Steve Jensen

Steve Jensen (b. 1955, USA)

Death is one of the things that connects all human beings. Seattle-based artist, Steve Jensen, makes work inspired by his personal struggles involving the most important people in his life. He has been working in a studio on Capitol Hill for over 37 years.

Jensen’s father was Norwegian and lived his life as a fisherman and boat builder. The shape of the curved Viking vessel comes through in many of his paintings and sculptures. Wood carving is just one of the techniques he uses, carried down through generations of Norwegian seamen. Jensen works with heavy materials such as bronze and glass to remind the viewer of the weight of the topics of mourning, illness, and loss.

The Voyager series began when his best friend, Sylvain, asked Jensen to create a ship-like vessel for his ashes. He passed away from AIDS just one month later. In the span of eight years, Jensen lost his friend, father, mother, and long-term partner. He made each person a vessel which carried their ashes and put them out to sea for what became his version of a Viking burial.

Leftover ship parts, recycled glass, old pennies, and other material remnants are used for conceptual and environmental reasons. As his loved ones have left him one by one, he has turned to making these vessels from abandoned objects embedded with personal items to imbue a sense of the person into the sculpture.

In Rainbow Fleet, each painting is done on wood with a thick layer of boat resin covering the surface. While the wood grain is visible in areas through the paint, the resin serves as a layer of protection for these floating vessels. By using the boat symbol, we are reminded of the voyage to the other side or to a place beyond this world. In his paintings, the boat appears to float on the water instead of through it, rising above to an unknown destination. Jensen has already carved a vessel for his own ashes to be laid to rest with his parents and friends. Through the making of his sculptures, he has learned to embrace what is to come.

Solo Exhibitions

2012    Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID & Seattle, WA

            Abemeyer & Wood Gallery, Seattle WA

2011    Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID & Seattle, WA

2010    Gallery One Art Center, Ellensburg, WA
            Everett Art Museum at City Hall, Everett, WA

            Hawk Galleries, Columbus, OH

2009   Beppu Gallery, Portland OR

            Simon Edwards Gallery, Yakima, WA

2008   Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID & Seattle, WA

            Simon Edwards Gallery, Yakima, WA

2007    Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA

             Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID & Seattle, WA

             Simon Edwards Gallery, Yakima, WA

2006    San Juan Islands Museum of Art, Friday Harbor, WA

             Edmonds Arts Museum, Edmonds, WA

             Riley Hawk Galleries, Cleveland & Columbus, OH

2005    Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID & Seattle, WA       

             RC Gallery, Portland, OR        
             Shidoni Foundry And Galleries, Tesuque, NM

2004    Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA, Group Exhibition

             Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, CA

             Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID & Seattle, WA

             Riley Hawk Galleries, Cleveland & Columbus, OH

             Simon Edwards Gallery, Yakima, WA

             Buschlen Mowatt Galleries, Vancouver, BC

2003     Anacortes Art Museum, Anacortes, WA

2002     Bellevue Arts Museum & Commission, Bellevue, WA

              Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA

              Larson Art Museum, Yakima, WA

2001      Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle WA

              Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, Port Angeles, WA

              Riley Hawk Galleries, Cleveland & Columbus, OH

              Vanier Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ

              Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA             

2000     Edmonds Arts Museum, Edmonds, WA

              Simon Edwards Gallery, Yakima, WA

              Margo Jacobson Gallery Portland, OR

1999     Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay, OR

              Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID & Seattle, WA

              Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, GA

1998     Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID & Seattle, WA

              Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle WA

              Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA

              Simon Edwards Gallery, Yakima, WA

1997      Diane Farris Gallery, Vancouver, BC

1996      Maryhill Museum of Art, Goldendale, WA

               Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID & Seattle, WA      

               Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA

               Larson Art Museum, Yakima, WA

1995      Focal Point Gallery, New York, NY

1994      Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID & Seattle, WA

1992      Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA

              Focal Point Gallery, New York, NY

              Art & Soul, Hong Kong

              Northpoint Gallery, Huntington, NY

              Stevenson Gallery, Ashland, OR

1991       Nina Owen Ltd., Chicago, IL
               A New Leaf Gallery, Berkeley, CA

1990      Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA

1989      Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA              

1987      Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle WA

1985      Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA

1983      Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA

 

Museum Collections

Museum of Northwest Art
La Conner, WA

Morris Graves Museum of Art
Eureka, CA

Port Angeles Fine Arts Center
Port Angles, WA

Larson Art Museum
Yakima, WA