The Art of Hib Sabin - Presented by Stonington Gallery

The Art of Hib Sabin

P R E S E N T E D

B Y

S T O N I N G T O N

G A L L E R Y

Stonington Gallery

Masterworks of the Northwest Coast

Works by Hib Sabin presented in this catalogue are available to collect through Stonington Gallery as of Summer 2016. Please consult our website for current pricing.

Some of these works are unique juniper sculptures, not to be replicated. Others are limited edition bronzes, and are available to be ordered through the gallery. Please note: bronze patinas are applied by hand, and can vary significantly from piece to piece. Exact matching of a patina as photographed is difficult, and each work is considered an original piece.

125 South Jackson Street • Seattle, WA, 98104 206.405.4040 • Located in Historic Pioneer Square • Open Daily art@stoningtongallery.com • stoningtongallery.com

Catalog copyright Stonington Gallery (c) 2016 Design by Sarra Scherb • Photography by Ashley Genevieve and Wright Publishing

H

ib Sabin’s fascination and love of mythology and culture ripened during his extensive travels throughout the world. Born in Baltimore in 1935, Sabin (Non-Indigenous) attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and came of age during the height of Abstract Expressionism. He taught art at a number of institutions until 1970, when he switched gears to become a full-time artist.

As a student of shamanism, Sabin is attuned to the connection between the human and animal spirit worlds. Among his most memorable and influential experiences have been the study of Pacific Northwest Coast Native peoples and their rich and ancient mythology. Additionally, time spent working with a peace group in Russia towards the end of the Cold War, observing divination practices in Uzbekistan, studying Hindu mythology among India’s hill tribes and apprenticing with a Mexican curandero (female shaman) during his stay in Mexico, have all aided in inspiring his work and appreciation of the world.

Recently he has spent time with the Masai in Tanzania, and the Australian Aboriginal societies, exploring how contemporary cultures exist in their natural environment and adapt to modern existence. Journeying throughout these places has taught Hib that, “regardless of where people live, there is a certain commonality among us all.”

sabin’s cast of figures moves in and out of the spiritual world and evokes a global pantheon.

Some works reference specific myths and stories, such as the Northwest Coast myth of Raven Stealing the Light, or the Homeric “Odyssey”. Themes of transformation are common in his work, specifically transitional moments between life, sleep, and the afterlife. His ravens, owls, eagles, bears, wolves and cougars are stand-ins for the human soul, and the many states the soul can achieve.

S

abin works predominantly in juniper wood, carving shamanic masks and maskettes, spirit bowls and canoes, elongated birds, and tableaux of human/animal hybrids depicting scenes of travel and connection.

“I consider myself a person of the world; consequently I take great interest in the mythologies of humankind. What I passionately explore is the essence of traditional myth as it is applicable in our time.

My goal is not to recreate a mythology, but bring past and present together in a multidimensional form that speaks to its mystery.”

•

H

ib Sabin has been a practicing artist since 1957. He received a BFA in Studio Art and Art History from a coordinated program between the University of Pennsylvania and The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He went on to obtain his MFA in Art History from the University of Pittsburgh.

Following this period Hib continued his role as academician and became an instructor of studio art and art history at Shadyside Academy in Pittsburgh; an Associate Professor of studio art and art history at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA; and an instructor of art history at Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA. Stonington Gallery is proud to have represented Hib Sabin for over a decade.

Standing Forms W

hat is the spirit of a bird and the power within it?

To convey this artistically is to bring the physical and spiritual together in a carving that has power.

W

hat is the essence of this power and what does it mean to connect with it in the most primitive, archetypal sense? For the answer to this I turn to the mythologies of the world, for it is they that have the potential to divulge the mystery of these immortal characters.�

-Hib Sabin

Dreaming Guardians II (Left) Juniper, Pigments, Base 22.5”h x 18”w x 5”d (right) Limited Edition Bronze on Base 22.5”h x 18”w x 5”d

Bound in Time Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 14.5”h x 7.5”w x 7.5”d

The Orator Juniper, Pigments, Metal Stand 20”h x 6.75”w x 10.5”d

Through the Unknown Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 11.75”h x 26”w x 21”d

Dreaming Owl Limited Edition Bronze (APs Only), Wooden Base 16.25”h x 5.5”w x 5.5”d

awareness Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 14.5”h x 7.5”w x 7.5”d

