Friday, August 9 through Friday, November 8, 2024
Southwestern Oklahoma Sunset (2023)
Karen Paul
Digital Photograph
Pictured:
Southwestern Oklahoma Sunset (2023)
Karen Paul
Digital Photograph
Opening Reception: 6-9 p.m. Friday, August 9
Artist Reception: 6-9 p.m. Friday, September 13
Artist Reception: 6-9 p.m. Friday, October 11
Closing Reception: 6-9 p.m. Friday, November 8
Biography
Karen M. Paul is a fifth-generation Oklahoman who has documented Oklahoma people, places and textures for nearly 15 years, both as a photographer and a freelance arts writer. Her current project, The Oklahoma Collection, strives to collect, capture and preserve the unique details of Oklahoma.
Paul has a Master’s Degree in Strategic Communication / Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Oklahoma Baptist University. Her work has been published in Art Focus Magazine and featured in local publications and Oklahoma exhibitions.
Artist Statement
A deep consideration of my roots, connections and the fabric of Oklahoma guide my work. As a freelance arts writer, I’ve been telling Oklahoma stories for more than a decade. My photography reflects a similar narrative showing the wide-ranging details of life in Oklahoma – from the loud moments at the Norman Music Festival to the changing elements of nature, from an old mural in a small Oklahoma town to quiet landscapes. These are the things and moments that shape our unique existence.
Contact Information
Website: karenpaulok.com
Instagram: @oklahomacameracompany
Friday, August 9 through Friday, September 13, 2024
Pictured: Instances of Emotion
Benjamin Murphy
Oil and 3D print on panel
40 x 36 in
2024
The science of emotion in changing. Our understanding of how the brain works is overturning 20th century paradigms. We once accepted as truth that emotional responses are automatic, and hardwired to specific regions of the brain. This project was initially inspired by the research of Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD. Her book “How Emotions Are Made” demonstrates how “we construct each instance of emotion through a unique interplay of brain, body, and culture.” My new body of work uses Barrett’s research as a starting point to connect emotional processes with visual language.
In this exhibition, Constructed Emotion, I explore a range of concepts related to current viewpoints in neuroscience, quantum physics, philosophy, and computer science to tell a story about our contemporary experience. I use color systems as a means to describe the function of neurotransmitters. These color systems are further integrated with images of chemical diagrams and CT scans of the human brain. Using the figure/ground relationship I demonstrate how your brain “fills in” missing information as it makes predictions based upon past experiences. Sir Roger Penrose’s theory that consciousness arises from quantum wave function collapses is referenced through the incorporation of subatomic particle imagery, specifically the Higgs Boson. This project is a glimpse into our evolving understanding of the human experience using emotion as metaphor.
It also examines our anxious relationship with Artificial Intelligence. Viewers will observe full profile self portraits created using photographic tracings. Each is constructed using a series of nodes, transposing the portrait profiles into input cells that link to a Deconvolutional Neural Network. Deconvolutional is a type of network that emulates a biological brain’s frontal lobe. There are two expressions depicted in these portraits; an expression of calm and a scream. The two represent the dichotomy that exists within the human/AI or human/knowledge relationship. The scream communicates the anxieties derived from our fears. The calm face illustrates our symbiotic and deeply integrated relationship with the sciences, philosophy, and technology. This work prompts reflection about our current state of being, and our ever nascent relationship with knowledge which informs a cultural ethos that continually refashions our conception of the self and soul.
Bio
Benjamin Murphy is a visual artist working in the expanded field of painting. He is interested in art’s ability to communicate complex narratives about our society through contemporary signs and symbols. For him perpetual growth, wealth accumulation, consumption, invention, and our evolving understanding of the physical world are captivating subjects that define our culture. His methods of investigation are not limited to traditional mediums and regularly examine new technologies, integrating them into his artistic practice.
Murphy’s most recent projects include a large scale public art commission for the lobby of the National Weather Center. His work has been exhibited at CICA Museum in South Korea, Salle Gilbert-Gaillard Gallery in France, Museum of Art at the University of Southern Mississippi, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, MAINSITE Contemporary Art, GenAI Summit, and 3 Square Art Gallery, among other exhibitions. He has created art for multiple Classical New Music album covers on Albany Records and is a regular contributor for Art Focus magazine.
As an active supporter of the regional art community in Oklahoma, Murphy serves on the board of the Oklahoma Art Education Association, and is the Assistant Professor of Studio Art at Oklahoma State University. He holds an MFA from the University of Oklahoma and a BA from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.
Friday, May 10 through Friday, July 12, 2024
Pictured: Coyote Akin by Lauren Rosenfelt
Biophilia — an exhibition and slate of programming that conjures nature with artists and scientists — opens with the work of Hannah Harper, Jennifer Larsen, Grace Potter, Lauren Rosenfelt and Nicholas Czaplewski, PhD on Friday, May 10 at MAINSITE Contemporary Art, 122 E. Main, Norman.
Curated by Haley Prestifilippo, Biophilia’s title refers to the theory — first described in the late 20th century — that suggests an innate human desire for connection to other forms of life. All the featured artists (several of whom are also practicing scientists) share a propensity for just that, creating work out of a deep admiration and tether to the various forms nature takes all around us. Their work “considers a few of the analytical and emotional frameworks through which we interpret nature.”
“Nature is often referenced as an independent entity, permeating human experience but separate from it,” Prestifilippo said in a curator’s statement. “It is embodied as a mother, a threat, beauty, violence, something to be controlled and something that controls, something to escape and something to escape into. Humans have sorted the innumerable aspects of nature into scientific fields, building chronologies of evolution, ordered taxonomies, and tables of elements; we perpetually attempt to unveil the hidden infrastructures keeping the universe in place.”
The exhibition runs from its opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, May 10 through a closing reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 12, both as a part of 2nd Friday Norman Art Walk. There’s also an artist reception at the midpoint of the exhibit from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, June 14.
As a bonus, there is a full slate of events, including a nature walk, plein air sketch session, poetry workshop and more, that take place in venues across Norman. These are made possible with support from Norman Arts Council, Pioneer Library System and Factory Obscura.
Pioneer Library System will also be on hand at all three receptions at MAINSITE Contemporary Art with activities for the whole family relating to the themes of the exhibition.
The full event schedule is as follows:
Opening Reception: 6-9 p.m. Friday, May 10 at MAINSITE Contemporary Art
Plein Air Sketch Session with Hannah Harper: 4:30-5:30 p.m. Friday, May 17 at Norman East Library | Learn more and register here
Book Making Session with Curtis Jones: 1-2 p.m. Saturday, June 1 at Resonator | Learn more and register here
Poetry Workshop with Julie Ann Ward: 1-3 p.m. Saturday, June 8 at MAINSITE Contemporary Art | Learn more here
Artist Reception: 6-9 p.m. Friday, June 14 at MAINSITE Contemporary Art
Nature Walk with Jennifer Larsen and Nicholas Czaplewski, PhD: 10 a.m. Saturday, June 15 at Sutton Wilderness Trail | Learn more here
Open Mic: 5-7 p.m. Sunday, June 30 at The Standard | Learn more here
Closing Reception: 6-9 p.m. Friday, July 12 at MAINSITE Contemporary Art
More about the artists:
Nicholas Czaplewski, PhD
Nick Czaplewski (Chap-lev-ski) is a paleontologist and biologist of Polish and Neandertal ancestry, born and naturalized in the Great Plains of North America. He enjoys engaging others in all aspects of the natural world and honors its land and peoples through direct interaction, reciprocity/caretaking, mentoring, volunteerism, and making art. He extends these ideas to his work in deep-time earth history to his perception of indigenous ecological knowledge, paleogeography, and the incredible creative evolutionary potential of life. He understands science as a way of thinking that a lot of people share; the way in which most of us have similar means of encountering the world: seeing, smelling, feeling, hearing, and as a result mostly agreeing that something is probably true. Nick worked for 34 years as a curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma and as a scientific advisor to the museum’s youth summer field programs.
