He Who Spins Illusions

Traver Gallery

He Who Spins Illusions, Preston's exhibition at Traver Gallery in October 2014, delves deeply into the mythic sub-currents of Tlingit emblems and iconography. Interested in the important tradition of storytelling in his native Tlingit culture, Singletary brings a fresh and newly imagined narrative to this most recent body of work.

Singletary's art is his voice, and his sculptures and carving his words. The sculptures presented in this show are invocations of the supernatural; they are shamanistic tales told around a fire; ghost stories and legends shared quietly amongst family members; peers recounting transformative journeys that illuminate deep spiritual realms; they are the sometimes quiet, sometimes penetrating echoes of generations of Tlingit storytellers and artists.

Essential to Singletary's work is the way in which his sculptures connect him to both the present and the past. Aesthetically, he calls our attention to these distinct yet connected temporal realities by elegantly melding the traditional form-line design and iconography with contemporary forms, colors, and gestures. It is through these aesthetic assertions that he captures our attention and compels us to look closely, to "hear" his stories and family legends.