2019

OU Alumna Mary Beth Leigh brings Microbial Worlds to Lightwell Gallery

The next exhibition at the University of Oklahoma School of Visual Arts Lightwell Gallery will allow visitors to see microscopic organisms from a whole new perspective.   

Microbial Worlds, a collaborative arts-humanities-science exhibit featuring work from 14 artists and writers from Alaska, New York and California, was directed by University of Alaska Professor and OU alumna Mary Beth Leigh.

The fifth major project produced by the Alaska-based arts-humanities-science program In a Time of Change, Microbial Worlds will be on display in the Lightwell Gallery from Nov. 11 through Dec. 13, with an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12. The gallery is located on the second floor of the Fred Jones Art Center, 520 Parrington Oval.

“Microbial Worlds is the culmination of extensive collaborative work in Alaska and Finland by visual artists, writers and scientists on the topic of microorganisms. Microbes are the most numerous and diverse organisms on the planet; they include bacteria, fungi, protozoa, algae and viruses. While some cause disease and contribute to climate change, others are responsible for promoting human health, removing toxins from the environment, and maintaining healthy ecosystems,” Professor Leigh stated.

She added, “The Alaska-based group of artists met monthly for 16 months with Leigh and other scientists to learn about microbiology through lectures, laboratory activities and field trips to Toolik Field Station in the Arctic tundra biome and Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest in the Interior Alaskan boreal forest. Artists were also loaned microscopes in support of their independent research. The artists interacted with over 30 scientists through the course of the program, ranging from infectious disease microbiologists to ecosystem ecologists.”

In addition to Leigh’s work in Alaska, she also worked as an artist-in-residence in Northern Finland with Stephanie Rae Dixon, who, like Leigh is based in Brooklyn, New York. They worked together for three field seasons on a project investigating the role of microbes in boreal forest ecology, which resulted in the collaborative installation De:composition. Artists in the program then developed works inspired by the world of microorganisms, including their visual beauty and many roles in human and environmental health.

Leigh and Dixon are alumni of the University of Oklahoma, where they both earned Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in modern dance and co-founded the Norman-based Deliquescent Dance Ensemble together with fellow OU dance students Karen Voyles (neé Flygare) and Tamora Petitt in the early 1990s.

Leigh continued her studies at OU, earning her master of science degree in botany (1997) and doctoral degree in microbiology (2003) and is now a faculty member at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where she conducts research in environmental microbiology and coordinates arts-humanities-science integrative activities at the state and national levels.

Following graduation, Dixon pursued a successful professional dance career in New York, performing with Stanley Love and other choreographers and touring internationally with Fisherspooner. Dixon now works as a costumer for television (e.g., Blacklist and Bull) and film (The Comedian).

Petitt, OU modern dance alumna and Brooklyn-based dancer, will perform at the opening reception of the Microbial Worlds exhibit in a multimedia installation De:composition, which was created by Dixon in collaboration with Leigh based on field work together at Kevo Subarctic Research Station in Northern Finland.

Dixon created dresses worn by Leigh and a collaborating scientist in photo/video shoots that were then buried and allowed to decompose over the course of two years in an experimental tree garden in Finland, followed by annual repeated photo/video shoots. The installation features the decomposed dresses embedded in resin, live tundra plants, photos, video, original soundscape, DNA-based information about microbes involved in decomposition, together with a special live dance component during the opening reception.

Microbial Worlds was made possible by the National Science Foundation, the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research program, the University of Alaska Fairbanks  Institute of Arctic Biology, UAF CITE Fellows Program, Toolik Field Station, Kevo Subarctic Research Station, and anonymous donors. Generous funding for Microbial Worlds’ appearance at OU was provided by the OU School of Visual Arts with kind support from Jonathan Hils and the College of Fine Arts dean, Mary Margaret Holt.

Abstract Photography and Painting Exhibition Set at Lightwell Gallery

Janet Olney and Dave Kube

Works by visiting artists Janet Olney and Dave Kube will be exhibited in the University of Oklahoma School of Visual Arts Lightwell gallery from Oct. 7 through Nov. 1. Kube’s Counter Encounter will fuse elements of photography and design, while Olney’s The Persistence of Space presents paintings as both image and object.

The public is invited to both the exhibit and opening reception, scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7. There will be an artist gallery talk beginning at 4:30 p.m.

The Persistence of Space is composed of paintings, though which Olney focuses on creating spaces that force the viewer to question perceptions and ask what their eyes are really seeing. Using saturated colors, abstract forms and layers, the “paintings propose the unexpected or alternate worlds that unfold over time in paradoxical space.”

