Chris Maynard: Featherfolio Encore
Chris Maynard (Olympia, WA) had his first solo art museum show at BIMA in 2017. It was the most popular exhibition in BIMA’s history! We have brought him back with for this latest exhibition, Chris Maynard: Featherfolio Encore.
Migration Dreams is the title of Maynard’s wall installation. This particular work has been displayed previously–although it changes at each site–at ArtX Gallery in Seattle and Freehand Gallery in Los Angeles.
The installation celebrates the diversity and abundance of the bird world, utilizing many different kinds of feathers. These include feathers from parrots, cockatoos, parakeets, geese, chickens, turkeys, macaws, and pheasants. Among the pheasant feathers alone are golden, Lady Amherst’s, peach, Malay, and peacocks. Also included is the Eurasian jay, capercaillie grouse, and Asian and African birds of prey such as owls, hawks, and vultures.
All of the natural materials Maynard uses are ethically and legally sourced. Maynard’s feathers typically come from zoos and animal preserves across the United States, having been shed. None of the birds are killed just for their feathers, however turkeys and chickens are eaten by some humans. Learn more about the feathers here.
Chris Maynard: Featherfolio Encore is intended to help us feel lighter in this heavier time for our world, and during this darker and colder season of the year. May we all migrate to a brighter and warmer sense of being!
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About the Artist
Chris Maynard creates exquisite artwork using hand-cut feathers. His work has been featured internationally in diverse galleries, museums, and festivals. He has become well known for his framed shadow-box artworks and site-specific installations.
The natural colors and forms of feathers present the artist with both opportunities and challenges in creating hand-cut and mounted artworks. From a distance it may look like 2-dimensional paintings, but a closer look reveals the assemblage or montage nature of his art. This is enhanced by the play of light and shadow, further bringing these cut, pinned, and glued compositions to life.
Maynard has worked with feathers since he was twelve years old. He was inspired by his mother who was an artist, and his father who was an eye surgeon. His work is also influenced by his background in biology and love for the natural world. He combines these artistic inspirations and experimentation with composition, light, and shadow to create his unique feather art. Maynard’s favorite tools are the tiny eye surgery scissors, forceps, and magnifying glasses passed down through his family.
Header: Chris Maynard (Olympia, WA), Migration Dreams, 2025, Photo: Laura Zander
Thanks to our 2025 Exhibition Sponsors
