Fall Exhibitions

Bainbridge Island Museum of Art

“Object Lessons” (through September 20)

This major exhibit of art by Carletta Carrington Wilson includes pieces from “Mingus Series” (2008), “Book of the Bound” (2012), the multi-part “Letter to a Laundress” (2018), and recent works such as “No Way Out” (2026). The artist filled the multistory window of the museum with a towering multi-media piece, “Utopia.” In the top floor Beacon Gallery, “Utopia” appears again, this time spelled out in small kitsch figures. It offers cheerful irony while echoing the large window outside.

In this space the long poem “Lessons of Possession” begins: “To make sense of the possessive tense it is crucial to understand that the object of an object is to be had held kept adhered to by right of possession…” The lesson is a heartfelt statement about slavery. 

In the main gallery, Wilson creates a dazzling effect with multicolored fabrics, but as we approach the individual works we see there is much more at stake than aesthetics.

There are six examples from the “Book of the Bound” series (2011). Wilson’s collaged book covers become a song to those who could not fill these books with their own stories. One of the covers is made of bones attached with lace, others emphasize cotton, many are adorned with beautiful fabrics but closed with chains. Wilson uses fabric to draw connections between trade, money, and the “thread-bare body”—the wealth of the traders was based on the bodies of the enslaved. 

The fabrics throughout the exhibit are decorative, but painted with words that speak to the slave trade. Because European slavers often traded fine fabrics like silk and velvet in exchange for bodies, Wilson believes the stories of  the enslaved remain in the cloth.

Wilson’s “Letter to a Laundress” (2018) is a poem in the form of a letter to her great-great-grandmother, and the piece dominates the space with photographs from the 1930s, each mounted on fabric and suspended from a clothesline. Written on the photographs are descriptions of steps in doing laundry and one word in large type: Wash, Soak, Starch, Wring, Boil, Pin, Rub, Scrub, Hang, Press. The WPA photographs of laundresses reveal the different backgrounds of the women—some are wearing rags, others are in dresses and heels. As she worked on the project, Wilson became deeply aware of the connection between the hanging of laundry and the hanging people.

In addition the show includes very recent work such as “No Way Out.” An ironing board covered with black fabric and bearing a vertical row of red Xs is paired with two irons painted with red hand marks. It is powerful statement on its own and even more so as a follow-up to the laundresses. The Xs represent the signature of illiterate people but may also be a reference to writing in blood. The title and shrouded ironing board honors the women who ironed.

“Indigenous Craft” (through November 3)

Curated by the prominent Suquamish tribal leader Robin Little Wing Sigo in collaboration with BIMA, this lovely exhibition demonstrates the strength of contemporary Indigenous art and craft in many media. We are so fortunate in the Salish Sea region to live among generations of active Indigenous artists, many working in traditional and ceremonial forms, others focusing on contemporary practices and materials.

Weaving in terms of blankets, hats, and baskets, includes innovative work such as Betty Pasco’s radiating raffia design from a center made of sweetgrass with seed pods left intact. A more extreme innovator is Joe Feddersen who contributes woven waxed linen baskets, with specific designs woven in black. With titles like “Parking Lot,” “Roll Call,” and “Aggressive Attitude,” his work is both witty and provocative.

We see masks of all types in this show. Among works by Larry “Ulaaq” Ahvakana are extraordinary bird masks with spreading wings, such as “Giant Puffin,” and “Inua/Spirit Mask that Eats the Walrus.” Jennifer Angiak Wood takes experimentation further in a mask like “Destruction, Weapons of War” with its tortured face. Her “Spiritual Cycles” and “Song for the Moon” are both composed of diverse materials. The former divides in half, and the latter has eyes looking at the moon and a mouth open as if singing. The well-known Ed Archie NoiseCat has two scary coyote masks and a bear on display.

David Boxley presents a traditional bentwood box with a formline eagle design. Dan Friday gives us stunning glass fish in all colors including salmon and orca. The show includes two serigraphs by Marvin Oliver including one of Raven on top of the moon. 

Preston Singletary presents two pieces from his recent Traver Gallery exhibition, “A Clockwork Raven,” namely “Emerald City” and “Shadow Man.” Each refers to stories that Singletary told in “A Clockwork Raven.” “Emerald City” refers to Seattle where Raven has an adventure underground with “Shadow Man.” In “Earth Prayer,” which predates the other pieces, Raven stands on a log hoping his earth prayer can save the world from greed and materialism.

Don’t miss these exhibits, they are sure to expand your thinking in every direction.

Susan Noyes Platt

Susan Noyes Platt writes for local, national, and international publications and her website www.artandpoliticsnow.com.

Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, located at 550 Winslow Way East on Bainbridge Island, Washington, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.biartmuseum.org.