Olney added, “The paintings employ curious shapes in dialog with spatial uncertainty to prompt a questioning of the known and unknown. I am interested in these shifts in perception as moments of recognition that question the veracity of what we see. The correlation of flat images and dimensional objects shifts the understanding of surface and space and demands further contemplation of perception and truth.”

Counter Encounter features photographs that have been heavily manipulated to disrupt the normal notions of photography. Kube uses highly saturated colors and layering to create a three-dimensionality to allow a new perspective of the photo to emerge.

“Using sci-fi as an inspiration for queer world making and disrupting photography’s inherent claim of reality, I am working to exploit and insert recognizable landscape imagery within an artificial world,” Kube said. “I am interested in how these traditional approaches to photography counteract with other forms of visual imagery. I see the landscapes as a heteronormative space that reflects the world we recognize and see. The gradients and various shapes invade these traditional spaces and represents the spectrum of identities/worlds that exist in these ‘alternative’ realities.”

When asked how they hoped to connect with the OU community, Olney stated, “As a gay artist, I use a personal vocabulary of color and shape to present a world that is familiar, yet other. It is my hope that as viewers grapple with what is real and what is an illusion, it creates a place to contemplate experiences different from our own.”

Kube stated, “At the heart of my work is the notion of recognizing the marginalized and disrupting a sense of complacency within the norm. As a queer-based artist, I hope to connect with students and the community to offer various perspectives on how certain minority communities are affected by the status quo.”

Olney currently teaches at the Maryland Institute College of Art and is the recipient of the Henry Walters Traveling Fellowship to study in Tokyo, Japan, a Marcella Brenner Grant for Faculty Research, and a MSAC Individual Artist Award in Painting. Her work is featured in volume 32 of Studio Visit magazine and has been exhibited in numerous group shows, including MAP (Maryland Art Place), Baltimore; Strathmore, Bethesda, Maryland, Trestle Gallery, Brooklyn, New York; and Creative Alliance, Baltimore. Her recent projects include an installation for the Facebook AIR program in Washington, D.C., and solo exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Baltimore, and VisArts in Rockville, Maryland. Olney holds bachelor of fine arts and master of fine arts degrees from MICA and a Post-Baccalaureate in Studio Art from Brandeis University.

Kube holds a bachelor of arts degree in visual art from the University of Illinois Springfield and a master of fine arts degree in photography from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. His work has been exhibited throughout the country, including Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Chicago, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, California, and Florida. Kube is currently an assistant professor of photography at Bloomsburg University.

Kube has curated and juried a number of exhibitions related to themes of sexuality and identity. He was the recipient of a month-long residency fellowship at the Vermont Studio Center and is an assistant professor of photography at Bloomsburg University.

2019 MFA Exhibition

A sampling of the diverse and exciting work being created by the master of fine arts students in the University of Oklahoma School of Visual Arts will be on display to the public starting Monday, Sept. 16, in the Lightwell Gallery of the Fred Jones Art Center. The Inclusive Exhibition will continue through Sept. 27.

The OU School of Visual Arts master of fine arts program offers graduate study in the areas of photography and new media, studio arts and design, with an extensive range of disciplines that encourages creative interaction. Members of the public are invited to attend a reception from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept.17. No admission will be charged for either the exhibition and reception, which will take place in the Lightwell Gallery of the Fred Jones Art Center, 520 Parrington Oval, Norman.

“This exhibition is a chance for people to see the breadth of work that’s going on in the SoVA M.F.A. Program. There are currently 10 M.F.A. candidates across five different disciplines, and each brings a unique perspective to their area of focus,” said School of Visual Art professor and graduate coordinator Curtis Jones. “From the beautiful to the grotesque, the intimate to the architectural, there will be a wide sampling of ideas on display to engage viewers and show off the diversity that defines our school and its students.”

The graduate students whose works are included in the exhibition will be available during the reception to meet with guests and talk about their individual work.

Sentientia

Jamie Bates Slone

Assistant professor and the University of Oklahoma School of Visual Arts’ newest faculty member, Jamie Bates Slone, brings her solo exhibition to the Lightwell Gallery beginning Aug. 19. Sentientia is a collection of large-scale figurative ceramic sculpture created over the past three years. The exhibition will run through Sept. 6 and be open to the public.

An opening reception will take place on Aug. 27 and there will be an artist talk with Slone at 5 p.m. in room 205 of the School of Visual Arts, 520 Parrington Oval, Norman.

