SEATTLE, WA.- The Frye Art Museum announces three acquisitions made through its new partnership with Assembly Art Fair, welcoming the first works by Carly Feddersen (b. 1982, Wenatchee, WA, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation), Joe Feddersen (b. 1953, Omak, WA, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation), and Marie Watt (b.1967, Seattle, WA, Seneca Nation of Indians) into the museum’s collection. Made possible with support from the museum’s Lele Barnett Acquisition Fund, the purchases reflect the Frye's commitment to supporting artists whose practices are rooted in the Pacific Northwest while contributing to broader conversations in contemporary art.
Selected by Director and Curator of Collections Faith Brower, the acquisitions include woven sculptural works by Joe Feddersen and Carly Feddersen, two generations of artists whose distinct practices draw on Indigenous traditions while engaging contemporary culture with wit, innovation, and keen observation. Joining these works is a tin ‘jingle cloud’ sculpture by nationally acclaimed, Seattle-born artist Marie Watt, part of an ongoing body of work also recently featured in her collaborative commission This Land, Shared Sky for the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
The acquisition initiative is a signal of the Frye’s ongoing support of the artists and institutions that comprise Seattle’s evolving contemporary arts ecosystem. Together, the selected works reflect the museum's interest in contemporary artistic practices that engage material traditions and intergenerational exchange, as well as vital conversations around sovereignty and history, identity and community, language and storytelling.
“It’s an honor to select three works that advance the Frye’s commitment to collecting works by contemporary Indigenous artists,” states Brower. “The intergenerational pairing of work by uncle and niece Joe Feddersen and Carly Feddersen highlights the enduring vitality, relevance, and evolution of the foundational art of the region. Marie Watt reimagines the cloud form through suspended metal jingles in an artwork that speaks to the ‘Lifting the Sky’ story that Watt heard as a child from local Indigenous luminary Vi Hilbert. By investing in our area’s artists, the Frye ensures these important voices will reshape and enrich art history for local generations to come.”
The Frye’s acquisition initiative with Assembly Art Fair reflects a shared commitment to strengthening Seattle’s contemporary arts community by supporting artists and galleries while expanding public access to significant works of contemporary art. The selected works were acquired through Seattle’s studio e gallery and PDX Contemporary of Portland, OR. Together with Assembly Art Fair, the partnership demonstrates how artists, galleries, museums, and patrons each contribute to bringing important works into the public sphere.
“As a gallery, it is deeply meaningful to see artists’ work enter a public institution, where it can become part of our shared cultural record,” said studio e founder and director Dawna Holloway. “We are proud that works by Joe and Carly will join the Frye’s collection, to be in dialogue with current and future audiences. It’s an exciting outcome that speaks to the promise of Assembly and the important role it can play in Seattle’s contemporary arts community.”
The newly acquired works will be presented during the Frye Art Museum’s 75th anniversary season in spring/summer 2027.
