Drew Michael - Solo Exhibit
Hours
Thursday 03/02
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Drew Michael - Solo Exhibit
Last year Stonington Gallery presented our debut exhibition by ambitious young Inupiaq/Yup'ik artist Drew Michael. The exhibit was a runaway success, with collectors and institutions acquiring works from all over the country.
Now, it is with great pride that we welcome Michael back for a second solo exhibition, as he continues to evolve his deeply personal mask-forms based on his own life and on the culture and mythologies of the Yup'ik and Inupiaq peoples. Drew Michael is making artwork that draws on his heritage, his queer identity, his interests in chakra and indigenous healing, and his religious upbringing. These stunning sculptures can be seen as stand-ins for his emotions, and their solidity, serenity and spirituality are evidence of a young man yearning for a place, for security, and for love.
In 2016 Michael was featured in the exhibition Alaska Passe/Present at the Musee Boulougne sur Mer in France, which has become the first museum in Europe to acquire contemporary Alaskan art for their permanent collection. He took the opportunity to study historic Alaskan masks in the Musee's collection, and to travel around France. In late 2016 he worked with the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, and carried back the inspiration from their collections to his studio. Some of the works in March's exhibit were produced directly after the contact with NMAI. Exhibition runs March 2-31, 2017