“Sabon is using these carefully arranged works to tell a story. On one level… it is a self-portrait. On another level, it’s a physical and spiritual journey.
Wesley Pulkka, The Albuquerque Sunday Times
Some of Jack Sabon’s most profound work is found in his abstracts. Inspired by organic forms, he pushes his abilities in painting to run a wide range of styles within the genre.
Both the palette and the subject matter of Jack Sabon’s Indian paintings were set at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM. Steeped in the pan-Indian culture of the school’s atmosphere, he began for the first time to tap into his roots for inspiration.
Jack Sabon produces traditional landscapes, but his forte in the genre is his work with clouds and the ocean.
The frame of each drum is 12-sided red cedar. Either deer skin or elk hide is used for the head and lacing. The lacing is cut from the same piece of leather as the drum cover. Jack has some ready-made hand painted drums but will accept commissions.
Jack Sabon received his Associate in Fine Arts degree, with Honors, from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM; and his Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from the Maine College of Art in Portland, ME
He has shown nationwide: Maine, Vermont, South Dakota, New Mexico, Idaho, New York and Massachusetts; including solo shows in Albuquerque, NM; Pocatello, ID; Barre and Morrisville, VT. Galleries include Vermont Fine Art Gallery in Stowe, VT; Amsterdam Whitney Gallery in Chelsea, New York, NY; T.W. Wood Gallery, Montpelier, VT; June Fitzpatrick Gallery, Portland, ME; Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, VT and Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, VT. His work was shown at the New York Expo in New York City and the Boston International Art Show in Boston, MA.
As well, he has shown at the Vermont State House, Montpelier, VT; the Mary Bryan Memorial Gallery in Jeffersonville, VT; Red Cloud Heritage Center, Pine Ridge, SD; Helen Day Art Center, Stowe, VT; and both Idaho State University in Pocatello and University of New Mexico Law School in Albuquerque.
He has won five awards for excellence from the Red Cloud Heritage Center in South Dakota; and was a winner at the Chelsea International Art Competition in New York City. He has had two residencies at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT; including the Phil Osgatharp Scholarship sponsored by the Arts Resource Association.
He continues to paint and teach in Stowe, Vermont.
I’ve been painting for as long as I can remember—often getting in trouble in grade school for choosing art over written work. Early on, I saw realistic painting as the height of artistic skill. Before starting at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, I created a series of classical, realistic works as a way to transition into abstraction. At IAIA, my focus shifted to Southwestern and Native American themes, using vivid colors to reflect beauty and my Alaska Native heritage.
Later, at the Maine College of Art, I embraced a European-influenced style and returned to realism, painting the sea in all its moods while living in Maine.
After graduating and moving to Vermont, my work became more eclectic—balancing bright Southwestern palettes with New England landscapes. These two styles, though visually different, are connected: Native American themes convey a spiritual, unseen world, while landscapes depict my surroundings, evolving into cloudscapes that explore color and spark spiritual reflection.
Today, I paint in either style, seeing both as essential parts of who I am—and enjoying the freedom to share both with viewers.
Jack B. Sabon
P.O. Box 97 Stowe, VT 05672