Hannah Harper
Hannah Harper grew up in the Southern Oklahoma countryside. She was encouraged to pursue creativity at a young age and collected art education from various sources as a child. At 17, she took a workshop with artists John and Terri Moyers at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City who soon after took her under their wing and has mentored her ever since. They encouraged her to take workshops with charcoal master Ned Jacob in both Scottsdale, Arizona and Jackson Hole, Wyoming and a semester at the Ryder Studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She graduated from the University of New Mexico in 2019 with a BFA in studio art and completed her MFA for painting at the University of Oklahoma in 2023.
Jennifer Larsen
Jennifer Larsen grew up in Colorado and now lives in Norman, Oklahoma. She has been lucky enough to spend most of her life living in rural areas and open/wild places feel much more like home to her than urban spaces. She is a paleontologist at the Sam Noble Museum with a background in biochemistry and biology. She was a volunteer at the Oklahoma City Zoo for many years. She enjoys a variety of outdoor activities including running, hiking, biking, kayaking, and horseback riding. A perfect day would also involve reading, drawing, chocolate and having cats lay on her. She currently lives on a remarkably generous piece of the earth amidst a magnificent menagerie of non-human beings.
Grace Potter
Working primarily in ceramics, Grace Potter makes intricate sculptures that consider her relationship to the more-than-human world through the lenses of ecology and spiritual inquiry. Her work often references sites of reverence: reliquaries, mausoleums and cathedrals, as a tool for investigating hierarchies and value systems. Animals, plants and fungi depicted in the work carry metaphors for personal narratives as well as archetypal myths. She approaches making as a ritual, illuminating the mystical in the mundane and venerating the subjects of her sculptures through time-consuming processes and meticulous craft. Accumulated textures and patterns generate surreal compositions, reflecting the disorienting complexity of the natural world and her temporal place within it. Themes of interconnection, transformation and cycles of life and death guide her practice.
Grace Potter (b. 1996) is a visual artist who grew up in rural Appalachia. She received her BFA in Ceramics with minors in Art History and Anthropology from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Grace has completed two Post-Baccalaureates in Ceramics, one at Louisiana State University and the other at the University of Oklahoma. Her work has been exhibited across the country, including in the Red Lodge Clay Center Juried National and at Blue Spiral 1 in Asheville, NC. Additionally, Grace has spent time working at the Mendocino Art Center, Cider Creek Collective in Albion, CA, Good Hope Pottery in Trelawny, Jamaica, and IaRex l’Atelier in St. Raphael, France. She is currently living and working in Mendocino, CA.
Lauren Rosenfelt
Lauren Rosenfelt is a freelance, natural science illustrator and artist currently living and working in Norman, Oklahoma. She graduated from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in 2014 with a BFA and minor in Liberal Arts. Her work focuses on sharing the importance of native wildlife and plant species. She works with clientele ranging from private commissions to commercial and nonprofit organizations. Her public projects are displayed at “This is Place”, a small public pollinator garden and art space, and habitat signage at the Norman Central library.
Lauren has worked with WildCare Oklahoma, Myriad Botanical Gardens, and the City of Norman, and has artwork on display at Scissortail Park, the Museum of Osteology, DNA Galleries, and Norman Firehouse Art Gallery. She is also an active board member for Inclusion in Art, an Oklahoma art organization dedicated to promoting ethnically, racially, and culturally diverse artists in Oklahoma’s visual arts community.
In January 2022, Lauren began her work as a plant biology master’s student at the University of Oklahoma. She now studies multiple ecosystem functions relating to soils, plants, and invertebrates, specifically pollinators, with the intent to marry her artist mission and ecological research into a career focused on science communication through artistic projects and public outreach. In addition, she works as a graduate research assistant for the Chickasaw Nation at the South-Central Climate Adaptation Science Center as a Sustainability Science Intern.
Friday, May 10 through Friday, July 12, 2024
in the Library Gallery
Friday, April 12 through Wednesday, April 24
Pictured: Among the Sunflowers
2023, ceramic, foraged objects, epoxy, resin, acrylic
Sparks fly when I encounter a vibrant fragment of waste rendered invisible to the average passerby. With a curious mind, I am drawn to the pops of color, values and forms littering our landscape. With these curious shards I amass a library of refuse. Through a repository of found and made objects, I craft a world that seeks to reveal the value of junk we cohabitate with. Working in the framework of play, my practice utilizes found objects and a multitude of ceramic processes rooted in the foundations of the ceramic medium, creating playful sculptural objects that speak to our current moment of living in the Anthropocene. Living amid ongoing ecological crises involving pollution and global warming, my sculptures operate as micro landscapes finding alternative ways to view detritus, rehabilitating it through art and aesthetics. In opposition to the fast pace of our capitalistic society built on convenience and disposability, the assembly process of my work is slow. From foraging to constructing, these unhurried observations in my practice enhance and reinforce the curiosity in the environments I inhabit, as I process the decay, beauty, and toxicity of our waste.
Friday, April 12 through Wednesday, April 24
Artist Statement
This body of work was formed as a reflection on my transforming spiritual practice and its place within my role as an artist. I was raised as a semi-devout bible-belt Christian. I found personal refuge throughout a (middle-hard) tumultuous childhood developing a relationship with God. As I aged, more of my emotional safety was found in my faith. My teenage and early adult years were spent in a Third Wave Pentecostal (Neo-Charismatic) church, which emphasized the power of the holy spirit, accompanied by acts of faith and worship. The core of my early adult emotional development took place in and around the church. Services included expressions of praise and prayer through glossolalia (talking in tongues), prophesy, and faith healing. This introduction to mysticism had a heavy influence on every aspect of my life and left a gaping hole when I had an eventual loss of faith.
When God died in my heart, I struggled to fill the void left where I once believed magic lived. My body grieved the absence of the metaphysical and my rejected the idea that I had lost a part of my self. The roots of art and creative practice were instilled in me almost as early as religious I found that the meditative, transcendent, flow states that art making facilitates worked as a stand-in for the dormant parts of myself that housed the holy spirit in my former faith. The act of speaking in tongues, which once served as a hypnotic, intuitive prayer language, was rebirthed in me when I painted. The lost sense of reverence that accompanied words of prophesy in my church life came to life when I attributed self-spun grandiosity to my craft. I hoped to examine the intersection of sincerity and cynicism by poking the bruise of religious trauma. These works represent contemplations on my spiritual identity as well as a mourning of once deeply held beliefs. My goal in any creative act is to manifest what is inside of me as a tangible work. Layered in the creation of these pieces are lingering feelings of loss, fear, acceptance, and change.
Friday, March 8 through Friday, March 22
Pictured: Unsolved Mystery by Irmgard Geul
Norman Arts Council’s annual arts party fundraiser goes intergalactic with Area fiftyONE. Artists from across the state and beyond were invited to submit works and encouraged to give their take on the worlds of extraterrestrials, sci-fi, space and the great unknown.
The results are over 150 pieces in a wide range of media, styles and artistic approaches made universal in our appreciation for their creativity, what it brings to our area and, not least of all, that at least 50% of every work sold benefits Norman Arts, with many generously donating 100% of proceeds.
December 8, 2023 through February 9, 2024
About the artist:
Born and raised in the small town of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, Kevin Stark has created art his entire life. At the age of fifteen he began working at an Ad Agency and by the age of eighteen he was the head of the art department. At the same time he was working for the agency he became interested in the art of the old masters, particularly the portrait artists, and worked to teach himself their techniques.
Stark attended the University of Oklahoma, majoring in art. At OU he expanded his interests and worked to achieve skills in many different styles and mediums. These skills led him to jobs as a toy designer, a comic book artist, a billboard artist, a portrait painter and many other art related projects for clients in Hollywood and around the world.
Stark has been a professional artist most of his life and in the 1980’s moved back to his hometown and opened his studio and gallery, Stark Art. From there he has produced many works of art and sometimes, because of his interest in Performance Art, he dreams up different artist “personas” in order to create works in totally different styles and subject matter.
His work has been featured in many one-man and group shows across the country and his work is in collections around the world. He has been featured in Oklahoma Today, Art Focus Oklahoma The Oklahoma Gazette, The Daily Oklahoman, the Tulsa World, the Dallas Morning News and many other newspapers. He has also done interviews for magazines in France, Germany, Australia and Japan. Several television shows have featured his work, including several times on the show Gallery on OETA. Other Oklahoma stations to feature stories on Stark include KWTV, WKY, KOCO, and KTEN.