Presence Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 13.75”h x 22”w x 12”d

Raven Talk Limited Edition Bronze 17”h x 12”w x 12”d

Owl Totem Limited Edition Bronze 19.75”h x 5.25”w x 5.25”d

Old Man Raven Limited Edition Bronze 12”h x 24”w x 8”d

Solitude of Raven Juniper, Pigments 13.25”h x 19”w x 7”d

still of the night Limited Edition Bronze 15.5”h x 5.5”w x 6”d

Silence Limited Edition Bronze 14.25”h x 4”w x 3.5”d

Guardians of Dreamtime Limited Edition Bronze, Metal Base 19.25”h x 18.5”w x 7.5”d

great raven Limited Edition Bronze, Wooden Base 18”h x 8.5”w x 8”d

repose Limited edition bronze on stand 15.5” h x 12.5” w x 10”d

lunar Owl Limited Edition Bronze, cast glass, metal stand 17” h x 10” w x 8”d

Raven Dreaming Limited Edition Bronze 18”h x 6”w x 12.5”d

Raven and His Brother Limited Edition Bronze 17.75”h x 6”w x 14”d

Spirit Owl Limited Edition Bronze 22.5”h x 8”w x 6”d

Eagle Owl (Small)

Eagle Owl (Large)

Limited Edition Bronze (APs Only), Wooden Base 9”h x 4”w x 4”d

Limited Edition Bronze, Wooden Base 21”h x 7.5”w x 7.5”d

ascent Juniper, Pigments, Base 9.75”h x 22.75”w x 14.50”d

raven song Limited Edition Bronze 29.5”h x 15”w x 6”d

the man who would be raven ed. 1 left / ed. 2 right Limited Edition Bronzes on wood bases 19””h x 6”w x 17”d

time & the river Limited Edition Bronze, Wooden Base 19”h x 20”w x 7”d

the old one Limited Edition Bronze, Wooden Base 14”h x 20”w x 7”d

The Great Eagle Owl Spirit Limited Edition bronze, wood base 24.5”h x 8”w x 8”d Also available in largest size: 72”h x 22”w x 22”d

fisher of souls Limited Edition Bronze, Wooden Base 19”h x 7.5”w x 22.25”d

Raven Spirit Limited edition bronze, wooden base 33.25”h x 11.75”w x 8.5”d

Land of the Ancient Totems: Curved Owl Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 16.25”h x 5.5”w x 5.5”d

Spirit Boats & Bowls T

here is a great yearning in our time--a need to return to nature, a need for mythology and ritual. Many people cannot articulate it, but they can respond to it.

And if you scratch them, a lot of people are drawn to spirit and to the animistic.

-hib sabin

Red Tailed Hawk Ritual Bowl Limited Edition Bronze 6”h x 15”w x 5.75”d

Black Bear and Gray Wolf Spirit Canoe Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 11”h x 19.5”w x 9”d

Black Bear and Gray Wolf Spirit Canoe (bronze) Limited Edition Bronze 12”h x 19.5”w x 8”d

Coyote / Hawk Spirit Canoe Limited Edition Bronze 7”h x 9.75”w x 4.5”d

Golden Eagle and Black Bear Spirit Canoe Limited Edition Bronze 9.5”h x 15.75”w x 6.5”d

Passing the Spirit On Limited Edition Bronze 5.5”h x 17”w x 7”d

Passing the Spirit On juniper, pigments 5.75”h x 17”w x 7”d

Eagle/ Wolf Spirit Canoe Limited Edition Bronze 13.5”h x 26”w x 9”d

Two Eagles Spirit Canoe Limited Edition Bronze 9”h x 16.5”w x 5.75”d

Golden Eagle Feast Bowl Juniper, Pigments 7.5”h x 18”w x 7.75”d

Eagle Feast Bowl Limited Edition Bronze 8”h x 17.5”w x 7.5”d

Tableaux

recently sabin has been carving ever more complex tableaux featuring multiple interacting characters. his 2012 exhibition, “the journey” brought soulful interpretations of the homeric “odyssey”, filtered through sabin’s lens. in 2014 he was deeply inspired by the writing of sartre and camus, spurring the works in the exhibit “silence”. the heart of the 2015 exhibit was the powerful “the sleep of reason brings forth monsters”, inspired by the goya etching of the same name. and in 2016, two masterful tableaux debuted: Embracing the essence and ship of fools. sabin asked colleague and friend thomas choi to produce thoughtful writing on them. excerpts from choi’s statement are within this catalogue.

