PHOTO BY PAUL O’CONNOR
About
Allan Packer (b. 1956) is a Canadian artist who lives and works in Taos, New Mexico. He is known for his painted, shaped canvases, often motorized in kinetic motion.
As master printer for Dorset Fine Arts, Nunavut, Canada he produced prints for Kananginak, Pitseolak and Pudlo Pudlat. He studied with Stanley William Hayter at Atelier 17 in Paris. Packer has received several awards including Canada Council grants, an Artist Trust fellowship (2004) and project grants as well as a USA Artists project grant (2012) and a 4 Culture special projects grant (2009).
His residencies include the Pilchuck Glass School, The International Studio and Curatorial Program, NYC, Kohler Arts/Industry, Banff Centre for the Arts and The Wurlitzer Foundation.
Packer exhibits internationally and is represented in a host of public and private collections including the Denver Art Museum and Les Abbatoirs, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Toulouse, France.
Packer’s work is characterized by the continuous displacement and use of diverse media and materials. He utilizes historical and scientific references, Hollywood popular culture, stagecraft, and the toy industry as a conceptual base in his approach to multi-medium sculpture, painting and installation.
EDUCATION
University of Tennessee - Knoxville, TN
MFA - one year of study, 1983
University of Windsor - Windsor, Ont. BFA, 1979
PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION
1980 ATELIER 17, Director: Stanley W. Hayter, Paris, France
1970 OPEN STUDIO, Director: Toronto, Canada, Otis Taumisouskis
PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS
1993 Caldwell College, Sessional Instructor, Caldwell, NJ
1980 West Baffiin Eskimo Co-op, Master Printer, Cape Dorset, Nunavut Canada,
AWARDS
2012 USA Artists Project Grant
2010 Canada Council, Travel Grant
2009 Four Culture Special Projects Grants
2009 Artist Trust, G.A.P. Grant
2005 Canada Council, Mid Career Grant
2004 Artist Trust Fellowship
2004 Artist Trust, G.A.P. Grant
2002 Bill True and Mike Halperin Award
2001 Artist Trust, G.A.P. Grant
2000 Salmagundi Club, Fellowship Award
1984 Ontario Art Council, O.A.C. Assistance Grant
SELECT SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 The Studio, Fechin Studio at Taos Art Museum, Taos, NM
2019 Metamorphosis, Phillip Bareiss Gallery, Taos, NM
2018 Paintings from the Cosmos and the Louvre, MoMo, Taos, NM
2015 Phenomena, Bryan Ohno Gallery, Seattle, WA
2013 Sanctuary for Reverse Engineering, Toulouse International Art Festival, Toulouse, France
2012 The Project Room An Array of Essence, Seattle, WA
2011 Mad Art, The Fulcrum of Prescience, Seattle, WA
2010 Front Room Gallery, Gate, New York, NY
Annex Theatre, The Ozone Room, Seattle, WA
2009 Oklahoma State University, Stillwell, OK
2008 Western Front, Corvus Corax, Vancouver, BC
Mighty Tieton, The Ozone Room, Tieton, WA
2006 Davidson Contemporary, Seattle, WA
ISCP, New York, NY
Spokane Falls Community College, Spokane, WA
2004 Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA
2002 Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA
1997 Pirate Art Oasis, Denver, CO
1995 Ramnarine Gallery, New York, NY
1994 Payton Rule Gallery, Denver, CO
1993 Ramnarine Gallery, New York, NY
1990 Payton Rule Gallery, Denver, CO
1988 Cydney Payton Gallery, Denver, CO
1985 Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, Canada
1984 Artcite, Windsor, Canada
SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2018 Craft, Harwood Museum, Taos, NM
