Mixed Media (work in progress)
by Sonya Kelliher-Combs
Kuspuk encased in liquid polymer (in progress)
Photo by Clark James Mishler
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Sonya Kelliher-Combs is inspired by the relationship of her ancestors to their environment -- how they used skin, fur and membrane in material culture. Through mixed media painting and sculpture, she examines the ongoing struggle for identity among the Athabaskan and Inupiat people. Her images speak to the "history, culture, family, and the life of our people; they also speak about abuse, marginalization and the struggles of indigenous people. ... Through self expression, empowerment, community and voices coming together we can heal from the past and move forward."
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Raised in the Northwest Alaska community of Nome, Sonya Kelliher-Combs earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Master of Fine Arts from Arizona State University. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibits and collections in Alaska, the United States and internationally. She is a recipient of the prestigious United States Arts Fellowship, Joan Mitchell Fellowship, Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Art, Rasmuson Fellowship and is a recipient of the 2005 Anchorage Mayors Arts Award and 2010 Alaska Governor's Individual Artist Award. Kelliher-Combs currently lives and works in Anchorage, Alaska. As an Alaska Native artist and advocate, she has served on the Alaska Native Arts Foundation Board, Alaska State Council on the Arts Visual Arts Advisory, and the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Arts Board. It is her goal and mission to bring awareness, to educate, and to perpetuate the arts and traditions of the many diverse cultures of Alaska.
Learn more about the artist at www.sonyakellihercombs.com
Learn more about the artist at www.sonyakellihercombs.com