Denise Wallace
American jeweler and member of the Sugpiaq tribe
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Denise Wallace (born 1957) is a Native American jeweler and member of the Sugpiaq tribe.
Early life and education
Wallace, of Alutiiq descent (also called Sugpiaq Eskimo) was born in 1957 in Seattle.[1] After high school she spent time in Alaska where her grandmother lived.[2] She studied lapidary work and silversmithing in Seattle, and at age 19 began to study at Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe.[3] She received her AA in fine arts from IAIA in 1981.[1] Wallace lived in Santa Fe for twenty years before moving to the Big Island of Hawaii in 1999.[4]
Career
A notable jeweler, Wallace's work exhibits the "major motif of transformation",[5] with movable components including doors, latches, removable parts and hidden compartments. She has stated that the doors are based on traditional masks which sometimes include a face which opens to reveal another face, and described this motif as "a way to show the transformation of the inner spirit of an animal, person, or object".[6] She creates pieces from gold, silver, fossil ivory, coral and semiprecious stones.[1][7] Wallace also uses fossilized mammoth and mastodon ivory and walrus tusk in her work.[4] The jewelry sometimes includes depictions of figures dressed with Native American textiles and embroidery. She has been called "among the finest jewelry designers of the twentieth century".[2]
Personal life
Wallace married Samuel Wallace from Virginia, with whom she has two children.[7]
Exhibitions
- Arctic Transformations: The Jewelry of Denise and Samuel Wallace, March 2, 2006 – July 23, 2006. National Museum of the American Indian, New York, New York.[8]