Ishi Glinsky

Ishi Glinsky (Tohono O’odham) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles. Known to work across painting, drawing, and sculpture, Glinsky’s approach to making is united in its commitment to increasing visibility and close study of multigenerational historic Indigenous artistry. Highly influenced by the stylistic conventions and material culture of the Southwestern US, Glinsky often pays direct homage to the artists that have shaped the field, reinterpreting their work in his signature large scale. Through his process of monumentalizing regionally specific art objects like baskets and jewelry items, Glinsky renegotiates the conditions of possessibility and functionality that have long defined the Western history of Native art. Lapidary inlay and silversmithing work seen almost exclusively within the realm of wearables, is one of the traditions that Glinksy spotlights in his sculpture practice, taking inspiration from visionaries such as Veronica Poblano (Zuni) and other jewelry makers of the “Zuni Tunes” movement. To translate lapidary techniques into larger than life art objects, the artist introduces aluminum and resin into his process, treating both materials to resemble silver and semi precious stones. This work titled, “Light Pink Jazz,” showcases Glinsky’s skill at pushing small scale joinery methods to new limits, allowing viewers to confront the Pink Panther character head on, and through the lens of Zuni materiality. By cultivating new material harmonies through his uniquely playful approach, Glinsky builds upon a lineage of innovation. “These stories that I’m holding, I’m doing my best to care for and tell them as respectfully as I can, but also to crack them open and think about the future.” -Light Pink Jazz, 2021. Resin, pigment, industrial adhesives, steel, aluminum, 28 × 14 × 0 ¾ inches Caption: Moonoka Begay

It’s been a pleasure to show new sculptures with @kristopher_raos in his studio this week. We will be here tomorrow 02/28/26 from noon-five. 1547 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90006 Ishi Glinsky: A Good Friend, 2026 Resin, aluminum, pigment, wood foam  31.5” x 16” x 18” Cool Crew #2, 2026 Resin, aluminum, pigment, wood foam  46” x 36” x 2 ½” Kristopher Raos: Untitled (Space Kraft, Miracle Whip) 2024  Acrylic, gouache, flashe on canvas 56” x 54 ½” Untitled (Snake In The Grass/ Chase.), 2021 Acrylic and gouache on canvas 20” x 159”

Dance is Medicine, 2025 Canvas, ink, steel, resin, pigment, acrylic paint, industrial adhesives, ribbon 20” x 16” 📷 @moe.wakai

Seen here is another piece made for @artbasel showing with @ppowgallery Booth F24 - “Portrait of Protection, 2025” Steel, resin, pigment, canvas, nylon, creosote, wax, acrylic ink, abalone shell, industrial adhesives 69” x 53.5” This new series continues the approach and exploration originally conceived for my piece, “Coral vs. King Snake Jacket, 2019.” For these new sculptural relief works I am envisioning zoomed in moments of an oversized jacket, each an amalgam of hand carved beadwork, long stitch patches and fabricated studs. References to Hohokam objects, O’odham heritage and personal memories is a means to create portraits of protection. These symbolic compositions are interlaced journeys of personal and cultural lore.

Excited to share new works with @ppowgallery , @artbasel Booth F24, December 3-7, 2025 - “Coyote Tracks, 2025” Steel, resin, pigment, canvas, nylon, creosote, wax, acrylic ink, industrial adhesives 56” x 48” This new series continues the approach and exploration originally conceived for my piece, “Coral vs. King Snake Jacket, 2019.” For these new sculptural relief works I am envisioning zoomed in moments of an oversized jacket, each an amalgam of hand carved beadwork, long stitch patches and fabricated studs. References to Hohokam objects, O’odham heritage and personal memories is a means to create portraits of protection. These symbolic compositions are interlaced journeys of personal and cultural lore.

Thank you @jeffrune for highlighting @1451 in the latest @artsy feature, “10 Artists to Know this Native American Heritage Month.” “Glinsky is also known for other whimsical works,” writes @petalaironcloud , “As Gibson put it: ‘large resin versions of Native American jewelry that feature animated characters, including Pink Panther, Mickey Mouse, and Tweety, among others.’ The artist’s work is purposely excessive and is inspired by Zuni and Diné artists who interpret Disney characters, such as designer Veronica Poblano, who created a Pink Panther bolo tie that inspired Glinsky’s large-scale interpretation called ‘Light Pink Jazz V.P.’ (2024), rendered in aluminum, resin, pigment, wood, adhesive, and foam.” Click the link in bio to read the full #Artsy feature and visit us at @artbasel Miami Beach, Dec. 3 - 7, to view new works by #IshiGlinsky.  📷: Ishi Glinsky, “Me RN,” 2025, resin, pigment, aluminum, wood, adhesive, foam, 32 x 15 1/2 x 2 ins.

