Artist's Statement

     When I came to Washington State in the mid-1970’s, Northwest Coast Indian Art captured my imagination and secured my love as a decorative form.  However, with increased exposure to Native history, art, and culture through my archeological experiences at Fishtown and Ozette and my twenty-three years teaching at Neah Bay, I came to understand that this art was much more than just a decorative form.  This was a living art intertwined with function, symbolism, spirituality, and social significance. 

     The formal, two-dimensional Northwest Coast Indian painting tradition forms the foundation of my style.  The art of painting on cedar, seen in the house fronts, interior screens, boxes, and chests, continually inspires and influences my work.   Painting on wood, mostly red cedar, I use primary formlines to create the structure of my designs.  In this way I try to stay true to the cultural traditions of the Northwest Coast, but these are not the only creative influences on my art.

     I was first introduced to the Celtic art tradition in our many visits to Scotland.  Celtic knotwork, spirals and other design elements began to influence my designs through my interest in Pictish standing stones, Celtic crosses, and especially illuminated manuscripts like the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells.  I was surprised to see the cultural similarities between Celtic and Northwest Indian art.  Both cultures have many aspects in common being tribal, clan-oriented, art-rich, and having strong oral traditions.

     The arts of Japan provide a third art tradition that inspires my designs, from mingei (or folk art) used for everyday life to the higher arts favored by samurai, the nobility, and the Imperial Court.  From the traditions surrounding ceramics, textiles (especially kimono), and karakami-printed paper fusuma, I have developed an appreciation of and a love for pattern.  Japanese woodblock prints, with their exquisite sense of composition and their two-dimensional, flat blocks of color, fit well within the coast formline foundation of my art.    Finally, the asymmetry favored in Japanese design acts as a counter-balance for the strong bilateral symmetry favored by Northwest Coast Native artists.

     The final and overlying inspiration for my art comes from the British Arts and Crafts Movement, in particular the Glasgow Style, and Japan's Mingei Movement.  The philosophical foundations provided by Ruskin, Morris, and Yanagi have given me the courage to create my own art, without the fear of producing work that is somewhat less than the perfection expected of today’s manufactured world.  Art is made to show the beauty of the natural world, and it links us to our place within it.  I work to the best of my ability, and though the end product may be exploratory, the result is an honest expression of passion.

The Herons Stane    Fall 2011

Gary Giovane Background Information

BAILLIE SCOTT'S WINDOW Fall 2010

CELTIC CATS Fall 2012

     .  I have been painting with acrylics on wood, specifically red cedar, for almost forty years and have been greatly influenced by the arts and crafts of Northwest Coast native peoples.  I was first introduced to Northwest Coast Indian culture and art in 1974 while doing archeology at the Fishtown dig outside of La Conner, Washington.  At that time I was also exposed to the vibrant Fishtown arts community along the North Fork of the Skagit River.  These powerful forces brought me to purchase Bill Holm’s epic book and to start my journey as a student of the art.  After several trips to Victoria and Vancouver, B.C., I began to study contemporary art through the silkscreen prints of Bill Reid, Roy Vickers, and especially Tony Hunt.  I also began to purchase books to use as reference materials.  From these sources I saw for the first time the amazing painted housefronts, interior screens, and boxes made by master painters of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  I developed a great admiration and love for the art and began to use these sources to teach myself to paint through observation of the masterpieces illustrated within.     This interest in the art was further enhanced while doing archeology at the Ozette site from 1975 to 1976.  It was at Ozette where I made many lasting friendships (including my future wife, Leigh) and formed lifelong connections with the Makah people.  While working at Ozette, I was able to observe “precontact” art from the site and to see how carved negative units were used to create positive spaces in the design.  I don’t think I knew it at the time but this has had a strong effect on my own designs to this day.  During this time I did several exploratory paintings on cloth (old bed sheeting).

     From 1977 to 1980 Leigh and I moved to Memphis, Tennessee.  It was while living in Memphis that I began painting on wood.  These early attempts were part of my self-education to learn how to work within the formal style of the art.  For personal interest, I did a computer analysis of chest designs back in the late 70’s based on complexity shown by the vertical stacking of positive and negative design units.  This helped me design for a semi-bentwood chest that I eventually finished after we moved to Neah Bay.

