Museum exhibit showcases jewelry by Denise and Samuel Wallace

Submitted by Kerynn Fisher
Phone: 907-474-6941
10/10/07

Using fossil ivory, silver, gold and semi-precious stones, Denise and Samuel Wallace create exquisite jewelry inspired by Denise’s Chugach Aleut heritage and by life in Alaska. Museum visitors will be able enjoy their work in the special exhibit, "Arctic Transformations: The Jewelry of Denise and Samuel Wallace," which opens Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007 and continues through Jan. 13, 2008.

Arctic Transformations features more than 120 individual pieces of jewelry, including 11 of the Wallaces’ intricately detailed belts. The jewelry pieces are miniature sculptures depicting Alaska wildlife and scenes of daily life in Alaska, including berry picking, dancing and hunting. Many of the pieces feature masks that open and arms that move to reveal other aspects of the image portrayed. Several of the belts feature detachable items that can be worn as a pin or pendant.

"This is an extraordinary opportunity for us to be able to show this collection of Denise and Samuel’s work in Fairbanks," says museum exhibit director Wanda Chin. "Many of these pieces have been loaned from private collections. It may be years before the public has a chance to see such a complete range of their work in one venue."

Born in Seattle, Denise Wallace lived in Cordova with her Aleut grandmother after high school and before attending the Institute for American Indian Arts in Santa Fe for formal training in jewelry. Her time in Alaska and her Aleut heritage have been key inspirations for her work. A husband-wife artistic team, Denise and Samuel began creating belts shortly after she graduated from the Institute in 1982. Their work is featured in permanent collections of several museums, including the University of Alaska Museum of the North where their "Little Girl, No. 5 of 5" has served as the face of the museum’s membership program since 2002.

Denise Wallace will present a lecture on her life and work, beginning at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 24 at the museum. The lecture is free and open to the public. A book signing immediately follows the lecture. The companion book to the exhibit, "Arctic Transformations: The Jewelry of Denise and Samuel Wallace," is available for $60 in hardcover at the Museum Store. Written by Lois Sherr Dubin, the 240-page book is richly illustrated with Kyoshi Togashi’s photographs of the Wallaces’ work. Copies of the book can be reserved by calling the Museum Store at 474-1595 by Monday, Oct. 15.

The Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center organized this 25-year retrospective exhibit of the Wallaces’ work. The Fairbanks showing is the final stop on the exhibit’s national tour and is funded, in part, by the City of Fairbanks Hotel-Motel Tax Fund, regrant from the Fairbanks Arts Association and by contributors to the Museum Exhibition Enhancement Fund.

Admission to the special exhibit is included in the museum’s general admission price: $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $5 for youth 7-17 and free for children 6 and under. Museum members and UAF students (with valid ID) also receive free admission. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week and from noon to 5 p.m. on weekends. Information on the museum’s programs and exhibits is available at 907-474-7505 and online at www.uaf.edu/museum.

CONTACT: Kerynn Fisher, University of Alaska Museum of the North communications coordinator, at (907) 474-6941 or (907) 378-2559.

Note to editors: Images are available on request.