PRESS RELEASE
JRB Art at The Elms Presents
First Friday Sept 2, 2022 is a night you won’t want to miss! With live music from one of Oklahoma City’s most beloved musicians, Edgar Cruz, we will be opening our next show: ‘IN LIVING COLOR’
‘IN LIVING COLOR’ three artists with distinctive styles will move you through each gallery room, pulled by the vibrant colors and the playful narratives that each artist provides. This show is full of such richness, it will leave you inspired to see beyond it’s given reality.
When you step into the main gallery, you’ll be greeted by the paintings of Katie Henderson, whose rich use of color, shape/form, and balance will encourage the viewers eyes to discover all the hidden images and forms within each of her paintings. Katie finds happiness and release in each piece, a form of mediation, a place for her to “practice her peace.” You can truly feel that in each of her paintings; how harmonious the colors are, how each shape dances with the next. . .moving the eye to discover the next hidden image. Katie does not approach her work with any specific theme in mind, she comes to the canvas with open hands, ready to receive what maybe waiting.
Rebecca Wheeler’s work will take you on a magic carpet ride! Each canvas is its own dreamscapes and vison of Rebecca reaching for the stars with her paint brush as the tool. The atmosphere of Rebecca’s current body of work is light, airy, and playful like a sweet melody. The gallery will be set up as Rebecca’s most sacred of spaces, her studio. An intimate place meant for quiet contemplation, where the joy of seeking serious thought is pursed. Each of her paintings is a study of that most special place and the objects that surround her, both physically and mentally. In beginning, Rebecca says she only wanted to paint that which was around her but then: “Slowly I became the one in the painting, painting self-portraits. Each of these paintings, even when I am absent from the picture is still a self-portrait.”
Finally, we enter the third gallery room, to find Brent Learned pulling his audience in to view paintings in new fashion. . .via the television. Brent has displayed his new works in thrifted TV monitors, themed as ‘Spaghetti Western Films’ painted with a modern twist. . .allowing for a bit of that well-loved Native American humor to seep in. Brent says “Native American artwork is always evolving. As we change, so do our cultures and so does our art. This show is a reflection on all of that.” Brent is asking the viewer to literally think outside of the box with this exhibition.
We look forward to seeing you Friday evening, September 2nd
Come to The JRB Art at the Elms Gallery, located at 2810 N. Walker, Oklahoma City.
For more information contact Joy Reed Belt: (405) 528 6336.