The San Juan Islands Museum of Art  Summer season 2026 Exhibitions embrace Photography, etching, glass sculpture and feather sculpture

Three distinctive exhibitions will fill the San Juan Islands Museum of Art’s galleries June 11, 2026 – September 14, 2026 this summer time, that includes famend artists whose work is concentrated on the pure and cultural environments of Washington State and past. Photography, etching, glass sculpture and feather sculpture shall be showcased. The Museum is positioned at 540 Spring Street, Friday Harbor, www.SJIMA.org. Open Thursdays via Mondays 11-5. Docent excursions can be found by prior reservation.

Convergence & Divergence: The Family Aesthetic (within the Nichols Gallery)

Two Parents, One Son. A Century of Vision.

For the primary time, the work of Imogen Cunningham, Roi Partridge, and Rondal Partridge shall be proven collectively in Convergence and Divergence: The Family Aesthetic. This exhibition explores how inventive imaginative and prescient is handed via generations, highlighting how three relations formed and responded to their instances whereas pursuing their artwork. 

A Family of Artists

Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976), was a pioneer of American modernist images and founding member of Group f/64, the Nineteen Thirties collective of West Coast Photographers. Known for her iconic botanical photos and portraits of artists. She captured gorgeous photos of Frida Kahlo, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and plenty of others.

Roi Partridge (1888-1984), Imogen’s husband, turned a famend etcher, who taught at Mills College, and by no means stopped documenting his vanishing and cherished California landscapes.

Rondal Partridge (1917-2015) Imogen and Roi’s son, realized from masters like Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams, in the end spending eight a long time photographing individuals, nature, and social change.

A Retrospective Spanning Over 100 Years

With almost 110 years of mixed work, this exhibition options masterworks and uncommon items, illuminating how these artists each collaborated and solid their very own paths.

Featuring over 100 images and prints from the remarkably lengthy careers of those artists, the work is curated from their private archives. This groundbreaking exhibition tells an intimate story: how inventive imaginative and prescient travels throughout generations, how relations see the identical world with completely different eyes and the way three artists saved their inventive spark alive whereas making a residing as artists. Their shared devotion to nature, mastery of sunshine, and dedication to experimentation is obvious all through the thematic collections.

Highlights

• Imogen Cunningham’s magnolia and portraits
• Roi Partridge’s plein-air etchings
• Rondal Partridge’s environmental and botanical images
• Contrasting strategies on shared themes
• Technical and inventive innovation
• Documentary movies by Lopez Island resident Meg Partridge (daughter of Rondal Partridge) on Imogen Cunningham and Rondal Partridge will run within the Museum concurrently through the exhibition.

Feathered Masterpieces: The Artistry of Chris Maynard  (within the North Gallery)

Birds have at all times performed a big function in Chris Maynard’s life. Growing up in Washington State, he discovered peace and solitude within the woods close to his house, observing birds as he lay within the moss beneath towering fir and cedar timber. At the age of twelve, receiving an unique feather sparked his curiosity in utilizing feathers as a medium for his inventive expression and launched his lifelong ardour for remodeling them into artwork.

Process and Philosophy

Today, Maynard carves feathers into intricate artwork—chopping them into detailed shapes and arranging the cutouts into scenes that remember the life and flight of birds. Maynard states, “I don’t trim or flatten the feathers but keep their natural curves and shapes by elevating them from the background. By honoring the feathers in this way, I feel they have reciprocated by enhancing my work with their shadows. So, each piece changes according to the intensity and angle of the light that shines on it. My work highlights the patterns and colors of the feathers themselves, inviting the viewer to look and look again.”

Ethical Sourcing and Presentation

Feathers from quite a lot of birds—together with turkeys, parrots, and peacocks—are used to create scenes displayed in Maynard’s acclaimed shadow packing containers. A conservationist at coronary heart, his feathers are legally sourced. Many of the feathers are naturally shed, obtained from farms, aviaries and zoos.

Symbolism and Impact

Feathers are common symbols of flight, transformation, achievement, and hope. Maynard’s art work resonates with those that aspire to those qualities and with chicken lovers alike.

Selected Press and Appearances

Chris’s work has been featured in dozens of museums, wonderful artwork galleries; nationwide and worldwide publications, in addition to broadcast TV, together with PBS Craft in America, National Geographic Magazine, Western Art & Architecture, Southwest Art Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, Audubon, the Daily Mail, UK; The Discovery Channel—Daily Planet, and a Tedx Talk.

Raven Skyriver: Fluid Life—Glass Sculptures Inspired by the Sea (within the Atrium Gallery)

The luminous work of worldwide glass artist Raven Skyriver started at age 16. Growing up on Lopez Island within the San Juan Islands of Washington state, he attracts inspiration from his pure environment, shaping a physique of labor that’s nearly totally rooted within the marine ecosystem.

Artistic Process and Purpose

Skyriver explains, “I focus on recreating the essence of aquatic life by mimicking the movement and fluidity that define creatures in water. The transformation from molten material to finished piece allows me to capture the sensation of a fish or whale gliding effortlessly through its natural habitat.” Working in glass additionally permits him to mirror the transparency and translucency discovered within the marine world.

From seashells to squid, Raven’s work enhances viewers’ understanding of marine inhabitants. Through his artwork, he encourages individuals to concentrate to the fragile stability of nature—an equilibrium that’s usually ignored or taken as a right.

Training and Artistic Development

Born in 1982, Raven was mentored by Lark Dalton, who taught him tips on how to construct glass-blowing gear and skilled him within the conventional Venetian method. He attended Pilchuck Glass School and continued his mentorship from famend glass artists, reminiscent of Lino Tagliapietra. In 2003, Raven joined the William Morris staff, working with them till Morris’s retirement in 2007. This pivotal expertise solidified his dedication to glass sculpting and educating as his life’s work.

International Recognition

Since then, Raven has established his personal glass studio and traveled extensively—from Japan to Norway, Italy, Denmark, and Turkey—the place he teaches, offers demonstrations, and continues to develop his artistry as an artist in residence. His glass sculptures have been showcased internationally in each solo and group exhibitions, incomes him worldwide recognition.