Marvin Oliver

Quinault Nation and Isleta Pueblo; born Seattle, Washington, 1946; died Seattle, Washington, 2019

BiographyMarvin Oliver is an internationally renowned carver, glass artist, printmaker, and teacher. He has worked in a variety of media including cedar, bronze, steel, and glass and has created both smaller scale and monumental works for public settings in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Italy. He is currently Professor of American Indian Studies and Art at the University of Washington, and serves as Adjunct Curator of Contemporary Native American Art at the Burke Museum. He also holds a part-time post at the University of Alaska Ketchikan

Working in collaboration with expert technicians and the manufacturer Bullseye Glass in Portland, Oregon, Oliver helped develop a new cutting and fusing process for sheets of colored glass. Using this technique, Oliver transforms the curves and bulges of carved wood into richly colored light that moves through the slumped and fused glass. His work has bridged contemporary art-making practices with traditional Native American themes, stories, and imagery.

Person TypeIndividual

Terms