Tiger Lily

1976

American, born 1940

Contrasting gender stereotypes of women—in modern society and religious iconography—collide in this singular ceramic figure. Based on a religious altar used by Warashina’s grandmother, the sculpture subverts the typical Virgin Mary figure we would expect to see on such an object by replacing her with Eve, the biblical temptress who originated humankind’s downfall. The title is a further mash-up of gendered expectations: that of woman as a delicate flower versus a dangerous and seductive tigress.

Low-fire ceramic with acrylic

24 x 15 7/8 x 13 1/4 in. (60.96 x 40.31 x 33.66 cm)

Gift of the artist

89.78

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Views and Visions in the Pacific Northwest, June 7, 1990 - Sept. 2, 1990.

Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue Art Musuem, Patti Warashina, Sept. 14 - Nov. 3, 1991.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Collection Highlights: 1945 to the Present, Sept. 12, 1996 - June 1, 1997.

Published ReferencesJohns, Barbara. Modern Art from the Pacific Northwest in the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1990; no. 24, p. 28.

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