Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Preview image of work. black ash, cedar bark, birch bark and synthetic dye, Permanence 45520

2023.41

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Permanence

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Artist

Jeremy Frey (Passamaquoddy Indian Township Reservation, Maine, 1978 – )

Title

Permanence

Creation Date

2023

Century

21st century

Dimensions

19 1/2 x 11 1/4 x 11 1/4 in. (49.53 x 28.58 x 28.58 cm)

Medium and Support

black ash, cedar bark, birch bark and synthetic dye

Credit Line

Museum Purchase, Jane H. and Charles E. Parker, Jr. Art Acquisition Fund

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

Accession Number

2023.41

One of the most celebrated Wabanaki artists of the twenty-first century, Jeremy Frey creates baskets that are as much contemporary sculpture as they are functional objects. Frey learned basket making from family members and mentors in the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance. Permanence, one of Frey’s most recent works, is a point basket woven from undyed black ash that contrasts with the deep navy and cool slate blues. A scalloped collar of birch bark surrounds the neck, and cedar bark coils help construct the neck and lid. Standing nearly twenty inches tall, this basket requires a mastery of weaving on a large scale that few artists have achieved. As its title suggests, Frey is committed to asserting the presence of Indigenous people in the past, present, and future. His baskets have revitalized this Indigenous artform and created new possibilities for emerging Native American artists to innovate their craft.

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