As a new professor with the OU School of Visual Arts, Slone hopes to use this exhibition to introduce herself to the OU community. She is passionate about advocating for those who live with mental illness and is eager to share her personal narrative in an effort to open the conversation and help put an end to the stigma that surrounds mental illness.

In describing the exhibition, she explains, “Through conjured memory, I revisit my history with physical and mental illness. My current work is a reflection of those memories with an emphasis on the relationship between human biology and human emotion. This type of introspection has caused me to be both wary of the future and empathetic of the past.”

She goes on to say, “By using the figure as a metaphor for illness, I am able to convey the sentiments often correlated with disease and disorder. My surface choices are based in psychological research on the connection between color and emotion. My intent is for one to imagine the surface of the skin as a reflection of what is happening inside the body and mind. In my studio practice, anxieties about my own physical and mental health and obsessions with mortality manifest themselves in the choice of diminutive scale, charged surfaces and uneasy body language within the figures. These are ideas that are continuously shifting and evolving as I think about how I want these objects to be perceived.”

Slone is a ceramic sculptor living and working in Norman and is an assistant professor of ceramics at OU. She received her master of fine arts degree in ceramics from the University of Kansas and her bachelor of fine arts degree in studio art at the University of Central Missouri.

In addition to the Lightwell exhibition, she is exhibiting some of her functional work in a cup exhibition at Abel Contemporary in Soughton, Wisconsin, and will be a featured artist in Red Lodge Clay Centers Holiday Showcase in Red Lodge, Montana.

The Eloqent Vessel

OU School of Visual Arts Ceramics Exhibition

"The intention behind this exhibit is to support and encourage the odd and unusual solutions to contemporary ceramic objects. Art work was chosen that demonstrated unique and distinct solutions. As a juror I am mindful of the capacity for objects to create contemplation and reflection while the viewer is engaged. It is my hope that each object will require further inspection to unravel it's mystery of purpose.  Please take your time to investigate each object. Each object should trigger a sense of memory and compel you to enjoy.”— Doug Casebeer, OU SoVA Resident Artist

The OU School of Visual Arts is pleased to present The Eloquent Vessel, a national ceramics exhibition featuring twenty-five artists from sixteen states across the United States. The exhibition highlights a range of techniques and conceptual solution to the vessel as an object and idea. The exhibition is on display from June 3rd thru July 11th in the Lightwell Gallery.  

2019 Senior Capstone Exhibition

Odyssey

This year’s University of Oklahoma School of Visual Arts’ senior capstone exhibition, Odyssey, will feature the work of seniors from all visual arts programs offered at OU. It will open with a complimentary public reception at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 5, in the Lightwell Gallery at the Fred Jones Center.

This exhibition is presented each spring in conjunction with a capstone course required for all seniors receiving a bachelor of fine arts degree from OU. Each student creates a body of work that represents their studies and the time they have spent at the OU School of Visual Arts. These students display a portion of this portfolio during the senior capstone exhibition.

The students work closely with faculty to organize and install their works. Students are responsible for every aspect of the exhibition, which offers them valuable hands-on experience necessary for success post-graduation.

Art, technology and culture professor Todd Stewart talked about the experience students had leading up to the exhibition. “The capstone project is a semester-long creative work developed independently by the student focusing on a medium and subject of their choice. The show is an opportunity for students to share their projects with the university community and an opportunity to participate in both the planning and installation of a professional exhibition.”

Studio art professor Marwin Begaye offered his thoughts about the studio art seniors. “This group of studio students is diverse and motivated. They have been working hard to research to refine their ideas and skills to complete their capstone projects for this exhibition. In each of the projects, they are exploring use of mixed media using different processes.  I find the way they used materials very engaging and exciting, because they are beginning to push the boundaries of traditional art making.

“Some of the students came to the School of Visuals Arts thinking they would do one thing, but have found another medium that allows their voices to be stronger, which speaks the diversity of our program and experience of the faculty to help these students find their voices and the process they feel confident to use in the projects. The students have explored themes of identity, sense of place, the body, and memory to find their voice in the art world.”