I

n Embracing the Essence, a friendly space is created by the oncoming greeting of two newly transformed beings. They have undergone transfiguration from mortal rowers who passed through the mundane and approach each other, their wings creating a space that anticipates embrace. The space itself, at first abstract and inchoate, becomes a safety zone, free of self concern and once in place, dispels fearfulness altogether.

This space is simultaneously unperturbed and imperturbable. Embracing the Essence shows the emergence from a primitive state to greet a new order. It is a space created with conscientiousness and cooperation.

-Thomas Choi, on Sabin’s 2016 Solo Exhibit.

Embracing the Essence Juniper, Pigments, Metal Stand 13.5”h x 26”w x 12.5”d

T

hough whimsical perhaps, nothing in these presentations is unintentional; every color, color contrast, spatial arrangement, body carriage, proportion was sketched out in advance and carved as envisioned. Take, for example, the two ravens in the Ship of Fools in this exhibit.

One is white trying to be black, the other is black masquerading as white, creating the farce of making black white and white black and thinking they, the ravens, can get away with it.

T

he Ship of Fools may be a spoof but it is also an embrace of the very fools who nevertheless create a community; a rather dysfunctional community, but a community all the same. The captain is remote and bound to himself. The fawning and squabbling ravens try to project a color different from who they are, the owl is fixed on looking at himself instead of looking out for the ship, the parrot’s spyglass is trained on the wrong spot, the elegant thrasher steersman is more ornamental than functional with its tiny but decorative oar. He’s blindfolded to himself and to others. Despite these narcissistic tendencies, on a collective scale, the ship stays afloat and meanders on. We are left to ponder whether those on the ship will manage to enjoy a pleasant voyage or be doomed to enact their own No Exit.

-Thomas Choi, on Sabin’s 2016 Solo Exhibition

ship of fools Juniper, Pigments, Metal Stand 22”h x 29”w x 12”d

T

his sculpture is an homage to Francisco Goya’s 1799 etching The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters.

Goya wrote a caption for the print: ”Imagination abandoned by reason produces impossible monsters; united with her, she is the mother of the arts and source of their wonders.”

In other words, imagination should never be completely renounced in favor of the strictly rational. For Goya, art is the child of reason in combination with imagination.

The Sleep of Reason Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 14.75”h x 17”w x 16.5”d

Wrapped in Silence Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 16”h x 24”w x 8”d

Imprinted Consciousness Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 13.75”h x 19”w x 6”d

Silence of Awareness Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 17”h x 12”w x 14”d

Owl Woods Limited Edition Bronze, Wooden Base 14”h x 16”w x 9”d

Small Souls & Fetishes i’ve always liked to pick something up and carry it around in my pocket, like a fetish object or an amulet.

They themselves don’t have a power, but they focus one’s attention on things. And the more an owner’s energy is put into the piece, the more power it has.

-hib sabin

Dreaming Owl II (Left) Limited Edition Bronze, metal Base 3.5”h x 4”w x 7.75”d (above) juniper, pigments, metal base 3.5”h x 4”w x 7.75”d

The Sleeper Limited Edition Bronze 10.25”h x 4”w x 3.18”d

Twilight Limited Edition Bronze, Stand 7”h x 8.25”w x 3.75”d

Old Souls Limited Edition Bronze 10.75”h x 11”w x 5.75”d

Singing Raven Limited Edition Bronze, Wooden Base 10”h x 4.75”w x 10.5”d

the Little Bird Totems are expressions of hope, showing that nature can endure and produce beauty no matter the circumstance.