Cool Crew, 2025 Resin, pigment, aluminum, adhesive, foam, wood 29” x 22” x 3” “Cool Crew,” is an oversized charm bracelet that is my material reenactment of sentimentality and how experiences and objects come into and often shape one’s life. Elements referenced here are pulled from ancient Hohokam shell overlays, to 1930’s Americana found in Cracker Jack Box toys made of early plastics (and beads, hand carved, to also appear of this era), Indigenous made Southwestern style silver chain necklaces or, inlays. The accumulation of elements seen here required different capabilities to produce, beginning with the seemingly simplistic to those that are more ornate. Despite this, the intentionality and importance of each holds equal weight and significance. It was a pleasure to share these new sculptures this week with @chrissharpla at @place_des_vosges_

“1972-VP, 2025 Resin, pigment, aluminum, adhesive, foam, wood 30” x 14.25“ x 18” “1972-VP” is a collaboration with artist and Zuni jeweler Veronica Poblano. This sculpture references a work she originally made in 1972. Poblano is an originator of the style known in markets as “Zuni toons,” where cartoons (and in Poblano’s case particularly, Mickey Mouse) are created using Indigenous approach to inlay, lapidary and silversmithing. Here, I am referencing this original ring, using Poblano’s decisions as a jeweler to guide my sculptural approach. I’ve sand casted the ring, welded the surface including handmade conchos on an outsized scale to resemble Poblano’s ring. Precious stones such as mother of pearl, coral, turquoise or black pen shell used in the original, are created through poured resin techniques, then inlaid and carved to become a monument to Poblano’s technical innovation. I consider Poblano to be at the helm of an unsung art movement and through this collaboration I am creating a connection to the past and celebrating the innovation that She continues today. @veronicapoblanozuni @chrissharpla

Here are installation shots of my presentation with Chris Sharp Gallery @chrissharpla for Place des Vosges 2025 @place_des_vosges_ up now through October 26, 2025 Included in this presentation is sculpture, “1972-VP, 2025,” based off of a jewelry piece from Veronica Poblano @veronicapoblanozuni . Very grateful to collaborate and honored to share space with this legend.

My painting “Loops Through the Vapor #1, 2024” and sculpture, “While You’re Sleeping We’re Creeping, 2024,” are on view now through November 8, 2025 in “Mending Across Borders & Boundaries,” at the Sun Valley Museum of Art @sunvalleymuseum , co-curated by Courtney Gilbert @courtgilbertsv and Erin Joyce @dont_tmwtd — Mending Across Borders & Boundaries uses the idea of mending— both metaphorical and literal — to consider multiple questions. What is it to live in two cultures or between two cultures post-migration? How can migration be both a moment of rupture and one of healing? What is the possibility of repairing landscapes and environments harmed by human activity? Participating artists include Maria De Los Angeles, Guadalupe Maravilla, Ishi Glinsky, Arleene Correa Valencia, Nazafarin Lotfi, and Elisa Harkins, who is creating a new sound artwork for the exhibition. Co-curated by Courtney Gilbert and Erin Joyce. Photo: Dev Khalsa

A few recent sculptures, looking back on my last year as I turn just a bit older today.

Me RN, 2025 Aluminum, resin, pigment, adhesive, wood, foam 32”x 15.5”x 2” #ArtBasel, Booth B10 @ppowgallery , closes June 22, 2025 - In “Me RN,” we see Tweety shocked, almost asphyxiated, as they’re absconded by a bigger force. As with the other sculptures of this series, this captured moment takes the never-ending animated feud of cat and bird and places it squarely in today’s context to instantly become representative of something else. Feeling transfixed by the relentless mire of unspeakable and continued violence, silence, elimination of human rights, land, climate and fundamental basic civil rights, it’s hard to come up for air. But “Me RN,” is viewed through the prism of hope. As with the animated character featured in this work, this is the moment before their escape, not the end. Additionally, I’ve altered Sylvester’s clawed hand to be completed with a dapper cuff, reflecting an aristocratic flair. Ironically, this detail of dress is inspired by a work in the recent show at The Center for Creative Photography @cntrforcreativephoto at the University of Arizona entitled Louis Carlos Bernal: Retrospectiva. Louis Carlos Bernal photographed daily life in barrios around the Southwest. In El Gato Canutillo, New Mexico, 1979, the swagger of a young man in 1970’s New Mexico, next to a dapper mural of El Gato celebrates the culture intrinsic to each community Bernal chooses to capture. Something so simple as a cuff on a dandy Sylvester is not just a stand-in for elitism but harkens back to Bernal’s captured moments of the Southwest, or my memory of home. Photos @docu_la