranjo also invigorated Singletary with different momentum, “I like flat shapes or planes on forms … I pushed Preston to try new things with the shapes he was working on with me,” and, “I knew Preston would bring his knowledge of glass to the table, especially in how things would look in the end — design areas with high shine are a great example, he chose those spots on particular pieces himself.” Indeed, Naranjo’s alluring energy and optimistic “can-do” attitude is mirrored by Preston as he adds, “I have been honored that my success has inspired other artists from indigenous cultures to use glass in their work, and I hope that I can continue to encourage more innovation in this area as my own career progresses.” Through Blue Rain Gallery, Singletary and Naranjo have been given a comparative advantage for creating iconic artwork that will undoubtedly redefine the landscape of contemporary Native American art. Their artistic visions speak clearly and equally from this intrepid meeting; their individual vessels blossom into a seamless collection, which will eventually disseminate across the globe as a vital infusion to modern indigenous design. The final results confirm that this collaboration was not only fruitful in creating a bold new collection of artwork, but also in adding to the greater American lexicon of visual vocabulary.
Beetle Mania Blown and sand-carved glass 8" h x 11" d
Animal Cliff Collage Blown and sand-carved glass 15.25" h x 9.25" d
Deep Blue Sea Blown and sand-carved glass 12.5" h x 9.5" d
Checkered Turtles Blown and sand-carved glass 17" h x 8.5" d
Infinity Blown and sand-carved glass 13" h x 9" d
Dancing For Rain Blown and sand-carved glass 9.5" h x 7.75" d
Peacocks on Parade Blown and sand-carved glass 14.5" h x 7.5" d
Basking in the Sun Blown and sand-carved glass 11.5" h x 10" d
Fire Fish Blown and sand-carved glass 12.75" h x 8.5" d
Mimbres Deer Holding Fish Blown and sand-carved glass 14.25" h x 8" d
Horse Stampede Blown and sand-carved glass 9" h x 13" d
Clowning Around Blown and sand-carved glass 8.5" h x 8" d
Pueblo Potters Blown and sand-carved glass 17.5" h x 6.5" d
Pueblo Life Blown and sand-carved glass 8.25" h x 9" d
The Deer Dance Blown and sand-carved glass 10.5" h x 13.5" w x 9.5" d
Our Happy Home Blown and sand-carved glass 13.5" h x 9.5" d
Twilight Flight Blown and sand-carved glass 14" h x 11" d
A Canadian Landscape Blown and sand-carved glass 11.5" h x 13" d
Birds of Prey Blown and sand-carved glass 16" h x 6.5" d
Waiting For Hunting Season Blown and sand-carved glass 9" h x 11" d
544 South Guadalupe Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 | 505.954.9902 www.blueraingallery.com
