Glass and Guadalajara lead the new arts season’s visual lineup.
It’s officially fall, even if the warm weather suggests otherwise. With the advent of autumn comes the arrival of visual art exhibits and galleries in the 405. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art has bolstered its glass collection with an assorted donation of Studio Glass works, and the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center is showcasing the artistic influence of Guadalajara across different mediums. Other galleries are focusing on local artists and examining and celebrating the confluence of culture in Oklahoma City. For art enthusiasts, Oklahoma’s art world has a lot to share. Here’s where to start this season.
Oklahoma City Museum of Art
“Highlights from the Rose Family Glass Collection,” which opened Sept. 2 and runs until Jan. 15, 2023, gives visitors a taste of the museum’s comprehensive acquisition of pieces from artists of the American Studio Glass movement. This temporary display of OKCMOA’s permanent collection is meant to showcase the various styles and methods that the movement birthed — from functional to abstract forms, blown glass to kiln-formed, and pieces that accentuate the natural shining beauty of the material to ones that distort it into a metallic or stonelike texture. The exhibit expands on the museum’s existing collection of Dale Chihuly glass works.
“Kiarostami: Beyond the Frame,” which opens Oct. 15 and runs until April 9, 2023, will be the first American exhibit of Iranian film director and artist Abbas Kiarostami’s visual pieces since his death in 2016. A multimedia display of photography, graphic design and video art reveals an artistic vision that spans wider than his acclaimed filmography. The Museum of Art will also premiere Kiarostami’s Regardez-moi photo collection of Louvre visitors and show a retrospective of the director’s classic films.
Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
“La casa que nos inventamos: Contemporary Art From Guadalajara,” which opens Sept. 23 and runs until Jan. 9, 2023, will lay out the past two decades of visionary contemporary art from Jalisco’s capital. The exhibit is meant not only to show exemplary expression across multiple mediums but examine the social factors, such as involved galleries, creative spaces and financial support, that allow an artistic community to truly thrive. The display will include painted ceramics from Eduardo Sarabia, multimedia installations from Larissa Garza and Isa Carrillo, construction-influenced sculptures from Jose Dávila, and many more works from established and rising artists.
“Fugitive Speech,” which opens Nov. 3 and runs until Feb. 20, 2023, will consist of the works of three artists that seek to explore personal expression and intergenerational memory facing factors that work against them, such as social and cultural power and time. The exhibit will present textile art from Emily A. Chase, ceramic figures from Anita Fields and a visual and sonic poem from JJJJJerome Ellis.
Other Local Exhibits
“Fiestas de Las Américas Art Exhibition,” which opened Sept. 1 and runs until Oct. 1, is part of the lead-up to Historic Capitol Hill’s massive annual Latino celebration. Held at the Oklahoma City Community College Capitol Hill Center, the exhibit highlights a wide range of contemporary paintings, drawings and other works from local Latino artists. The display’s run ends the day of the festival when an art auction will allow attendees to bid on and purchase the art pieces, with 50% of proceed benefiting Historic Capitol Hill arts.
“The Horse’s Landscape,” which opened Aug. 29 and runs until Nov. 10, feature illustrations from Oklahoma artists Carol Armstrong, Diana Beach-Sanger, J. Dylan Cavin and Linda Kukuk that explore the “view of the Native American horse, their riders, their wild and the West.” The pieces are displayed at the Red Earth Art Center in the lobby of BancFirst Tower in downtown OKC.
