Joe Feddersen (Okanagan/Sinixt), “Stripes,” 2021, blown glass, 11½ × 9½ × 9½ in. Photo: Dean Davis. All images courtesy of studio e gallery, Seattle. © Joe Feddersen.
Spokane, WA — Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky is a career retrospective of nationally renowned artist Joe Feddersen. Feddersen is Okanagan/Sinixt and a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. This exhibition at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane gathers four decades of the prolific artist’s prints, glass, weaving, and ceramics in the largest and most comprehensive showing of his career to date. From miniatures to wall-sized installations, the exhibition features more than 120 works.
The collective richness of this body of work is a testament to Feddersen’s love for the land, water, and sky that have bound his world, both physically and metaphorically. Moving fluidly between media, Feddersen cultivates a visual vernacular that draws upon recognizable signs, symbols, and forms. With poignancy and humor, he transforms the familiar into a world of juxtapositions that confront how we see, use, and treat the natural world. In everything he creates, Feddersen communicates his Indigenous Plateau viewpoint of the powerful American landscape and our interconnected relationship with it.
Joe Feddersen (Okanagan/ Sinixt), “Bestiary 7,” 2021, relief and stencil monoprint with acrylic and collage, sheet: 44 × 30 in. Photo: Dean Davis. © Joe Feddersen.
Organized by the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, this exhibition is co-curated by Rachel C. Allen (Nimiipuu), curator of special projects at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, and Heather Ahtone (Chickasaw/Choctaw), director of curatorial affairs at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City. Award-winning graphic designer Kevin Coochwytewa (Isleta Pueblo/Hopi) designed the exhibition, which includes videos produced by Spokane-based, Native-owned production company, Counting Coup Media.
After its premiere at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (Sept. 28 to January 5, 2024), the exhibition travels to the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon (September 27, 2025, to January 18, 2026) and the Missoula Art Museum in Montana (September 2026 – December 2026).
Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky is accompanied by a 200-page, fully illustrated exhibition catalogue published by the museum and distributed by University of Washington Press. Contributors include heather ahtone, Rachel C. Allen, Anya Montiel (Mestizo/Tohono O’odham descent), and a selection of poetry composed by past collaborators of the artist.
Joe Feddersen (Okanagan/Sinixt), “Gathering Under the Stars,” 2010, waxed linen, wool, fabric, thread, 8½ × 7½ × 7½ in. Photo: Dean Davis. © Joe Feddersen.
Major support for Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky is provided by The Henry Luce Foundation, Terra Foundation for American Art, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Links
- Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky,
The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture,
September 28, 2024 – January 5, 2025 - Joe Feddersen, official artist’s website
- Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky catalogue,
University of Washington Press