Artist Statement:
Stark creates work in many different mediums and in many different styles. In fact, his early one-man shows were often mistaken for group showings, as the work seemed to be done by several artists instead of just one individual. In order to make his work more easily understood by viewers, Stark began creating different artist personas for the various styles of art he was producing and then grouped the paintings of each unique artist together, making his work more cohesive. This concept enabled him to also become involved in performance art, as Stark creates a uniquely different artist “look” and personality for each separate body of work. Many times he will show up at his art openings in character as one of his artists. At times, his own family has failed to recognize him.
Though these works in this exhibit are all created by Kevin Stark, you will see Pop Art by “Red Kittens,” bird paintings by “Ivory Keyes,” abstract storm paintings by “Jett Black,” graphic poster style paintings by “Salmon Chevy,” and finally classical, yet contemporary portraits under Kevin Stark’s own name.
In conclusion, Stark says, “Apologies in advance for any confusion that this shit might cause.”
December 8, 2023 through February 9, 2024
About the artist:
Ander Cardinale was born in Mexico City in 1984. He began working with toys at a young age and his talent was quickly recognized by his family and teachers. He studied architecture in Puebla, Mexico and after graduating he began exploring the world while he was working for the Walt Disney Company in Orlando and Paris. In 2015, he moved to Oklahoma to live with the love of his life.
Cardinale’s work is characterized by its use of bright colors and bold shapes. His art is playful and cheerful. He paints, illustrates, and sculpts, but his favorite medium is toys.
Cardinale is a self-taught artist, very passionate about his work, and is committed to using toys to explore important social issues. He believes that toys can be a powerful tool for change and hopes that his work will inspire others to be loving and empathetic to make the world a better place.
He is influenced by a variety of artists, including Walt Disney, Alexander Calder, Ruth Handler, Lauren Faust, and Miss Mindy among others.
His work has been featured in a variety of venues in Norman, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in the Art of Toys Museum in Sacramento, California, and in Disney’s D23 Expo 2019 in Anaheim, California. He is currently working on a series of toys representing the importance of love, dreams, diversity, and inclusion.
Artist Statement:
I am a toy artist who creates pieces that celebrate beauty, love, diversity, magic and dreams. My work is inspired by my own experiences and my childhood toys. I have been a lifelong fan of toys and have always been fascinated by them.
My toys are brightly colored and whimsical, and they often cheerful characters and sentimental symbols. I believe that toys can be a powerful tool to help to create a more inclusive and positive world. I am committed to creating toys that are both beautiful and meaningful. Through toys I challenge and explore dominant narratives against the LGBTQ+ community.
I accustomed to make toys with traditional clay sculpting skills, but I am an artist who is always looking for new ways to work. I am interested in learning new skills, and I am always eager to experiment with different mediums and techniques. Recently, I have been working with 3D software and 3D printing, allowing me to create more complex figures with more intricate details.
I create toys that provide a sense of belonging and make people happy.
October 13 through November 11, 2023
It’s fitting that in Norman — a city equally celebrated for its Sooner athletics and creative community — we see those respective worlds collide in Breaking Barriers: The Jim Thorpe Collection.
The exhibition is the brainchild of Norman-based artist Steve Hare and features the work of Hare, Norman printmaker and artist Ginna Dowling, metal work by Corbin Leonard and artwork created by Norman High School students under the instruction of NHS art teacher Tauri Simms.
The body of work represents intersections of a lifetime’s worth of experiences from Hare, who has gone from a volunteer at the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame to a member of the Executive Council, a member of the selection committee for the Jim Thorpe Award and the prestigious opportunity to paint the recipient each year.
“Art encourages memory and discovery. It allows us to re-connect with what may have been lost or to connect with what may not have been found,” Hare said in his artist statement. “It was my father that first introduced me to Jim Thorpe, a real-life superhero that I would first capture in my 4th grade Oklahoma history project unaware that our paths would one day cross again.”
July 14 through September 8, 2023
Flowers of Hope: A Reconnection with Nature was an uplifting manifesto, that affirms nature’s capacity to inspire and give hope. The exhibition consisted of paper and fiber artworks created by Irmgard Geul and Farooq Karim.
More about the artists
Farooq Karim
Norman-based artist Farooq Karim creates stunningly impressive paper wall sculpture flowers, made of numerous intricately cut and glued strips.
Encouraged by his wife Blossom to conquer previous darker times in his life, Karim started in 2017 creating single paper flowers from old maps, magazines, music and letters. His artwork, mimics the bursts of a flower in full bloom, it explores the most beautiful part of nature.
Farooq is Director of Design for Rees Associates, 2023 co-chair for the OKC Festival of the Arts, current board member for OVAC, the Oklahoma City Civic Center and the Oklahomans for the Arts and Leadership Oklahoma. Farooq has exhibited his artwork in many group exhibitions. His artwork has recently been covered in the 405 Magazine.
Irmgard Geul
Netherlands-born, Pauls Valley-based full-time artist Irmgard Geul creates embroidery paintings. Her self explored technique of hand stitched embroidery over acrylic painted paper, invites to view her art as a sensory, organic experience.
Strongly influenced by her mother’s career in haute couture and a shared love for nature and gardening, Geul enhances the natural texture of each environment. Her contemporary landscapes, trees and flowers are mostly inspired by her rural surroundings and road trip adventures.
Geul has exhibited artwork in many group and solo exhibitions in galleries nationally and internationally. Her work has been covered by Oklahoma Today, Art Focus Oklahoma, Curbside Chronicle, and was recently featured on Gallery America by OETA.
July 14 through September 8, 2023
Oscar Molina is a modern American artist, born in Caracas, Venezuela. Since childhood he enjoyed drawing all kinds of objects in pencil and charcoal, including cartoon characters created by himself. On several occasions, during his pre-adolescence, he tried to paint art using oil paint on canvas, but without knowing the reason then, he did not feel identified with this type of traditional art, since it seemed to him that the landscapes he painted should look as realistic as possible, and that didn't make him feel excited about his work. Well into his teens, he lost interest in art, from which he stayed away for the rest of his youth.
At the age of 18, he entered the Andres Bello Catholic University, where he graduated as an Industrialist (Industrial Management), and spent years practicing his profession, working as a Manager in different companies in the industrial, commercial and service areas. In 2017, due to the complicated socio-political situation that his native country has been going through for several years, he decided to emigrate together with his family to the United States, where from the beginning he settled in the city of Norman, Oklahoma. There, he has held positions as a Machine Operator in different industrial companies, in the production area, for several years.
Despite the fact that Oscar has loved the lifestyle of this country since he was young, that was kind enough to adopt him late in his adulthood, he noticed that from the beginning there was something that made him feel somewhat uncomfortable, and that is the fact of perceiving that in this country, in general terms, decoration and art tend to be scarce in terms of color, which clashes with his Caribbean origin, where color and vitality are fundamental factors. Additionally, his dissatisfaction with the type of jobs he had obtained until now after emigrating, led him to look for a leisure activity and peace of mind, so as a catharsis, he decided to return to art during his free time, which he had not practiced since his early adolescence. Since then, he began to paint works in acrylic paint on canvas, and also digital art through Photoshop, obtaining works of art that reflect the world from a different point of view, original, with great color, joy and optimism, which he decided to sign under the pseudonym “Mölin”.
May 12 through June 9, 2023
Yes! I Can Roger! is an extraordinary, hand-cut, wood inlay marquetry show of over 20 pieces presented as a large format graphic novel by Norman artist Gregg Standridge.
Oklahoma native, Roger Miller, made a bold statement in his hit song, “You Can’t Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd,” but we respond with, “Yes! I can Roger!” Jayzik Azikiwe comes to life from a little girl struggling to overcome her “buffalos” to a world where she lives her dream of rollerskating and is celebrated for her courage and determination. The show evolved from his teenage years, spending hours watching eal live confident Jazik Azikiwe skate in Dire Strait’s video “Skate Away” on MTV. The exhibition evokes feelings of hope, music, dreadlocks and “I can do anything!”