New Paintings, COCA, Seattle, WA
2016 Metalmorphosis, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA
2011 Front Room Gallery, New York, NY
2010 Kohler Company, Beijing, China
2008 Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA
Seattle Art Museum Gallery, Seattle, WA
Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
Front Room Gallery, New York, NY
2007 Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
2006 LUXE Gallery, New York, NY
Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
2005 Aqua Art Miami Art Fair, Miami, FL
2003 The San Francisco Art Fair, San Francisco, CA
2002 Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA
1998 Mira Mar Gallery, Sarasota, FL
1996 Ramnarine Gallery, New York, NY
Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
1994 Souyon Yi Gallery, New York, NY
1993 Vincent Viseglia Art Center, Caldwell, NJ
The Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
1993 E.M. Donahue Gallery, New York, NY
1992 The Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
Ramnarine Gallery, New York, NY
1990 E.M. Donahue Gallery, New York, NY
BWAC Gallery, New York, NY
1989 Payton Rule Gallery, Denver, CO
1987 Cydney Payton Gallery, Denver, CO
1986 Power Plant Visual Arts Center, Ft. Collins, CO
1984 Pirate Gallery, Denver, CO
1983 The Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, Canada
1982 University of Tennessee Gallery, Knoxville, TN
1980 Atelier 17, Paris, France
RESIDENCIES
2017 Pilchuck Glass School, AIR, Seattle, WA.
2013 Wurlitzer Foundation, Taos, NM.
2011 Banff Centre, Banff, Canada
2008 Wurlitzer Foundation, Taos, NM.
2006 Canada Council Residency, ISCP, New York, NY.
2005 New Works, the Banff Centre, Banff, Canada
2005 Arts/Industry Residency, Kohler Arts Center, WI
COLLECTIONS
Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
Les Abattoirs, Toulouse, France
Burke Museum, Seattle, WA
John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
Kohler Company, Kohler, WI
Mad Art, Seattle, WA
Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA
Wurlitzer Foundation, Taos, NM
Toronto Dominion Bank, Toronto, Canada
University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Denver, CO
John Price, Seattle WA
Timothy Noonan, Seattle WA, Palm Springs CA
SELECTED REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS AND PUBLICATIONS
2018 Clark, Virginia “Bareiss Gallery”, Taos News, Dec 27th
Pesquera, Yvonne, Wurlitzer artists, The Taos News, Dec 19th
2017 Clark, Hailey “ Pilchuck Artists, UrbanGlass Quarterly, Issue 145, Winter
2016 Stranger, The, COVER, Seattle Art and Performance Quarterly, Volume 5, #3 Fall
2015 Worssam, Nancy, “Phenomenon, Bryan Ohno Gallery”, Seattle Times, June 5th
Cover, The Stranger, Seattle Art and Performance Quarterly, Volume 2, Summer
2014 Faigin, Gary “Bellevue Installation”, The Seattle Times, July 24th
2013 DDM, Le Mas d’Azil, Festival International d’art, LADEPECHE.fr June 20th
Teagarden Rebecca “Salt Box” The Seattle Times; Pacific Northwest Magazine, July 12,
2011 Hurst, Howard “Seattle Public Art Installation” Hyperallergic, Aug 5th
Graves, Jen “Visceral, Violent, Charming” The Stranger, July 11
Guay, Abigail “Open Houses” Arcade, Sept. 7
Upchurch, Michael “Capitol Hill Installations” The Seattle Times, July 21 Watters, Nate “ Madhouse, City Arts, Seattle, July 27th
Wilkinson, Eric “Mad Art” King 5 News, July 19
2010 Miller, Brian “Allan Packer” Seattle Weekly, Dec 8,
2008 Nowacki, Kim “In the Ozone” On Magazine, June 20
2007 Beal, Suzanne “West Edge” Sculpture Magazine, Oct
2006 DeVuono, Frances “SFCC” Artweek, June
2004 Barker, Jeremy M “Panorama” Vodka Magazine, May
Engelson, Andrew “Panorama” Seattle Weekly, March 2
Hackett, Regina “Artist Trust” Seattle P I, Oct. 22
1993 Chandler, Mary “Spoils” Rocky Mountain News, April 4
Hayden, Nicki “First Exhibit” Boulder Daily Camera, April
Mahoney, Robert “Essay” Ramnarine Gallery, December
Miller, Barbara L. “Review” Art Papers, Aug
Rosen Steven “Fang Mask” The Denver Post, April 1
Rosen Steven “First Sightings” The Denver Post, April 4
Clegg, Nancy “Fecund Nature” Westword, May 11
Clegg, Nancy “Colorado Letter” Artspace Magazine, Fall
Fudge, Jane “Power Packs” The Denver Post, October 1
1984 Bariess, Philip “Express Power” The Taos News, November