     In 1980 Leigh and I moved back to Neah Bay where we were employed as teachers.  This allowed us to renew old friendships as well as to make many new ones.  We remained there as teachers on the Makah Reservation up until 2003.  While in Neah Bay, I had the opportunity to witness the living art of the Makah people through the dances, masks, other art objects used at many potlatches held there. I also had the chance to admire the artwork of many creative Makah and Nuu-chah-nulth artists, from Frank Smith (a transitional, “pre-Holm” carver) to Greg Colfax, Micah Vogel, Spencer McCarty, George David and Art Thompson.  All of these experiences were life changing and have entered into my own artistic endeavors.   During this time I continued to paint as part of my education, creating several paintings as time allowed.  Reflecting my love for the beautiful painted screens of old, I painted three 5 foot by 8 foot screens.  These larger paintings helped me progress as I continued to learn the painted form.

TREE OF LIFE Fall 2008

     In 2003 Leigh and I made the difficult decision to move to La Conner to finish our teaching careers and to eventually retire.  As it turned out, this was a good move.  For me it was coming full circle, back to where I first came to Washington State in 1974.  By this time I no longer wanted to paint in the traditional way.  Being non-native, I wanted to distance myself from doing an art form to which I held no rights or prerogatives.  Yet at the same time I did not want to extinguish a part of me that was very important.  Since retiring in 2010, I have been able to form a hybrid art—one that has special meaning to me.  Northwest Coast Indian art still forms the foundation of my hybrid style.  However, the formal rules and design elements have been abandoned.  Incorporated with in this foundation are elements from Celtic Art; in particular, the Book of Kells and the Celtic Revival designs of Archibald Knox.  My interest in Celtic art stems from our many family visits to Scotland.  Our daughter Jessie and her husband Adam both attended the Glasgow school of Art and are currently living in Carnoustie.  From this connection I learned about Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow style, of which I greatly admire.  This led to my being influenced by other British Arts & Crafts architect/designers, particularly M.H. Baillie Scott and C.F.A. Voysey.  They all continue to play an important role in my designs.  One final source of ideas and inspiration comes from Japanese woodblock prints, from the ukiyo-e masters like Hokusai to modern printmaker Kiyoshi Saito. 

CARDINALS IN SNOW Winter 2014

     All in all, it has been an extremely interesting journey.  I am thankful for everyone who has aided me as a student of the art.  I especially thank my wife Leigh for her support and collaboration.  The exciting part is that there is still so much more to paint—still so much more to learn.

Resume

Gary A. Giovane 
P.O. Box 692
La Conner, WA  98257
Telephone:  (360)-466-0518
Email:  gioart13@yahoo.com
Web Site:  www.ggiovane.com                    
 
FORMAL EDUCATION              
              
1980                    Master of Arts in Teaching, Secondary Education, Memphis State
                            University, Memphis, TN
1977                    Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University,
                            University Park, PA
 
 
ARCHEOLOGICAL & TEACHING EXPERIENCE
 
2003-2010           La Conner High School, La Conner, WA
1980-2003           Neah Bay High School, Neah Bay, WA
1975-1976           Ozette Archeological Project; Washington State University
1975                     Indian Island Archeological Project; Washington State University
1974                     Fishtown Archeological Project; Washington State University
 
 
GALLERIES

Artwood Gallery, Fairhaven/Bellingham, WA
Cattails & Dragonflies, La Conner, WA
Matzke Fine Art Gallery, Camano Island, WA
The River Gallery, Mt. Vernon, WA
The Jansen Art Center, Lynden, WA
The Schack Art Center, Everett, WA