Gregg Standridge is a local Norman artist, musician, and registered Choctaw Nation artist. He is also Cherokee, a seasoned songwriter, teacher of guitar and performer. He has played with words, music and art since birth. He was recently commissioned to create “Buffalo Sunset” mural at Midway Grocery. He was also accepted into UN(SEEN), a juried exhibit in Chickasha, OK and has frequently exhibited works at various Downtown Norman shops and studios during 2nd Friday Norman Art Walks.
April 14 through April 28, 2023
MAINSITE Contemporary Art hosted the annual OU MFA Thesis Exhibition here in the Walker Arts District of Downtown Norman.
2023 exhibiting artists and MFA candidates were Craig Swan, Danielle Fixico, Hannah Harper and Summer Zah.
March 10 through March 24, 2023
An exhibition of works that were auctioned off to benefit Norman Arts Council during its annual ONE event. This year’s theme — “mashup” — led to artists collaborating with each other, remixing their favorite works, combining different styles and more.
Pictured: “Ladies Waiting” by Bridget Trowbridge
December 9, 2022 through February 10, 2023
This exhibition was made possible through support of the Norman Arts Council, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition and The Puffin Foundation.
Pictured: Monumental Redactions: Ali’s return to America from the Middle East four months after 9/11. 84” x 67” Oil, embroidery floss, canvas, linen, watercolor pencil. 2022
Fish Without a Sea explores domesticity, family intimacies, and collective memory while monumentalizing the visuality of Persianate and Islamicate visual traditions like miniature painting and Iranian ceramic traditions.
In the Persianate context, miniature paintings have traditionally depicted either folk heroes and heroines or the royalty and their courts and were painted on small sheets of paper with brushes containing just a few hairs to achieve fine details. Here, the tradition of Persian miniatures unites oils with fibers on a large scale while using family archives to illuminate contemporary issues facing the Iranian-American and broader diasporic SWANA (Southwest Asian North African) communities, within the context of migration, state violence, and the intergenerational transmission of knowledge. Oscillating between embodied poetic testimonies and imposed systemic binaries, these portraits exist within a frame to which the subjects are both attached to, but also separate from, so that the patchwork corpus of the brown immigrant body politic is a site of compulsory racialization and transnational state violence wherein dual nationalities result in dual (un)belongings.
Two primary indigenous Iranian ceramic vessels have been reinterpreted for this series: the bird-like, beak-spouted vessels characteristic of Iron Age-era pottery in Iran, and the gamaj, a traditional Gilaki cooking pot which continues to be an essential part of the food culture in the northern Caspian Sea region of Gilan. Though the former was commonly produced throughout the pre-Islamic Iranian plateau and is currently regarded as an ancient Iron Age artefact divorced from its functionality in modern daily life, the latter is a vessel indigenous to a specific region and ethnic culture in Iran that continues to be used today in Gilan. Though they are from two separate time periods and have different statuses in contemporary life, what the beak-spouted vessels and the gamaj share in common is that traditionally they are both earthenware vessels with domestic uses. Reinterpreted here in stoneware, these diasporic vessels represent the symbolic disruption of, and attempted reconnection to, the chain of knowledge about both ancestral Iran and my Gilaki heritage.
This body of work encompasses an artistic practice rooted in both critical archival research and literary history, and uses both hand-painted and transferred calligraphic script. These monumental miniatures and ceramic vessels seek to center both the visuality of overlooked artistic traditions, as well as narratives of domesticity and intimacies that subvert hegemonic representations of an often-misrepresented community.
Ghazal Ghazi (Tehran, Iran, 1990) is a multidisciplinary visual artist whose life has spanned three distinct regions: the Middle East, the U.S., and South America. As an artist, she investigates collective memory and cultural intervention, exploring themes like displacement, language, and state violence through embroidered oil paintings and ceramics.
Most recently, she was chosen as a semifinalist in the National Portrait Gallery’s Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2022 at the Smithsonian Institution and served as a 2022 Junior Fellow at the Library of Congress.
October 14 through November 12, 2022
It’s a funny affair when one cat crosses paths with you and sticks like glue. Sometimes, that cat keeps you bound to your mental stability. For artist Karson Brooks, that cat is Belmont, and for her this is just another day to nap.
Feline Fine explores both sides of the artist. One side illustrates the mental discourse of depression and mental health, while the other seeks an escape to a world of cartoonish life events. The colorful use of abstract meets Mid-Century Modern is meant to emulate the surroundings and curation of the artist’s home, person, and internal dialogue.
Karson Brooks is an Oklahoma-born artist, currently located in Oklahoma City. Her primary focus is centered around her career as a visual designer and illustrator. Through her self-exploration as an artist, she’s been working on both new and old concepts, one of which includes her cat comic, Belmont and several series that focus on her mental health and bodily autonomy.
Belmont features small windows into the life of her cat Velma, aka: Belmont. Belmont, is the name given to Velma when she’s been a “bad cat”. And while Belmont is baby, Karson hopes that many others see their own little bad kitties through the antics of the two main characters. The comic also highlights her passion for plants, interior decor, and a nod to some of her favorite animators.
As someone who has been managing manic depression since her early teens, the scope of her mental well-being is a heavy concept for her other art pieces. Her earlier concepts that focused on topics such as learning of her own infertility issues to lifelong depression struggles can be seen in their evolution in this exhibit. By combining organic movement with stark contrast of human figures, she unites the two to create a visual understanding of the how her emotions play into the everyday life she presents.
Karson hopes to continue developing these concepts by working toward a more physical presence in the art world. Plans for more physical media are on the horizon, as well as, many more shows she is looking forward to. To stay updated with future shows, artwork, and more, follow her on Instagram under @plight.studio.
August 12 through September 9, 2022
Between the Spaces invites the viewer to explore connectivity and art as it pertains to digital versus tactile mediums. Mixing printed portraits with markings painted physically and digitally and then experienced through virtual reality, this project brings those two worlds together. It features 36 printed portraits, 18 of which will be physically embellished, and the other 18 will be virtually painted and viewed using the Artivive app.
The artists welcome viewers to move through the gallery interacting with the different elements of the project, including a polaroid corner for participants to have their picture taken and that Polaroid becomes part of the installation, 3D printed painted orbs on display, an augmented reality orb, a video space for participants to create selfie videos, a collaborative canvas to be raffled off as well as canvas pieces of art.
The virtually-painted portraits can be purchased and viewed again in their homes with the app, expanding the experience of the project beyond gallery walls. It is also the hope of the artists that the participants feel connected and included enough to be a part of the project.
MORE ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Jaiye Farrell
Instagram: @dawnjaiye
Twitter: @dawnjaiye
Oklahoma-based artist Jaiye Farrell cultivated his style of painting from abstract patterns that transcend societal and cultural divides and remember the communal roots of humanity. From an infatuation with archeology emerged a creative and ambitious talent: to craft signature designs that inspire self-reflection.
“The pattern I am cultivating is a rhythm of line and shape. I use like a substance that morphs so I can transform surfaces objects and spaces around me.”
Cody Giles
Instagram: @creativegiles
Twitter: @creativegiles
Driven by connection, community, and alliteration, Cody Giles is a photographer who always sets out to capture the personality of a subject. Not just another portrait, but rather one that conveys just who that person is without knowing them. He strives to do this in all types of photography, from live music to families, to fashion editorials. Capturing moments in thoughtful and artful ways is always the goal.
May 13 through July 9, 2022
Pictured: Zhangye (2021), Oil on canvas, 30”x48”
Understanding Place: Perspectives presents artist Liz Roth’s longtime exploration of landscape in many media, including sketches, watercolor, oil painting and prints. The exhibition is organized as a journey around the world beginning with America 101, an exploration of every state in America, and ending with Roth’s ongoing project to render the rich and varied landscapes of the 40th parallel north.
