Three Solo Exhibitions
This spring, the San Juan Islands Museum of Art features solo exhibitions of artists Lauren Boilini, Janis Miltenberger, and Dan Brown. The exhibitions differ greatly in their media (painting, glass, sculptures of iron and wood), but the thread of human and nature interconnectivityruns throughout each show. Each artist’s mastery of their craft isimmediately apparent, and guests have been delighted and astounded by the technical skills and artistic vision on display at the museum. Each showreferences art historical movementsbut they bring the past to bear on the present day. When hearing about visitor reactions to the shows, it seems that the awesomeness of nature is experienced outside the museum in the beautiful San Juan Islands and in the museum itself.
Lauren Boilini’s exhibition is titled, “Celestial Navigation” and the artist articulates the thesis for the show in a statement available on the museum website. It reads: “This work examines excess, when it becomes meaningless and falls into pattern. This gluttony is reflected back to us: we are a hedonistic society, always looking for more until the more we are looking for loses its meaning.” Boilini’s subjects, often birds like peasants or peacocks, fill the picture plane with their colorful feathers and luscious textures. The statement by the artist connects the work in this show with the age-old conventions of the still life genre in Northern Europe. Readers may be familiar with the Dutch still life paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries which depict plates overflowing with food, partially eaten fruit, and tipped goblets scattered across messy tables. A subcategory of this genre are the vanitas paintings, in which the artist includes a skull and other reminders that life is fleeting. In Boilini’s work, the impressive scale and dynamic—perhaps even chaotic—swirl of feathers, scales, and beaks overwhelm the viewer. As mentioned in the artist’s statement, the opulence of this subject matter is a warning that too much at our grasp can lead to an unappreciative attitude toward nature and what it offers.
Scale continues to be an important aspect in the shows at San Juan Islands Museum of Art, as seen in glass artist Janis Miltenberger’s “Productive Uncertainty” exhibition. Like Boilini, Miltenberger uses scale to create a connection between the viewer and her work. To reinforce these connections, the museum’s website features interviews with the artists, and they are worth a listen. In her artist statement on the website, Miltenberger states that “My latest work is a result of my interest in our ancient methods of understanding the natural world. How we have relied on symbology and the unique appearances of plants, animals, and other life form’s signatures, to guide us and our well-being.” The show centers around Miltenberger’s exploration of “The Doctrine of Signatures,” an historic belief related to the connection between plants and their medicinal potential. The scale of Miltenberger’s lampworking is incredibly impressive, highlighting the fragile relationship between the natural world and human experience. Her life-size figures and large cages (“The Coronation,” for example is 45 x 18 x 18 inches) draw attention to her technical expertise in lampworking, and the detail in the series inspired by “The Doctrine of Signatures” capture the beauty and fragility of both plants and the human organs that are integrated into them.
The museum continues the exploration of scale and nature in the beautiful Sterner Atrium Gallery by exhibiting the iron and wood sculptures of artist Dan Brown. Using many found objects and materials, Brown brings movement and a touch of humor into the gallery space. The focal point of Brown’s show is certainly “Roaming the Sea,” a sculpture of a whale created with steel and a wagon wheel rim; the piece measures 56 x 112 x 68 inches. Brown’s touch of whimsy and humor creates a welcome balance with the more solemn tone of the other exhibits on view.
The three exhibitions are on display at the museum through June 1. As mentioned, there are interviews of all three artists on the website, as well as information about planning your visit to the island. It is worth noting that the museum is open Friday to Monday through June 10, and then its summer schedule begins. If you want to visit the museum and beautiful Friday Harbor with its many artist studios, galleries, and shops, always plan ahead and review the ferry schedule well in advance of your trip. The museum is a short walk from the ferry.
Chloé Dye Sherpe
Chloé Dye Sherpe is an art professional and curator based inWashington State.
The San Juan Islands Museum of Art, located at 540 Spring Street in Friday Harbor, Washington, is open Friday to Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.sjima.org.
