ALDEN MASON | THE LAST SHAMAN
The Last Shaman, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 53 inches.
In anticipation of the Alden Mason Foundation Award ceremony and panel discussion in May, Foster/White Gallery is delighted to showcase the works of Alden Mason for the month of April. In addition to pieces from gallery inventory, the exhibition features paintings from the Alden Mason Foundation's collection. Predominantly figural, works are acrylic on canvas and mixed media on paper from 1990 up to 2010.
Four of a Kind, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 50 inches.
Alden Mason continued his explorations with paint throughout his career. This artistic curiosity allowed his work to evolve and shift over the course of a lifetime of painting. The works in this exhibition offer some insight into the way he saw and interacted with the world as well as the inspiration behind much of his painting.
In Mason's final artist statement from 2013, he states: My paintings are a private world of improvisation, spontaneity, humor and pathos, exaggeration and abandon. The images and shapes are often figurative, organic personal totems which in closer view become highly abstract. They reflect my travels and interest in tribal art and children’s art. Old-fashioned emotional involvement is still my main priority in painting.
Nice and Easy, mixed media on paper, 28.5 x 38 inches.
Mason earned BFA and MFA degrees from the University of Washington, Seattle. His first solo exhibition occurred in 1946 at Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, WA. His work was shown extensively, including at Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID; Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO; Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA; Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA; and San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA. His paintings are part of dozens of Museum and University collections including those of San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA; Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR; Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, IL; and Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue WA.
Alden Mason passed away in February 2013. He was 93.