For Roth truly “Understanding Place” involves extensive research as well as sustained looking. The sketchbooks and process material included in the exhibition give a glimpse into both of these practices and the ways in which they contribute to her finished pieces. Perspectives not only includes landscapes seen from different angles and sightlines, but also, more subtly, from different historical and disciplinary contexts. She notes:
Driving across country for America 101 on small roads, and stopping constantly to look at and consider which landscapes to represent forever changed how I view land. I realized I had so much to learn about the many lenses through which I might comprehend a landscape: geomorphology, cultural geography, natural resources, histories of ownership, agriculture, immigration … the list of ways of understanding place was innumerable.
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Liz Roth is Professor of Drawing and Painting at Oklahoma State University. Her paintings, prints, installations, and drawings have been shown in over 100 exhibitions, including a dozen solo exhibitions. She has received numerous prestigious grants, among which was a Fulbright fellowship to teach in China, and many national and international residencies. Her work is in several public and private collections, notably the Walker Art Center (Minnesota), Museu del Joguet (Spain), and Hall of Awa Japanese Paper Museum (Japan).
Curated by Jennifer Scanlan
April 8 through April 23, 2022
Pictured: Alfred Nobel as Janus, oil on 3D printed surface, 30” x 35”
Benjamin Murphy is a Canadian born painter who is completing the MFA program at the University of Oklahoma. As an artist, he actively engages in exhibitions, collaborations, and scholarly endeavors at the state, national, and international levels. Recently he participated in exhibitions at the Salle Gilbert-Gaillard Gallery in France, Webster Arts Center, University of Southern Mississippi Museum of Art, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, and Gardiner Gallery Of Art at Oklahoma State University. He is the recipient of the R.B. Sprague Endowed Scholarship, Madeline Colbert Steed Scholarship, Robberson Research and Creative Endeavors Grant, Graduate Student Senate Research Grant, and a presenter at the OAEA Annual Conference in 2021. His work examines human ingenuity, the nature of progress, and anthropogenic emergencies that shape our contemporary experience. Murphy sees the language of painting as an expanding one, exploring new technologies and finding ways to integrate them with the medium.
As an educator, Murphy strives to bring the visual arts to students of all ages. At Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma, he brings enthusiasm and clear pedagogical objectives to the classroom. As a developing educator, the foundation of his teaching philosophy includes close collaboration with fellow educators/mentors and coaching art and design students to become independent visual thinkers. He is an instructor/mentor at his community art center and participates in fundraising initiatives for the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.
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This current body of work examines the nature of progress through the lens of abstraction. Images associated with scientific invention, human intention, and anthropogenic impacts create the foundations of image making explorations. In prints, drawings, sculptures and paintings, advances in human knowledge are recorded and transformed into contemporary signs. They explore the human ambition behind the use of these discoveries and the outcomes or implications for contemporary society.
Many of these artworks incorporate emerging technologies, such as 3D modeling, 3D printing and CNC routing, into the art making process. By expanding the traditional toolbox, the language of painting is expanded beyond its tradition framework. This utilization of old and new methods of image making often inform the broader theme of progress.
Critical to these works is the layering of image and color. Multiple images overlap to create visual dialogs that are reinforced through the use of color and paint application. Color is utilized symbolically in many instances, or to convey a specific feeling. Underlying paint layers are often stripped away in a reductive painting process. Together these elements search for ways to unwrap the complexities of our contemporary experience.
April 8 through April 23, 2022
Pictured: A Little Touch of Home, Stoneware, Soda Fired, Decal and Luster Application, Flocking, 4.5” x 11” x 5”
Marissa Childers was born and raised in the small town of Florence, Alabama. She attended the University of North Alabama, where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2019 with a focus in ceramics. Upon graduating she worked as a ceramic intern at Anderson Ranch Arts Center and is now completing her Master of Fine Arts at the University of Oklahoma. During her time at OU, she has received the Madeline Colbert Steed Scholarship, James Randal Holland Endowed Scholarship, Glennis Horn Scholarship, Ben Barnett Memorial-Fine Arts Scholarship, Graduate Student Senate Research Grant, and the Robberson Research and Creative Endeavors Grant. Marissa’s work has been shown at numerous galleries and museums across the United States and was published in the November 2020 issue of Ceramics Monthly, she received the NCECA Graduate Fellowship in 2021, and she is one of Ceramics Monthly’s Emerging Artists of 2022.
Marissa’s work explores moments of connection and intimacy while celebrating femininity and craft found within domestic spaces. She uses a variety of textures and patterns within her work that is not only personal to her, but also very relatable for her viewers, in hopes of evoking a sense of joy and nostalgia.
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Celebrations around food have a way of connecting us to one another while stirring up memories that make sharing a meal such a rich experience. Those moments are even more impactful when they are shared through functional handmade objects. We experience intimacy with others as we simultaneously build a relationship with the vessel. Pottery can be cradled in your hands and raised gently to your lips. It has a history and a story to tell. It becomes a witness and participant to these routines of our daily lives.
My work is often colorful and covered in a variety of patterns and textures inspired by the domestic settings from my childhood. Gold luster embellishes, while small details hide in the folds of the fabric, inviting the viewer the look a little closer. Whether my work is influenced by the pattern on my grandparent’s curtains or the woven threads on my favorite blanket, each piece is a little reminder of home.
April 8 through April 23, 2022
Pictured: The Great Adventure by Wesley Kramer
Wesley Kramer grew up in Belvidere, IL exploring the woods and having adventures with his little brother and graduated from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts, emphasis in printmaking. After graduating Kramer had the opportunity to move to St. Louis to work for Tom Huck, a world-famous printmaker at Evil Prints as an assistant printmaker. Gaining a lot of knowledge and skills after two years, he decided to move on to graduate school and is currently finishing up as a MFA student at the University of Oklahoma.
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From my art practice, I have created an alternate world that reflects our own and the issues within it. Comparing the two worlds in a few ways, one being through environmental issues. These problems are either man made or that of natural disasters, disrupting the balance and order of my universe. The stories that I have developed for this world revolve around the characters that may have not made the best decisions, but are trying their best to help out their world and fellow companions. In these narratives, I have created a series of characters that exist in their own reality, where I build up the environment that they thrive in to show the changes in how they progress. By filling this world with humor, whimsical environments, and chunky creatures, I entice the viewer to participate in my world in a physical and emotional one too. As these stories progress, I expand the world visually and narratively, showing how a character's actions can impact the people and environment they live in. While showing these characters' interactions with one another in my prints, I ask the viewer to reflect, thinking about how our own actions affect the world around us.
March 11 through March 26, 2022
Pictured: End of Day | Lately by Karson Brooks
ONE is the annual Norman Arts fundraiser, providing operational support and funding for programs like 2nd Friday, hotel grant operations, public art, arts education initiatives and more.
Dozens of Oklahoma artists donated works to be exhibited at MAINSITE and auctioned/raffled off during the night of the party on Saturday, March 26.
Performance: 3 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, February 26
The Week of Modern Art took place in Brazil in 1922, a week of celebrations that transformed the country’s cultural environment for decades to come. 100 years later, the University of Oklahoma, OU Portuguese, the Center for Brazil Studies at OU and MAINSITE Contemporary Art help celebrate that anniversary with an exhibition culminating in a poetry reading, musical performance and interactive art exhibit from 3 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, February 26.
Featured artists and performers include Paulo Moreira (literature curator and poetry readings), Ricardo de Souza (music curator and artist) and Leticia Galizzi (visual curator and artist).
December 10, 2021 through February 11, 2022
Uriel Marín is a visual artist from Veracruz, México. In his creative process, he explores multiple and expandable graphics based on drawing and knowledge of traditional printmaking techniques. He uses intuitive experimentation to create iconography that is harmonious and dynamic. Uriel has built his artistic career in Oaxaca City, Mexico, often referred to as the printmaking capital of Latin America. He founded the graphic art collective, Arte Cocodrilo, with a group of emerging artists in 2005, then founded Radio Rizoma arts and culture community radio program in 2015, and the art studio and artist-in-residence program, Gallo-Dragon, in 2017. He has also served the Oaxacan Ministry of Culture as a visual arts instructor in Indigenous communities around the state. Uriel's work is influenced by the ukiyo-e traditional Japanese prints, which he has explored through three trips to Japan in which he worked as an artist-in-residence at Osaka University of Arts. His work has appeared in solo and collective exhibitions in South Africa, Germany, Slovakia, England, Japan, and Mexico as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles, California. His art has received honors from the national and state ministries of culture. Uriel is currently a Visiting Artist at the University of Oklahoma.
