LINCOLN, Mass. – deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum has awarded Maine-based artist Jeremy Frey with the 25th Rappaport Prize. Frey is the first Indigenous artist to be awarded the prestigious prize. He will deliver the Rappaport lecture on Oct. 23, 2024 at deCordova’s Dewey Family Hall.
Established in 2000 and endowed in perpetuity in 2010, the prize was established by The Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport Foundation to celebrate the achievements of contemporary artists in New England.
A celebrated artist known for his vibrant and groundbreaking baskets, Frey innovatively uses new materials in combination with unique forms that honor the enduring legacy of traditional basketry practices that have been passed down through several generations of his family. He is an enrolled member of the Passamaquoddy, one of five federally recognized Native tribes in Maine, together known as the Wabanaki Confederacy. He was born in the Passamaquoddy Indian Township Reservation and now lives near Bangor, where he maintains a studio. Frey is represented by Karma Gallery, New York/Los Angeles.
“To me, the Rapaport Prize is a great acknowledgment of my work to date and an excellent opportunity to broaden the scope of my practice with the financial support it brings,” Frey said. “I am honored and proud to be counted amongst this generous prize’s outstanding recipients.”
Frey is a descendant of a long line of Indigenous basket weavers. He learned traditional Wabanaki methods from his mother and by apprenticing at the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, which was founded by Theresa Secord in 1993 to preserve the cultural traditions of basket making. Frey creates baskets from natural materials he forages, such as sweetgrass, spruce root, porcupine quills and brown ash trees. His creations expand from traditional weaving methods with subtle forms, vibrantly layered colors, and elaborate, tiered weaves.
“Jeremy’s work is mesmerizing. His three-dimensional sculptures incorporate an eclectic mix of colors and textures,” said Phyllis Rappaport. “Each of his baskets has a unique personality that seamlessly weaves the contemporary with decades of family tradition. He is an artisan and craftsman. One finds themselves getting lost in his patterns, attention to detail, and profound accuracy.”
Currently, Frey’s work is the subject of a major retrospective Jeremy Frey: Woven at the Portland Museum of Art in Maine through Sept. 15, which will then travel to the Art Institute of Chicago. He won Best of Show at the Santa Fe Indian Market in 2011, marking the first time a basketmaker achieved the honor in the market’s 90-year history. That same year, Frey won Best of Show at the Heard Museum Indian Guild Fair and Market in Phoenix, which he would win again in 2015, making him the first artist to collect the honor twice.
Chief Curator Sarah Montross shares: “Jeremy Frey’s artistry is one of astonishing artistic innovation and a direct and sensitive relationship to the woods of Maine. His work elevates our awareness to ecological change as well as the importance of honoring his cultural and family heritage. At the same time, Frey is a masterful contemporary artist, blending craft and sculpture. deCordova exhibited a selection of Frey’s baskets in our New England Triennial 2022, and we are proud to recognize Jeremy’s achievements with the Rappaport Prize.”
Tess Lukey, a citizen of the Aquinnah Wampanoag and the Associate Curator of Native American Art says: “It is the first time that a Native American artist has been chosen for this honor. Not only is the work he does groundbreaking but it signals a significant dedication to honoring the legacy of his ancestors. I think about what our ancestors thought of the future and what rings in my mind is that this level of representation and dedication is their wildest dream. And it has come true.”
Frey’s work is among the public collections of the Art Institute of Chicago; Denver Art Museum; Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine; Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.; and Virginia Museum of Fine Art in Richmond; among others.
About the Rappaport Prize
Since its inception in 2000, the Rappaport Prize has been an investment in both individual artists and the broader art community. Founded and funded by the Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport Foundation, the Rappaport Prize follows the Foundation’s mission of promoting leadership in art, public policy, and medical research. Endowed at, and selected annually by, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, the Rappaport Prize supports artists while educating the public about developments in American contemporary art. In 2022, the prize was increased from $35,000 to $50,000.
The prize celebrates the achievement and potential of an artist who has demonstrated significant creativity and vision and encourages the recipient to continue a career of innovative art making. Together, deCordova and the Rappaport Foundation hope to create a community of accomplished artists whose careers have been enhanced by the recognition of the Rappaport Prize.
Each year, deCordova invites art professionals from around the country—museum directors, curators, collectors, and artists—to submit nominations for the Prize based on established criteria. After reviewing the nominations, as well as suggesting their own nominations, the deCordova convened a jury to consider twelve finalists. This year’s jurors are Steve Locke, Artist and recipient of the Rappaport Prize 2022; Lisa Tung, Executive Director of MassArt Art Museum; and Michelle Millar Fisher, Ronald C. and Anita L. Wornick Curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
For more information visit thetrustees.org/program/rappaport-prize.
Past Rappaport Prize Winners
2023 Tomashi Jackson
2022 Steve Locke
2021 Katherine Bradford
2020 Sonya Clark
2019 Daniela Rivera
2018 Titus Kaphar
2017 Sam Durant
2016 Barkley Hendricks
2015 Matt Saunders
2014 Liz Deschenes
2013 Ann Pibal
2012 Suara Welitoff
2011 Orly Genger
2010 Liza Johnson
2009 Dave Cole
2008 Ursula von Rydingsvard
2007 Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
2006 Abelardo Morell
2005 Sarah Walker
2004 Debra Olin
2003 John Bisbee
2002 Lars-Erik Fisk
2001 Annee Spileos Scott
2000 Jennifer Hall
About deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum
Established in 1950 and located just twenty miles west of Boston, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is dedicated to fostering the creation and exploration of contemporary sculpture and art through a dynamic slate of rotation exhibitions, innovative learning opportunities, a constantly changing thirty-acre landscape of large-scale, outdoor, modern, and contemporary sculpture, and site-specific installations. In March of 2023 deCordova announced a temporary suspension of indoor exhibitions, while we make important updates to our HVAC and climate control systems. To learn more, visit thetrustees.org/decordova.
More about The Trustees
Founded by landscape architect Charles Eliot in 1891, The Trustees has, for more than 130 years, been a catalyst for important ideas, endeavors, and progress in Massachusetts. As a steward of distinctive and dynamic places of both historic and cultural value, The Trustees is the one of the oldest preservation and conservation organizations, and its landscapes and landmarks continue to inspire discussion, innovation, and action today as they did in the past. We are a nonprofit, supported by members, friends and donors and our more than 120 sites are destinations for residents, members, and visitors alike, welcoming millions of guests annually. www.thetrustees.org.