The School of Visual Arts, established in 1915, is the oldest and most comprehensive school of art in the state of Oklahoma. Through civic engagement, the school endeavors to meet the artistic needs of Oklahoma’s citizens and promote the growth of culture. The goal of the OU School of Visual Arts is to prepare each student for success nationally and internationally as artists, designers, scholars, teachers and influential patrons of all the arts.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Gerald Clarke

The next exhibition in the University of Oklahoma School of Visual Arts Lightwell Gallery will be a collection of works entitled Out of Sight, Out of Mind by artist Gerald Clarke. This exhibition, which will include works that examine various issues, including racism, class, history, identity and belonging, will open on Monday, March 25, and run through April 19.  

An opening reception and artist talk is slated for Tuesday, March 26, on the second floor of the Fred Jones Center, 520 Parrington Oval. The talk will be held in room 205 and will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the reception to follow. The talk and reception are complimentary and open to the public.

When asked about his work, Clarke had this to say. “It is my hope that my work will appeal to all audiences and cross racial and class bounds. My work isn’t “hard to get” and accessibility for the viewer is important to me.”

He adds, “There are aspects of my work that have evolved over the past 30 years of art making, but some aspects have remained the same. I have constantly chosen to not have a singular approach to art making; I choose whatever media, format or action that I believe would best express the idea/emotion/concept I am exploring.”

Clarke’s work includes sculpture, prints, drawings, video and audio elements. In addition to his exhibition at the OU School of Visual Arts, Clarke has multiple exhibitions taking place in 2019 in California, some of which will be running until 2020.

Clarke is an enrolled member of the Cahuilla Band of Indians and lives on the Cahuilla Indian Reservation. When not creating artwork or serving as assistant professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, Riverside, he oversees the Clarke family cattle ranch and remains heavily involved in Cahuilla culture. He is a frequent lecturer, speaking about Native art, culture and issues. He serves on the Cahuilla Tribal Council and works on issues affecting the tribe. When not working, Clarke participates in Bird Singing, a traditional form of singing that tells the cosmology of the Cahuilla people.

The Ship Named Atlast

Tammy Nguyen

Multimedia artist Tammy Nguyen is bringing a new body of work to the University of Oklahoma School of Visual Arts’ Lightwell Gallery beginning Feb. 18. The exhibition The Ship Named Atlast, is composed of paintings and sculptures and will explore her most recent work of fiction about the intersection of human migration and trade in the South China Seas.

The exhibition will run from Feb. 18 through March 15 with an opening reception on Tuesday, Feb. 16 from 5 to 7 p.m. on the second floor of the Fred Jones Center, 520 Parrington Oval, Norman. The exhibition and reception are both complimentary and members of the OU and Norman communities are encouraged to attend.

Nguyen has a complex narrative that is intertwined with this exhibition. The full artist statement tells the story of her father’s escape from Vietnam, intertwined with mythology, Flags of Convenience and Rock n’ Roll.

“I am always trying to connect disparate stories and history through art,” says Nguyen. “I also try to make stories that fill in the holes about my lineage that I do not understand. When I make a body of work, I try to combine less-known histories with shared mythologies as a way to engage with audiences who do not share my own background.

“As such, I hope that OU students and the local community might look at my work and see ways of telling stories of their own that they feel may not relate or connect to their communities and/or audiences.”

Nguyen earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from Cooper Union in 2007; the following year, she received a Fulbright scholarship to study lacquer painting in Vietnam, where she remained and worked with a ceramics company for three years. She received a master of fine arts degree in 2013 from Yale and was awarded the Van Lier Fellowship at Wave Hill in 2014.

Nguyen has exhibited at the Rubin Museum, The Fine Arts Museum of Ho Chi Minh City and the Bronx Museum, among others. She is currently participating in a group exhibition titled Harlem Perspectives II, curated by Leanne Stella, at Factions Gallery in Harlem, as well as The Politics of Place at the Center for Book Arts, curated by Monica Oppen and Alexander Campos.

She will be part of a two-person exhibition at The Factory in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, curated by Zoe But, as well as a group exhibition at the Museum of Art and Science in Singapore curated by Adriel Luis and Annie Jael Kwan.  

Every Day Contains All Of History

Jared Thorne

As a black artist investigating the culture of his own people, Jared Thorne seeks to challenge hegemonic as well as self-imposed constructs of Black identity in America and beyond. Thorne's work centers on issues of race, social class and gender. He engages questions of authenticity, representation, and history, challenging the viewer to redefine his or her relationship to modernity.

This series, "Every Day Contains All Of History,” continues his longstanding work exploring American cultural and structural responses to black bodies – blackness not as a construct or an idea but as a literal and physical presence in our national life. Specifically, how do reflections of black history shape our culture? How does the act of archiving that history inform how Black identity is perceived and received?