December 10, 2021 through February 11, 2022
Pictured: Aunj Renee Braggs
The creators of Greenwood Imagine — poet Anthony Curtis Brinkley artist Ebony Iman Dallas and filmmaker Derick Tinsley — combine live performance, poetry, video, and visual art in an effort to immerse visitors in an experience that dissolves the line between past and present. The artists want visitors to contemplate a world that might have existed if the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre had not occurred. Bringing generational trauma to the surface, Greenwood Imagine envelops viewers in the terror Greenwood citizens felt and asks them to link it to their current moment, moving them to acknowledge the trauma, respect it, and subsequently whisk it away to make room for future ideas and identities.
The work is inspired by Brinkley’s poem, “When Dreams Lose Wing''. A combination of poetry, live singing, a short monologue, and a 4-sided, interactive mural created by Ebony invites the audience to imagine Greenwood in a different state. This mural visualizes Greenwood’s proud past, a moment during the massacre, and the future that shares what the future might have been if the massacre had not occurred.
Featured artists include: Tony B, Black Moon Collective Artists (Melody Allen, Aunj Renee Braggs, Elizabeth Henley, nosamyrag and Erica Martez), Marie Casimir, Ebony Iman Dallas, Jeremy Drayton, J'aime Griffith, Tyler James, Leslie Johnson III, Gay Pasley and Derick Tinsley.
December 2-6, 2021
See a recap of the exhibition and virtual tour here!
Can architecture save the incarceration system?
The exhibition features solutions to the many design defects found in the current jail system in America. It also houses a proposal of a conceptual redesign of the Oklahoma City jail, used as a flagship location that can be replicated across the globe. Displayed at Mainsite, locally here in Norman, we would like to see you there - drop in and be a part of the solution.
"It is said that no-one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones". Nelson Mandela
Learn more at the Reconstructing Incarceration website
October 8 through November 27, 2021
Pictured: Civil Rights by Herb Greene
MAINSITE Contemporary Art is honored to host an exhibition of works by architect and visual artist Herb Greene. The event marks the first solo exhibition of Greene’s work in Norman, where he studied architecture under Bruce Goff at the University of Oklahoma in the 1950s and built the iconic Prairie House in 1962.
Exploring his collage paintings, architectural structures and the intersection therein, Mapping the Mental Continuum runs from Friday, October 8 through Saturday, November 27 at MAINSITE Contemporary Art, 122 E. Main, Norman, OK.
An opening reception takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, October 8 with a second reception set for 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, November 12, both in conjunction with Norman Arts Council’s 2nd Friday Norman Art Walk.
A catalog of the exhibition, which includes an in-depth interview with Greene in addition to essays and striking images, will be available for purchase at the November reception and preorder in October. A short film is being produced to further document the exhibition, featuring Greene among his artworks and beloved architectural projects across Oklahoma.
A percentage of proceeds from artwork sales will be donated towards a feature length independent documentary film in the making, Remembering the Future with Herb Greene, due for preview screening in Fall of 2022.
Mapping the Mental Continuum surveys Herb Greene’s use of ‘collage thinking’ as a theoretical and aesthetic expression of Organic philosophy. The importance of collage to Greene’s art and architecture manifests itself in the varied and simultaneous perspectives existing within a single image.
Greene’s architectural structures and painting compositions map the mental continuum as a topological space in which thinking, feeling and perception are a unified progression of events. The cognitive process emerges and converges in a world of relation that suggests an overlap of entities in space-time and a widening multiplicity of perceptual vantage points.
The artworks in the exhibit highlight a timeline that spans paintings from 1964-1984, with content that bridges pivotal moments in American history, including three different wars, The Great Depression era and social justice movements. The documentary photographs embedded in the collage paintings, dialogue throughout the exhibition space with three of Greene’s most notable built projects: the Joyce Residence (Snyder, OK, 1959), Prairie House (Norman, OK, 1961) and the Cunningham Residence (Oklahoma City, OK, 1962).
‘Collage thinking’ is Greene’s term for interpreting the world through an integrative perceptual lens as opposed to a bifurcated reality that divides subject/object, figure/ground, interior/exterior, mind/matter and time/space.
Exhibits at MAINSITE Contemporary Art — including Mapping the Mental Continuum — are made possible by support from Norman Arts Council sponsors, including The City of Norman, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Oklahoma Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Fowler Automotive, Oklahoma Department of Commerce and the Kirkpatrick Foundation.
More about Herb Greene
Herb Greene studied architecture under the direction of Bruce Goff (1904–1982), one of the nation’s most original architects and influential architectural educators. Following the retirement of Goff in 1957, Greene taught architecture at the University of Oklahoma for six years, furthering Goff’s legacy and developing his own unique pedagogy.
In 1961, Greene designed and built the Prairie House in Norman, Oklahoma. The idiosyncratic and innovative architecture of Greene’s Prairie House caused an international sensation and was published in Life and Look magazines, Progressive Architecture (St. Martin’s Press), and numerous journals throughout Europe and Japan.
After his retirement from teaching in 1982, Greene moved to Berkeley, California where he continued to write, paint, and promote his concept for building with artists. In 1981, Greene published the book Building to Last: Architecture as Ongoing Art (Architectural Book Publishing, 1981), which incorporates the work of artists and crafts people into built environments and advocates for regional and cultural identity in architectural forms.
Greene’s architectural drawings are in The Art Institute of Chicago’s collection alongside works by Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Bruce Goff, and other works in the “Prairie Tradition.” Greene’s collage paintings are also in The Art Institute of Chicago’s collection, as well as numerous private collections across the United States.
August 13 through September 10, 2022
Pictured: Carolyn Faseler
Three Different Views of Reality features the talents of mother/daughter pair Carolyn and Jana Faseler, along with fellow Norman artist Katie Kimberling.
The trio of local creatives showcase a variety of styles and subject matter, tied together by vibrant compositions and colors.
Read more about these artists here:
Carolyn Faseler
As a teenager, I always thought I’d be a fashion designer or illustrator, but conditions at the time changed all of that. I went to Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, Kansas, where commercial art wasn’t offered but a fine arts program was. I acquired a teaching degree and a BA in Art which kept me busy in schools—high school and college-- for fifteen years. I will be eternally grateful for that turn of events because I focused on making art which I hadn’t thought of before. In 1969, I received my MA from Fort Hays Kansas State in Hays, Kansas while my husband was flying helicopters in Thailand and Viet Nam.
Since that time, I have traveled to many countries and have visited my share of great museums all over the world. Most recently my husband and I visited Turkey, Greece and Egypt. With all of that exposure to great art, I have discovered that my personality and experience had determined my direction earlier. That is, toward gesture making where speed and concentration are the dominating forces. I try to make my paintings look effortless by working the painting over and over —sometimes as many as twenty times.
Jana Faseler
I was born in 1965 surrounded by the yellow wheat fields in Kansas, but my very early memories were the shades of red, orange, and carnation pink that lined the jumbo box of my Crayola Crayons — the one with the sharpener in the back. In my family, creating art was just something you did, like breathing; natural and necessary for life. My mother, my mentor, filled my world with sights and sounds of art in all forms. My dad never complained each time he had to repaint the living room wall that I liked to use as a canvas.
Expanding into different media over the years as a potter, a sculptor, and a sketch artist—I have ultimately come to love the buttery texture of oil paints and the luscious look of the finished painting. My imagination can run wild! I would love to say I am inspired by glorious nature, fiery sunsets, sparkly oceans —but really what inspires me is … art itself. When I am standing in front of a work of art I am inspired and motivated by the creative dance I see played out through the chosen medium of the artist. I absolutely love to interact with art. A charming subject or even a simple brushstroke can inspire me. And as my thoughts swirl around in my head it challenges me to reach deeper for my own expression and to find my own interpretation. I want to delight my audience the same as I am delighted by works of art. When I see people looking at my paintings and smiling and even giggling it makes me feel joy! I create playful and positive compositions, happy colors, and feel-good scenes that I hope will inspire and shape positive emotions.