Little Bird Totems (Bird with Tucked Beak) Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 10.38”h x 6”w x 2.93”d

Little Bird Totems (Owl) Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 7.25”h x 7.5”w x 2.35”d

Eagle Owl (Small) Limited Edition Bronze 9”h x 4”w x 4”d

Song of Solitude Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 13.25”h x 10.5”w x 3.5”d

SONG OF SOLITUDE (BRONZE) Limited Edition Bronze, Stand 7”h x 10”w x 3.5”d

The Dreamer (LEFT) JUNIPER, PIGMENTS, METAL BASE 10”h x 5”w x 4.5”d (RIGHT) Limited Edition Bronze, METAL Base 11.25”h x 4.38”w x 5.75”d

BEAR PENDANT CAST STERLING SILVER 1.25”H

OWL PENDANT CAST STERLING SILVER 2”H

EAGLE PENDANT CAST STERLING SILVER 1.75”H

RAVEN PENDANT CAST STERLING SILVER 2.5”H

SMALL RAVEN Limited Edition BronzE 9.25”h x 4”w x 4”d

Cougar Fetish Limited Edition Bronze, METAL AND WOOD BASE 9.25”h x 18”w x 5.5”d

Recumbent Owl Limited Edition Bronze 4”h x 13.75”w x 6.5”d

Masks & Sticks Shamanism has to do with healing and divination, with working in parallel worlds--the upper and lower worlds--and with the energy and the journeying between the two. in shamanism, everything is felt to be animated, to have soul energy.

-HIB SABIN

RAVEN UNMASKED Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 20.25”h x 13”w x 8”d

Flying Hawk Ritual Stick Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 14.75”h x 10.25”w x 8.5”d

Sabin’s Talking Sticks pay tribute to the ancient idea of an object that gives a person the right to speak or hold the floor. When the Talking Stick is given to a person, they are the “Speaker” and are to be listened to with respect and attention.

Mountain Lion Talking Stick Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 5.25”h x 3.25”w x 11.5”d

Coyote

Cougar

limited edition bronze, Metal Base 12.75”h x 8”w x 5.5”d

limited edition bronze, Metal Base 13”h x 6”w x 6.75”d

bear Limited Edition Bronze, Metal Stand 12”h x 7”w x 6.75”d

Spirit Bear Mask Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 15.5”h x 6.5”w x 9.5”d

Emerging Spirit Juniper, Pigments, Metal Base 11”h x 5”w x 8.25”d

Raven Animal Spirit Mask limited edition Bronze on stand 11”h x 5”w x 6”d

Red Fox Animal Spirit Mask limited edition bronze on stand 12”h x 5”w x 5”d

Red-Tailed Hawk Animal Spirit Mask limited edition Bronze on stand 9.5”h x 4.5”w x 4.75”d

Black Bear Animal Spirit Mask Limited edition bronze on stand 12”h x 5.75”w x 5.75”d

Collaborations

sabin collaborates frequently with glassblower peter wright to create the “spirit jar� series, which takes its cues from ancient egyptian canopic jars. the vessels are blown glass, and the heads are carved juniper sculptures. sabin has also created a number of collaborations with jeweler joan tenenbaum, where his carvings are settings for her intricate pendants or earrings.

Snowy Owl Spirit Jar Collaboration with Peter Wright Juniper, Pigments, Blown Glass 17.5”h x 8.5”w x 9”d

Barn Owl Spirit Jar Collaboration with Peter Wright Juniper, Pigments, Blown Glass 17”h x 7”w x 7”d

spirit bear Jar Collaboration with Peter Wright Juniper, Pigments, Blown Glass 20.75”h x 7.5”w x 7.5”d

T

his piece is about paths, obstacles, events, damaging wounds, rebirth, and healing. The lines and arrows represent trails, passageways, lifepaths, attempts at forward progress, and overcoming obstacles. The beads on the right, which spin in place, represent relationships that didn’t go anywhere. The leather sutures represent the way we all stitch ourselves up again and again after our hearts have been torn open.

T

he cloth-like texture of the encircling frame represents the binding of our wounds and the threadbare raiment that holds us all together. The piece of old ivory set at the top, along with the stars, represent sailing on, persevering, and reaching the top of the mountain where our wings can finally open in celebration and joy.

-Joan Tenenbaum

The Journey’s End: The Homecoming Collaboration with joan tenenbaum 14K Gold, Copper, Brass, Leather, Silk, Fossilized Mammoth Ivory, Keum Boo (Fine Gold and Silver), Sterling Silver 12.5”h x 13.38”w x 7.25”d

S T O N I N G T O N G A L L E R Y . c o m