EXHIBITION RECORD

2020                     Jansen Art Center Spring Show, Lynden, WA
2020                     Matzke Gallery Spring 2020 Show, Camano Island, WA
2020                     River Gallery Spring Show 2020, Mt. Vernon, WA
2019                     Jansen Art Center Winter Show, Lynden, WA
​2019                     Skagit Artist's Fall Show/Art's Alive 2019, La Conner, WA
2019                     Matzke Gallery “Honey, I Shrunk the Art” Show, Camano Island, WA
2019                     Matzke Gallery Fall Art Auction 2019, Camano Island, WA
2019                     Jansen Art Center Fall Show, Lynden, WA
2019                     NW Art Beat Open Studio Tour, La Conner, WA
2019                     Anacortes Arts Festival, Arts at the Port Show, Anacortes, WA
2019                     ArtWood Gallery “New Work Show”, Bellingham, WA
2019                     MVDA Summer Sips, Mt Vernon, WA—Skagit Runners
2019                     Hadrian's Stone Design & Gallery June Biome Show, Edison, WA
2019                     Matzke Gallery Spring 2019 Show, Camano Island, WA
2019                     Schack Art Center’s “Pets on Parade” Show 2019, Everett, WA
2019                     River Gallery Spring 2019 Show, Mt. Vernon, WA
2018                     Hadrian Stone Design & Gallery December Art Show, Edison, WA
2018                     Matzke Gallery “Honey, I Shrunk the Art” Show, Camano Island, WA
2018                     Schack Art Center’s Holiday Art Show 2018, Everett, WA
2018                     Skagit Artists Fall Show/Art’s Alive 2018, La Conner, WA
2018                     Matzke Gallery Fall Art Auction 2018, Camano Island, WA
2018                     The River Gallery Fall 2018 Show, Mt. Vernon, WA
2018                     Schack Art Center’s “Schack-tober-fest” Show, Everett. WA
2018                     Hadrian Stone Design & Gallery: August Featured Artist, Edison, WA
2018                     Anacortes Arts Festival, Arts at the Port Show, Anacortes, WA
2018                     NW Art Beat Open Studio Tour, La Conner, WA
2018                     Schack Art Center’s “The Intersection of Art + Math”, Everett, WA​
2018                    The River Gallery Spring 2018 Show, Mt. Vernon, WA
2018                     ArtWood Gallery: Featured Artist for March & April, Bellingham, WA
2017                     Skagit Artists Fall Show/Art’s Alive 2017, La Conner, WA
2017                     Matzke Gallery Fall Art Auction 2017, Camano Island, WA
2017                     The River Gallery Fall 2017 Show, Mt. Vernon, WA
2017                     Wild Fibers: Featured Artist for August, Mt. Vernon, WA
2017                     NW Art Beat Open Studio Tour, La Conner, WA
2017                     The River Gallery Spring 2017 Show, Mt. Vernon, WA
2017                     ArtWood Gallery: Featured Artist for March & April, Bellingham, WA
2016                     La Conner Brewery: Featured Artist for October thru December, La Conner, WA
2016                     The River Gallery Fall 2016 Show, Mt. Vernon, WA
2016                     Art in Bloom 2016, Anacortes, WA
2016                     The River Gallery Spring 2016 Show, Mt. Vernon, WA
2016                     ArtWood Gallery: Featured Artist for March & April, Bellingham, WA
2015                     The River Gallery Fall 2015 Show, Mt. Vernon, WA                            
2015                     Art’s Alive Invitational Show: Featured Artist, La Conner, WA
2014                     Art’s Alive Merchants Exhibit Guest Artist: Artist’s Remarque, La Conner, WA
2013                     Art’s Alive Emerging Artist Show, La Conner, WA
2013-19               The Museum of Northwest Art Auction, La Conner, WA
2013                     Skagit Adult Day Care Auction, Sedro Woolley, WA
2011                     Paint Me a River Too, Skagit County Historical Museum, La Conner, WA
2011                     Smith & Vallee/The Re-Store Recycled Arts & Fashion Show, Bow, WA
2011                     A Gathering of Native Artists, Skagit County Historical Museum, La Conner, WA
2005-12, 2014      Art’s Alive Open Art Show, La Conner, WA
   2016-19


ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIPS
 
Skagit Artists  2017-present (board member 2018-2019)
​La Conner Arts Commission 2020

     
Thank you very much for your interest in my work.

contact me at:  gioart13@yahoo.com

Leigh's Horses Triptych     Spring 2011