Sin

Spring 2007 introduces an occasional series of creative explorations into the Frye’s collections by invited visual artists. This series incorporates innovative display strategies and interpretive techniques to bring new perspectives to the collection.

The inaugural exhibition pairs an important historical work from the Frye’s founding collection, Franz von Stuck’s Sin (after 1906), with a contemporary artwork. Although Sin is typically installed as a modern work, hung at eye level, the artist intended the painting as the key feature of an altar, placed far above spectators’ heads. This placement significantly alters the relationship between Sin and its viewers. For this exhibition, the Frye commissioned Seattle-based artist Victoria Haven to create a new altar for Sin. Haven’s delicate but dramatic sculpture, constructed of gold Mylar and pins, complements and enhances Sin's compelling and dangerous sexual persona.

Born and raised in Seattle, Haven received a B.F.A. in painting from the University of Washington and an M.A. in fine art from Goldsmiths College at the University of London. She is the recipient of numerous national and local awards including two Pollock-Krasner Fellowships, a Betty Bowen Award, an Artist Trust Fellowship Award, and a Stranger Genius Award. Haven is represented in Seattle by Howard House Contemporary Art and in Portland by PDX Contemporary Art.