{{Short description|Native American basket maker from Maine, U.S.}} {{Use American English|date=May 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox artist | name = Jeremy Frey | known_for = Brown ash basketry | birth_place = Passamaquoddy Indian Township Reservation, Maine | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1978}} | citizenship = Passamaquoddy Tribe and U.S. | education = Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance | awards = {{Plainlist| *MacArthur Fellowship 2025 *Rapaport Art Prize 2024}} }} '''Jeremy Frey''' (born 1978) is a Passamaquoddy basket maker from the U.S. state of Maine.
He harvests materials and weaves baskets using ancestral Wabanaki Passamaquoddy techniques. His mid-career retrospective, ''Jeremy Frey: Woven'', toured multiple museums around the country in 2025. He received the Rapaport Prize in 2024 and a MacArthur Fellowship in 2025 for his basket making.
== Early life and education == Jeremy Frey was born and raised in the Passamaquoddy Indian Township Reservation, and from a young age, he painted and made his own toys.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Hannah |date=2026-05-01 |title=Jeremy Frey's Elaborate, Hand-Woven Baskets Keep Tradition Alive |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/jeremy-freys-fancy-baskets-keep-the-passamaquoddy-tradition-alive |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=Architectural Digest |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Career == He worked kitchen jobs during his early 20s and suffered from addiction. He soon returned home to clean up from his addiction and began learning traditional Wabanaki basket weaving,<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/videos/maine-art-of-wabanaki-basketry |title=In Maine, the Art of Basketry Hangs On By a Thread |language=en |access-date=2026-05-31 |via=www.atlasobscura.com}}</ref> as his mother was also studying. He studied at workshops run by the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jeremy Frey: Basket Maker. Artist. Innovator. |url=https://basketsoftime.com/pages/jeremy-frey-passamaquoddy |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=Baskets of Time |language=en}}</ref> and became a basketmaker himself. Soon, in 2011, his baskets received Best in Show at both the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts and the Heard Museum.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Scott |first=Chadd |title=Passamaquoddy Basket Weaver Jeremy Frey, From Addiction To Adulation |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/chaddscott/2025/07/25/passamaquoddy-basket-weaver-jeremy-frey-from-addiction-to-adulation/ |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>
He is noted for crafting his baskets utilizing materials including porcupine quills, brown ash, cedar, sweet grass, and spruce root, and for utilizing much smaller weaves than is traditional<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-01-09 |title=The Genius Next Door: Jeremy Frey elevates basketry from craft to high art |url=https://www.wgbh.org/culture/visual-arts/2026-01-09/the-genius-next-door-jeremy-frey-elevates-basketry-from-craft-to-high-art |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=GBH |language=en}}</ref> (32nd of an inch as opposed to a quarter of an inch).<ref name=":1" /> He has also began utilizing copper strips in his art as a response to the Emerald ash borer.<ref name=":0" /> His art has been described as "dizzying" and "kaleidoscopic".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-21 |title=The Mesmerizing Wonder of Wabanaki Weaving |url=https://hyperallergic.com/jeremy-frey-mesmerizing-wonder-of-wabanaki-weaving/ |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=Hyperallergic |language=en}}</ref>
== Exhibitions == He had his first major retrospective and traveling exhibition, ''Jeremy Frey: Wove''n<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wright |first=Virginia M. |date=2024-07-01 |title=The Modern Master of Wabanaki Basketry |url=https://downeast.com/maine-made/jeremy-frey-modern-master-of-wabanaki-basketry/ |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=Down East Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>, begin in 2024. It has so far appeared in the Portland Museum of Art<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jeremy Frey: Woven |url=https://www.portlandmuseum.org/exhibitions/jeremy-frey-woven/ |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=Portland Museum of Art |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=At the Portland Museum of Art, Jeremy Frey's Baskets Conjure the Past While Presenting a Warning for the Future |url=https://www.bostonartreview.com/read/jeremy-frey-woven-portland-museum-of-art |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=Boston Art Review |language=en}}</ref>, where it was the second-most visited exhibition<ref>{{Cite web |title=With striking baskets, artist Jeremy Frey weaves a path into the artworld |url=https://www.artbasel.com/stories/jeremy-frey |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=Art Basel |language=en}}</ref>, the Bruce Museum<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fabrique |title=Jeremy Frey: Woven |url=https://brucemuseum.org/exhibitions/jeremy-frey-woven/ |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=The Bruce Museum |language=en}}</ref>, the Art Institute of Chicago<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-26 |title=Jeremy Frey: Woven |url=https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/10212/jeremy-frey-woven |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=The Art Institute of Chicago |language=en}}</ref>, and the Cantor Arts Center<ref>{{Cite web |last=Release |first=Press |date=2026-03-23 |title=Jeremy Frey Passamaquoddy baskets at Stanford's Cantor Art's Center |url=https://www.seegreatart.art/jeremy-frey-passamaquoddy-baskets-at-stanfords-cantor-arts-center/ |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=See Great Art |language=en-US}}</ref>.
== Awards and honors == He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2025 for his basket weaving.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jeremy Frey |url=https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2025/jeremy-frey |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=www.macfound.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-10 |title=Congratulations to Maine MacArthur Foundation Award Winner Jeremy Frey |url=https://newengland.com/living/design/macarthur-foundation-award-winner-jeremy-frey/ |access-date=2026-05-31 |language=en-US}}</ref> He was awarded the Rapaport Prize, granted to an exceptional artist with connections to New England, in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indigenous Artist Jeremy Frey Awarded 2024 Rappaport Prize |url=https://thetrustees.org/press-release/indigenous-artist-jeremy-frey-awarded-2024-rappaport-prize/ |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=The Trustees of Reservations |language=en}}</ref>
== Publications == He published his first book, ''Jeremy Frey: Woven'', in connection with his traveling exhibition of the same name.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Simone |first=Jaime de |last2=Mize |first2=Ramey |last3=Secord |first3=Theresa |last4=Hoska |first4=Dakota |last5=Hamilton |first5=Andrew James |title=Paperback Jeremy Frey Catalog |url=https://store.portlandmuseum.org/products/paperback-jeremy-frey-catalog |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=PMA Store at the Portland Museum of Art, Maine |language=en}}</ref>
== Collections == His art is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jeremy Frey - Radiance - The Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/909323 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260317003611/https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/909323 |archive-date=2026-03-17 |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |language=en}}</ref>, the Smithsonian American Art Museum<ref>{{Cite web |title=Large Turquoise Urchin Basket {{!}} Smithsonian American Art Museum |url=https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/large-turquoise-urchin-basket-117666 |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=americanart.si.edu |language=en}}</ref>, the Denver Art Museum<ref>{{Cite web |title=Watchful Spirit {{!}} Denver Art Museum |url=https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/object/2022.51a-b |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=www.denverartmuseum.org}}</ref>, and others.
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == * [https://jeremyfreybaskets.com Jeremy Frey], official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frey, Jeremy}}
Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:Native American basket weavers Category:Passamaquoddy people Category:People from Washington County, Maine