Doug Coffin
Artist’s Statement
For me, the spiritual in artwork is essential. Spiritual art – especially power objects from Native
peoples – are my main inspiration. An authentic power object inspires and mystifies me. I don’t
pretend to fully understand the power – I’m only able to sense it. Much of my work is inspired by
male and female energy. As an artist, I use symbols – numeric and geometric – to represent
these most powerful elements of life and the universe. My art is about contrast, both in time and
space. What interests me are the images that live in the mind long after the reality is gone.Biography
Doug Coffin (Prairie Band Potawatomi) grew up on the grounds of Haskell Institute, an Indian boarding school (now Haskell Indian Nations University) in Lawrence, Kansas, where his father was the coach. He earned a BFA from the University of Kansas in Sculpture & Jewelry, and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Metalsmithing. Coffin received a Ford Foundation Grant, National Teaching Fellowships and honorary status in Who’s Who in American Art. Over forty public collections contain Coffin’s artwork. His monumental sculpture has stood in the White House Sculpture Garden. The Grand Palais in Paris, the John F. Kennedy Center, the National Museum of the American Indian and the Heard Museum in Phoenix have featured his work. Coffin has sculptures in Africa, Italy, France, Japan, Ecuador and Mexico, as well as global placements through the Art in Embassies program.
Awards
1971 Ford Foundation Grant – University of Costa Rica, San Jose, COSTA RICA
1975 National Teaching Fellowship – Fort Wright College, Spokane, WA
1999-2000 Who’s Who in American Art
2021-2022 Who’s Who in American ArtExhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
2021 Re-Connection - Ellsworth Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2019 Full Circle - Ellsworth Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2010 Time Keeper’s Moon - Firegod Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2008 New Sculptures - James Gray Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2007 Ceremonial Sun/Moon - New Paintings, Patricia Carlisle Fine Arts, Santa Fe, NM
2007 Sculpture & Fetish Objects - Hulse Warman Gallery, Taos, NM
2004 Moon Totems & Shields - Crossroads Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
2002 Robert Craig Winery, Grand Opening, Napa Valley, CA
2001 Outdoor Works - Markham Winery, St. Helena, CA
2001 Spirit in Harmony - Gallery Piazza, Sausalito, CA
2000 Shaman’s Dreams - Waxlander Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1999 Buffalo Dreams - Trading Post Café, Ranchos de Taos, NM
1999 Red Visions - Markham Vineyards Winery, St. Helena, CA
1999 New Visions - Waxlander Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1998 Buffalo Spirit - Waxlander Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1997 Taking Chances - Waxlander Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1996 Ceremony: From the Inside Out - Institute of American Indian Arts Museum, Santa Fe, NM
1995 The Work of Doug Coffin - Lawrence Arts Center, Lawrence, KS
1994 New Work - Copeland/Rutherford Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1993 Many Moons - Wheelwright Museum, Santa Fe, NM
1993 Cyrus M. Running Gallery, Concordia Gallery, Moorhead, MN
1992 Copeland/Rutherford Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1991 Copeland/Rutherford Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1990 Squash Blossom Gallery, Aspen, CO
1988 Elaine Horwitch Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1986 New Work - Elaine Horwitch Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1986 MacLaren/Markowitz Gallery, Boulder, CO
1983 Park Row Editions Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Public Installations
2024 Sun & Moon Spirit Totems – (2) 18.5’ Painted Steel Sculptures
Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University Foundation, Wichita, KS
2023 Native Moon Totem - 19’ Painted Steel Sculpture,Edmond Sculpture Park, Edmond, OK
2021 Spirit Totem Project - (5) 30’ Painted Steel Totems, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Johnson County Community College, Kansas City, KS
2016 Spirit Totems #3 & #4 - 30’ & 15’ Painted Steel Sculptures,
Drury Hotel, Santa Fe, NM
2015 Snake Dance Moon & Stars - 8’ Steel & Paint Sculpture,
Santa Fe Convention Center, Santa Fe, NM
2015 Snake Dance Moon - 12’ Steel & Lexan Sculpture, Santa Fe Botanical Gardens
Santa Fe, NM
2015 Ghost Dance Spirit Totem - 13’ Painted Steel Sculpture, Lincoln Avenue,
Santa Fe, NM
2011-15 Art in Embassies Exhibition, U.S. Embassy, Geneva, SWITZERLAND
2010 Art in Embassies Exhibition, U.S. Embassy, Geneva, SWITZERLAND
2010 Sun/Moon Shaman - 12’ Painted Steel Sculpture, permanent installation
New Mexico State Capitol, Santa Fe, NM
2009 Art in Embassies Exhibition, United States Embassy, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2007 Sun Altar - 8’ x 10’ Marble & Concrete Sculpture, Pantelleria, ITALY
