Safe Journey

Preston Singletary, Safe Journey, 2021, cast and sand-carved glass on wooden pedestal, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery and the 40th anniversary of the alliance, and museum purchase through the Kenneth R. Trapp Acquisition Fund, 2021.82A-C, © 2021, Preston Singletary
Preston Singletary, Safe Journey, 2021, cast and sand-carved glass on wooden pedestal, chest:14 7827 1816 38 in. lid: 3 7827 1216 78 in. pedestal: 45 5828 3817 12 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery and the 40th anniversary of the alliance, and museum purchase through the Kenneth R. Trapp Acquisition Fund, 2021.82A-C, © 2021, Preston Singletary

Artwork Details

Title
Safe Journey
Date
2021
Dimensions
chest:14 7827 1816 38 in. lid: 3 7827 1216 78 in. pedestal: 45 5828 3817 12 in.
Copyright
© 2021, Preston Singletary
Credit Line
Gift of the James Renwick Alliance in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery and the 40th anniversary of the alliance, and museum purchase through the Kenneth R. Trapp Acquisition Fund
Mediums
Mediums Description
cast and sand-carved glass on wooden pedestal
Object Number
2021.82A-C

Artwork Description

Safe Journey is based on traditional storage boxes of Northwest Native communities, sometimes used as burial boxes. This Spirit Box is a tribute to the artist’s father, who passed away in 2019. The killer whale theme identifies Preston Singletary’s clan and symbolizes a transition from the physical world to the spirit realm. Two orb lights represent the spirits of his father and grandfather and create the effect that the box, as Singletary describes, “contains universes.”

Drawing on his Tlingit heritage, Singletary reimagines ancient themes, forms, and designs traditionally made in materials like cedar, shell, and bone in the contemporary medium of glass. Here, Singletary carved and sandblasted the designs onto kiln-cast panels of glass.

This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022




Works by this artist (1 item)

Exhibitions

Quilt featuring the portrait of a woman
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World
May 13, 2022April 2, 2023
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World showcases the dynamic landscape of American craft today.

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