Katie Kimberling
Katie Kimberling is a proud, fifth-generation Oklahoman (actually descended from a true, gun-toting, cannon-jumping Sooner) who loves to help high school and college students navigate the rocky waters and roiling waves of academia mixed with adolescence. She’s a certified Academic Coach and owner of TutorPUG in Norman, which provides private tutoring in (nearly) every subject. (Calculus, yes. Portuguese, no.)
Katie grew up in Oklahoma City, was a “lifer” at Casady School, and attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine and the University of Oklahoma. She holds a BS in Zoology and an MPH in Biostatistics and Epidemiology from OU.
Her art journey is much like her golf game – long moments of boredom interspersed with brief bouts of either sheer horror or ordained miracles. She’s loved art all her life, and dabbled in drawing, painting, writing and ceramics throughout high school. No brag, but she won first prize in the second grade art show for her critically acclaimed piece “Raindrops on Window” (which was really just a happy accident of having little control over water in watercolor class).
Sometime around 2014 she discovered the Firehouse Art Center in Norman. It began with acrylic landscape painting (not for her), which led to several drawing classes with Craig Swan (real naked people! Actually, not as awkward as you might think …) and a pottery class with Dan Harris, where she specialized in wibbly lumps of clay that serve zero purpose, other than to serve as a chock for an airplane or weigh down a dead body.
She finally stumbled into studio painting with Carol Armstrong, whom she considers her art sensei. Here she was allowed to paint whatever she wanted, in any medium, and was encouraged to try oils, which had formerly terrified her. But the easy and forgiving nature of oils, plus Ms. Armstrong’s tutelage and encouragement, allowed her to explore her inner whimsy and lifelong love of color, animals, and just overall silliness. She’s had a brush in her hand ever since.
Mostly, Katie paints and gifts them to friends and family. All but two of her paintings include an animal of some kind, and she is currently working on the series of oil paintings “Los Perros de San Miguel,” inspired by the colors, doors, and dogs of San Miguel de Allende in central Mexico.
When she’s not painting really, really whimsical, goofy paintings, Katie is tutoring in calculus or statistics, performing in Taco ‘Bout It (an improvisational comedy troupe), writing comedy sketches for her Second City workshop, or being outside in nature.
Katie is married to Michael, and lives in Norman with her pug, Stevie, whose favorite hobby is barking at … the air.
August 13 through September 10, 2022
This body of work features visual choreographies between our desires (represented by the free brushstrokes) and the rules and values we internalize throughout our lives (represented by the grid planes). While negotiating desires and values, we make important choices with strong impacts in our lives.
I studied at the Yale School of Art for four years. Then, I moved with my family to Oklahoma, where I got an MFA in Painting from the University of Oklahoma. I have worked as a painter for the last 10 years, having made exhibits and done curatorial work in the US (New York, NY; New Haven, CT; West Haven, CT; Norman, OK) and in Brazil. Currently, I teach at Firehouse Art Center and at the University of Oklahoma. I am also a member of the Norman Arts Council.
May 14 through July 9, 2021
Pictured: Quiet Rivers by Denise Duong
The Left Hand of Liminality features works by Oklahoma City artists Denise Duong and Gabriel Friedman
Denise Duong is a Vietnamese American artist and muralist from Oklahoma City, OK. Growing up with an immigrant family in a city that cultivated individual’s imaginations helped feed the beast of curiosity. This created an intrigue of what was beyond boundaries, state lines, oceans, skies, and emotions which played and continues to play an integral part of her inspiration and creativity. The narrative works on canvas are created with acrylic paint, paper, watercolor and ink. When she’s not in her Oklahoma City studio painting, you can find her somewhere in the world drawing, water coloring, or painting on walls indoor and out. The allegory in her works are narrated through the interwoven figures and characters. Each little scene working with another. It’s the story within the story.
Gabriel Friedman is an Oklahoma City-based sculptural and large scale 3D artist, photographer, builder, teacher and father. He received his education at the San Francisco, Chicago and Boston Arts Institutes. His works and mediums are site specific, ranging from the whimsical to the absurd. He has training and extensive experience in a variety of materials and mediums including carpentry and woodworking, naturally harvested materials, metal and welding, blacksmithing, general construction and contracting etc. His works reflect his intent to create a long lasting positive impact with a focus on his immediate community. Gabriel creates each piece unique in form and function.
These are unruly times…. when the lungs of invention are urgently heaving and the mirror of humanity is straining not to lose its gaze upon us. The Left Hand of Liminality is the rebellious force of creation at a time of such transformation. When the order of things has been suspended, it is the emergence of that warm swirl of air full of a new life, seducing your very core, telling you silently to close your eyes and confidently take the unmarked path…. It’s the trouble maker at the crossroads. These works are an unavoidable stab at reflecting upon the existential tsunami of the world pressing in on our own blossoming creative intimacy (art and family). It’s two people exploring the seeds of inspiration.
May 14 through July 9, 2021
in the Library Gallery
Pictured: Mirrorself by Danny Joe Rose III
Artist Statement
Other Places (2021) is a group of paintings exploring imagined, alien-like landscapes. Painted over an eight-month period during the height of the pandemic, these pictures became a daily meditation on color, form, and place. These works draw inspiration from both the natural world and science fiction and within them you will see a variety of rock-like structures, UFOs, portals, and orbs. These themes appear throughout my practice and evolve with each series as I explore new ideas.
Biography
Danny Joe Rose III holds a B.F.A in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Dallas. Their work has been included in both national and international group exhibitions. Danny has had solo exhibitions at Jen Mauldin Gallery, Artspace at Untitled, The Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts, Galleri Urbane, and others. Danny has been an art educator at Oklahoma City University, Artspace Untitled, Chandra Kusuma International School, and Art Class Dallas. Additionally, Danny has been an Artist-in-Residence at Artspace at Untitled, The Guapamacátaro Center for Art and Ecology, The Moon Mansion Dallas, Oklahoma City University, and in 2020 participated in a digital residency with Oklahoma Contemporary.
April 7-17, 2021
Pictured: Vacationland by Leon Richmond
Like 2020, ONE: Avant-Garde brought Norman Arts’ annual arts party and fundraiser to life in a mixed format with in-person and digital elements.
Beautiful works from local artists were donated to support Norman Arts at MAINSITE Contemporary Art. Oklahoma and Oklahoma-tied artists like Leon Richmond, Haley Prestifilippo, Irmgard Geul, Lauren Rosenfelt, Leticia Galizzi, Darci Lenker, Jason Cytacki and many more have works up for viewing and bidding with proceeds supporting Norman Arts and local artists.
March 2021
Pictured: Peach Pit by Katelynn Noel Knick
The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition (OVAC) will feature 3 Spotlight Artists and 53 Survey Artists in their annual Momentum Exhibition. In efforts to reach audiences safely at this time, Momentum 2021 will travel to two locations. Selected works for exhibition will be on display at MAINSITE in Norman from March 3-27, 2021, before traveling to Living Arts of Tulsa from April 2-23, 2021.
OVAC’s Momentum exhibition supports Oklahoma creatives aged 30 and under through financial backing, curatorial guidance, and professional development. With an environment created specifically for them, young artists gain experience, meet their audiences, and are exposed to the diverse artistic movements throughout the state. Learn more about this year’s artists, committee, and how you can support Momentum by visiting www.MomentumOklahoma.org.
The 2021 Guest Curator, Pablo Barrera, is Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center’s inaugural Curatorial Fellow, and the Emerging Curator is artist, writer, designer, and educator, Kristin Gentry. The curatorial team selected the Spotlight Artists from a highly competitive pool of submissions. Through Momentum Spotlight, the 3 selected artists receive an honorarium of $1000 each to create new artistic projects for Momentum. The Spotlight artists also receive three months of guidance from the guest and emerging curator, in efforts to refine their projects. The 2021 Spotlight Artists are Amber DuBoise-Shepherd (Shawnee), Andrea Duran-Cason (Norman), and Marium Rana (Tahlequah). In addition to the Momentum exhibitions, Spotlight Artists will have works on display at the 21c Museum Hotel in Oklahoma City from February 22nd-August 27th, 2021.