2003 New Mexico Skies - Painted Steel Sculpture, Outdoor Installation,
Rancho de San Juan Relais et Chateau, Espanola, NM
2002 Poster Artist, 12th Annual Santa Fe Wine & Chili Fiesta, Santa Fe, NM
2002 Art in Embassies Exhibition, U.S. Embassy, Ashgabat, TURKMENISTAN
2000 Spirit Spiral - 6’ Stone & Glass Sculpture, Quito, ECUADOR
1999 Buffalo Spirit Totem - Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, Santa Fe, NM
1997 Art in Embassies Exhibition, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC
1994 Kansas Totem #1 - 28’ Painted Steel, Percent for Art Program, Lawrence, KS
1993 Snake and Medicine Wheel - approx. 60’ Rock & Earthwork, sponsored by
the Smithsonian Institution, Tucson, AZ
1993 Medicine Wheel Totem - 24’ Painted Steel Sculpture, Haskell Indian Nations University, Lawrence, KS
1992 Four Direction Poles - 10’ Wood, Paint, Nakota Indian Reserve, Alberta, CANADA, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution
1992 Moon Pole - 9’ Sculpture, Island of Hawaii, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution
1992 Star Drop - Earthwork, 37 acres, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
1989 Buffalo Spirit Totem - 18’ Painted Steel, Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Santa Fe, NM
1987 Horse Spirit Totem - 16’ Painted Steel Sculpture, New Mexico State Capitol
Santa Fe, NM
1982 Rising Sun - 24’ Painted Wood Totem, Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ
1982 Moon Horse - 18’ Painted Wood & Horse Skull, Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Santa Fe, NM
1981 Moon Spirit Totem - 24’ Painted Wood Totem, Museum of the Native
American Center or the Living Arts, Niagra Falls, NY
1980 Sun Horse Totem - 18’ Painted Wood & Horse Skull, Institute of American
Indian Arts Museum, Santa Fe, NM
Private Collections and Installations
2024 Moon Glow Series, (15) 82”x36” acrylic on canvas, Las Palomas Hotel, Santa Fe, NM
2021 Raven Sun - 8’ Painted Steel Sculpture, Amarillo, TX
2021 Remembering - 6’ Painted Wood Wall Sculpture, Tesuque, NM
2020 Silver Moon Totem - 12’ Painted Steel Sculpture, Ojo Caliente, NM
2020 Sun/Moon Shaman - 12’ Painted Wood Sculpture, Rancho de San Juan, NM
2019 Chérie’s Moon - 15’ Painted Steel Sculpture, Santa Fe, NM
2019 Moon Glow - 9’ Painted Steel Sculpture, Santa Fe, NM
2018 Tesuque Moon Altar - 9’ Steel & Concrete Sculpture, Hess Collection, Tesuque, NM
2017 Rio Grande Memorial Totem - 14’ Painted Steel Sculpture, Embudo, NM
2015 Sun/Moon Shaman III - Wood & Mixed Media, Abiquiu, NM
2014 Golden Moon Catcher – 8’ Marble, Granite & Onyx Sculpture, Santa Fe, NM
2013 Moon Catcher II - 12’ Marble & Granite Sculpture, Santa Fe, NM
2013 Moon & Snake - 8’ Steel & Lexan Sculpture, Austin, TX
2005 Moon Catcher - 12’ Marble & Granite Sculpture, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Medicine Shield Totem – 14’ Painted Steel Sculpture, Santa Fe, NM
2001 Spirit Vision #1 & #2 - 36” x 24” acrylic on canvas, Vicenza, ITALY
2001 Shaman’s Sun/Moon - 12’ Mosaic tile on cement, Pantelleria, ITALY
2000 Moon Bird #1 - 8’ Painted Steel Sculpture, Kansas City, KS
2000 Sun/Moon Shaman #2 - 12’ Painted Wood, Vaschon Island, WA
2000 Sun Shield & Spirit Pole - 18’ Painted Steel Sculpture, Albany, GA
1999 Spirit Healer - 10’ Painted Steel Sculpture, New Orleans, LA
1999 Spirit Poles - 6’ Painted Wood Sculptures, Padova, ITALY
1998 Sun/Moon Shaman #3 & #4 - 12’ Painted Wood Sculptures, Rancho de
San Juan Relais et Chateau, Espanola, NM
1998 Sun/Moon Shaman #1 - 12’ Painted Wood Sculpture, Paradise Valley, AZ
1998 Sun/Moon Shaman - 6’ Bronze, Lake Tahoe, CA
1993 Napa Moon Totem - 8’ Painted Steel, Markham Winery, St. Helena, CA
1993 Lightening Shield Totem – 18’ Painted Steel, Healdsburg, CA
1991 Sun Shield - 8’ diameter Painted Steel, Inn of the Anasazi, Santa Fe, NM
1991 New Mexico Sun Totem - 18’ Painted Steel, Hotel Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
1987 From the Earth, Touch the Sky – East-West Interpretation #3 – 30’ Painted Stainless
Steel & Aluminum and 90’ Earthwork, Madhvani Collection, Nairobi, KENYA
Showing 1–12 of 50 artworks
Doug Coffin
Ceremonial Zen Sun (Eclipse)
40 x 40 in Acrylic with glass spheres Sold
Doug Coffin
Time Will Tell...Maybe
36 x 36 ″ Acrylic with Mixed Media $5,500
Doug Coffin
Red Totem
variable Painted steel
Doug Coffin
Moon for a Poet
24 x 24 ″ Acrylic with Glass Spheres and Mixed Media $3,700
Doug Coffin
Poet's Thought
15 x 15 ″ Acrylic with Glass Spheres and Mixed Media Sold
Doug Coffin
Ceremonial Zen Sun (Eclipse) III
41 x 41 ″ Acrylic with glass spheres $5,600
Doug Coffin
Ceremonial Sun IV
36 x 36 in Acrylic with glass spheres $5,500
Doug Coffin
Abiquiu Zen IV
48 x 40 in Acrylic with glass spheres $6,800
Doug Coffin
Ceremonial Sun V
36 x 36 in Acrylic with glass spheres $5,500
Doug Coffin
Abiquiu Zen III
48 x 36 in Acrylic with glass spheres $6,500
Doug Coffin
Abiquiu Sun II
36 x 12 in Acrylic with glass spheres $3,600