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Oklahoma Visual Arts Fellowships 2008 by Kelsey Karper The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition holds as a core value that artists are worthy of support. This support takes many forms including professional development and providing resources. One key way that OVAC is supporting artists is through the annual Oklahoma Visual Arts Fellowships, providing two awards of $5,000 each to Oklahoma artists. The 2008 recipients are Michelle Martin and Nathan Opp, both of Tulsa. The curator for the 2008 Fellowship awards was Elizabeth Hahn, artist, co-owner of Hahn Ross Gallery in Santa Fe, NM and native Oklahoman. From 83 Oklahoma artists, Hahn chose two to receive the awards. In her curator’s statement, Hahn said, “The two people I picked were Nathan Opp and Michelle Martin. Both had very consistent style, technique and quality. As a person who has worked in galleries and museums for 30 years, I’ve seen a lot of images, not a lot really moves me on a personal level. These two people’s work did especially.” Michelle Martin is a printmaker and mixed media artist living in Tulsa. She received an MFA in Printmaking and Drawing from Ohio State University and a BFA from Texas Tech University. She is currently an Associate Professor of Printmaking at the University of Tulsa. Her work centers on the recreation of social situations, utilizing artistic methods of taking the viewer on an often disquieting journey through the playground of human interaction. Nathan Opp is a painter, also living in Tulsa. He received an MFA in Painting from the University of Tulsa, an MS in Art History from the Pratt Institute of Art and a BS in Painting and Drawing from Biola University. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Studio Art at Oral Roberts University. His figure paintings explore human relationships and situations based on personal experiences and perceptions. The compositions investigate themes of tension and harmony, usually through the interplay between males and females. For more information about the Oklahoma Visual Arts Fellowship, please visit www.ovac-ok.org or call OVAC at 405-232-6991. The Fellowship awards are sponsored in part by the Oklahoma Arts Council and the Kirkpatrick Family Fund. n 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.
Above; Nathan Opp, Tulsa, Stirring, Oil on Canvas, 54”x33” Right; Michelle Martin, Tulsa, Untitled, reductive linocut, 14”x11”
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