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Seven State Biennial by Kelsey Karper The Seven State Biennial is an exhibition featuring artists living in Oklahoma or any of the six surrounding states. The exhibition opened at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha in November. Curated by Oklahoma artist Paul Medina, the Seven State included works by thirty-two artists with an emphasis on mixed media and technical excellence. Medina, known himself for his creative use of materials and combinations of artistic media, has an obvious affinity for and understanding of the mixed media process. In his statement, Medina said, “I’m personally drawn to non-traditional works of art, whether it is contemporary or possesses a naivety of outsider art. An emotional response is imperative. It must strike a chord of some resonance in me that is personal and tells me something about the artist. I enjoy concept driven works of art.” Kathryn Kelley, a Houston artist, won the top prize of the exhibition with a piece called The Shadowlands. Constructed of tar, nails, shredded tires and rope, it created a heavy, brooding presence in the gallery. The large work became a sort of recycled landscape that reached beyond the edges of the piece, the tattered rubber tires clawing their way towards the wall. More than half of the selected artists are Oklahomans. Katherine Liontas-Warren, a Lawton artist and teacher at Cameron University, submitted a brightly colored, deftly handled pastel on paper titled A Regional Search. In it, a lifelike bird perches atop a technicolor landscape, seeking out the next place to land. The combination of real and surreal in this drawing is alluring. Two pieces from Bethany artist Sunni Mercer continued the subject of birds with one wall piece, Release, and one sculpture, Sunshine. Using found materials, Mercer creates pleasing compositions that seem to have layers of meaning woven in amongst the visual layers. Release shows three sculptural birds ascending through the center of the work, surrounded by a collage of an old black-and-white family photo beneath a mosaic of clear, cracked glass. The birds seem to be breaking away from the canvas, perhaps fleeing from a memory of the past. Several artists contributed large-scale, highly skilled oil paintings on canvas. A painting by George Oswalt, an Oklahoma City artist, called Sleepwalkers gives the feeling of a film still, a glimpse pulled from the middle of the story. Two nude sleep-walking women are headed directly toward the viewer while a young boy in swimming shorts and goggles stares blankly into a bright light. Ada artist Kate Rivers creates a collage effect in oil with a display of politically charged images in her painting Patriot. Capturing the depth and breadth of the region’s artists is no easy feat but the Seven State Biennial makes a valiant attempt. Although the exhibition has closed at USAO, it will be exhibited at the Leslie Powell Foundation and Gallery in Lawton, with an opening reception on January 12 from 7-9 pm. The Leslie Powell Gallery is located at 620 SW D Ave. For more information, visit www.lpgallery.org or call 580-357-9526. (top) George Oswalt, Oklahoma City, Sleep Walkers, Oil, 54” x 54” (bottom) Sunni Mercer, Bethany, Sunshine, Mixed Media, 16”x10”x6”
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About the Author: Kelsey Karper is the Editor of Art Focus Oklahoma and a photographer working in historic and alternative processes. She can be reached at publications@ovac-ok.org.