Listed Below are the selected Survey Artists for Momentum 2021:
Rachel Adler, Oklahoma City
Dylan Albertson, Oklahoma City
Foster Atkinson, Oklahoma City
Emily Baker, Oklahoma City
Dimana Bazrbashi, Oklahoma City
Shannon Bell, Oklahoma City
Chelsea Boen, Midwest City
Liz Boudreaux, Oklahoma City
Emma Bunch, Edmond
Marissa Childers, Norman
Dayton Clark, Norman
Claire Dabney, Stillwater
Shyanne Dickey, Stillwater
Liz Dueck, Tulsa
Caleb Elliot, Norman
Jaiye Ferrell, Oklahoma City
Taylor Graham, Stillwater
Janae Grass, Tulsa
Kristina Haden, Oklahoma City
Henry Hadzeriga, Yukon
Erin Harris, Oklahoma City
Alex Hazel, Ada
Alyssa Howery, Norman
Theresa Hultberg, Oklahoma City
Lauren Hutson, Tulsa
Cable Jacobsen, Burns Flat
Lauren Kerr, Owasso
Tania Khouri, Norman
Katelynn Knick, Oklahoma City
Wesley Kramer, Norman
Ariana Leatherock, Oklahoma City
Shelby Mae, Oklahoma City
Gianna Martucci-Fink, Edmond
Isabella Messman-Kramer, Norman
Madison Moody, Midwest City
Dianna Morgan, Alva
David Morrison, Norman
Kayla Ohlmer, Tulsa
Duncan Payne, Oklahoma City
Lauren Rosenfelt, Norman
Parker Schovanec, Enid
Ashley Showalter, Norman
Virginia Sitzes, Oklahoma City
Kitra Smith, Midwest City
Isabel Stogner, Edmond
Jordan Tacker, Oklahoma City
Michael Takahata, Oklahoma City
Spenser Tracy, Oklahoma City
Sean Tyler, Tulsa
August vonHartizsch, Norman
Katrina Ward, Oklahoma City
Ariana Weir, Oklahoma City
Zane Wyatt, Stillwater
January - February 2021
Pictured: Scott Helmes
Visual Poetry on the Page: With, Within, and Without the Word explores a movement that asks viewers to read the works as visual art. Unlike concrete, written poems, a visual poem “typically includes many other elements than alphabetic text,” including any number of mediums or artist manipulation, including painting, photos, digital manipulation or any other means to “obliterate the boundary between visual arts and literature.”
“Visual poetry is what we can see,” organizer Crag Hill said in his curator statement. “It can be what we see when we see within, behind, and beyond words, when we see through parts of words, through and with letters, parts of letters, the ineffable marks we make on and in spaces we inhabit and aspire to live with and for.”
The exhibition includes dozens of works by a number of visual poets from across the world, including Rosaire Appel, Bill DiMichele, Scott Helmes, Stephen Nelson, Robin Tomens and more.
Water and Land is a collection of recent works by Liontas-Warren centered on the passages, time and motion, and the symbolism water and land have come to represent in those concepts.
“Water represents my desire to return to my birth state and meditatively embrace the powerful waves of the sea, which capture my heart and spirit, while the land is an anchor, describing my surroundings at a certain time and moment in my life,” Liontas-Warren said in her artist statement for the exhibition. “As I embrace both water and land in an intimate and curious way, I realize that my life is constantly in motion and that the aging process is a normal ascension into another chapter of my life.”
Liontas-Warren is an accomplished artist and resident of Oklahoma since 1984. A professor of art at Cameron University, she was awarded the Oklahoma Governor’s Art and Education Award in 2014, receipient of the Bhattacharya Research Excellence Award, a member of the Cameron University Faculty Hall of Fame and winner of the Artist of the Year distinction by the Paseo Art Association.
She has exhibited in over 450 shows throughout the United States and abroad. The Museum of Texas Tech University recently acquired 90 works by Liontas-Warren for the Artist Printmaker Research Collection.
November - December 2020
Featuring quarantine-centric art from Shevaun Williams (work pictured), Cody Giles, Brad Andrew Stevens and Joshua Boydston
August - October 2020
August - October 2020
May - July 2020
Featuring the art of the Alice in ONEderland auction
February - March 2020
Featured artists included:
Natalie Baca (pictured)
Carol Beesley
Tracey Bewley
Julie Marks Blackstone
Amanda Boehm-Garcia
Elyse Bogart
Deborah Burian
Jydonne Bynum
Jana Diedrich
Ginna Dowling
Alex Emmons
Janene Evarde
Carolyn Faseler
Lauren Florence
Erinn Gavaghan
Almira Hill Grammer
Susan Greer
Polly Hammett
Mary James Ketch
Angie LaPaglia
Darci Lenker
Katherine Liontas-Warren
Vicki Maenza
Cedar Marie
Beatriz Mayorca
Erin Merryweather
Susan Morrison-Dyke
Katy Nickell
Kate Rivers
Claudia Robertson
Liz Roth
Barbara Scott
Angelika Tietz
Kristal Tomshany
Audra Urquhart
Debra Van Swearingen
Jarica Walsh
Mary Whitney
Shevaun Williams
Michael Wilson
December 2019 - January 2020
December 2019 - January 2020
October - November 2019
October - November 2019
in The Library Gallery of MAINSITE
August - September 2019
August - September 2019
May - July 2019
Featuring Camila Labarca Linaweaver (pictured), Kylie Anderson, Mayumi Makino Kiefer, Stephanie O’Donnell and Sean Mueller
April 2019
February - March 2019
December 2018 - January 2019
October - November 2018
Featuring Sara Cowan, william walker larason, Caitlin Albritton and Sasha Backhaus
September 2018
August - September 2018
August - September 2018
June - July 2018
June - July 2018
April - May 2018
Featuring AnnaVittoria Conner, Mark Scott and Danielle Weigandt
February - March 2018
December 2017 - January 2018
August - November 2017
Featuring Cecile Gambini, Hervé Bréhier and AnnaMarie Rognon
June - August 2017
Featuring Narciso Argüelles, Pete Froslie, Andy Mattern, James & Amy McGirk and Kelly Rogers
April - May 2017
Featuring Jiaxin Jiang, JD Reeves and Lucas Simmons
February - March 2017
December 2016-January 2017
December 2016 - January 2017
October - November 2016
Featuring Bombs Away Art & AK Westerman
August - September 2016
August - September 2016
June - July 2016
April 2016
Featuring Brian Dunn, Bryan Rapp, Chris Cotton, David Stevens, Erin Raux, Kyle Duncan and Micah Wesley
February - March 2016
Featuring Creighton Baxter, Kara Hearn, Tahlia Ball, Hope Esser, Molly O’Connor, Kim Rice, Mandy Messina, Beatriz Mayorca, Ronna Pernell, Liz Roth, Sara Schneckloth and Laura Moriarty
Curated by: Laurence Reese, Jessica Borusky, Lauren Scarpello and Liz Roth
December 2015 - January 2016
Featuring Christie Hackler, Beatriz Mayorca, Lisa Jean Allswede and Brandi Downham
October - November 2015
Featuring Enrique Moya Gonzalez, Sara Lovari and Massimiliano Luchetti
August - September 2015
August - September 2015
June - July 2015
Featuring Lindsey Bochniak, Jessica Craddock, Mary James Ketch and Sarah Day-Short
June - July 2015
April 2015
Featuring Brittney Guest and Kim Rice
February - March 2015
Featuring Josh Aster, Elise Dietrich, David Kelley, Chris Kuhn, Jacob Melchi, Ellen Moershel, Lester Monzon, Stark, Brad Stevens, Greta Svalberg and Sungwon Yun.
February - March 2015
December 2014 - January 2015
October - November 2014
October - November 2014
A South America and United States Print Exchange
August - September 2014
August - September 2014
June - July 2014
June - July 2014
April - May 2014
Featuring Christopher Fleming, Sarah Engel-Barnett, Qiang Tracy & Jessi Wilson