JRB Art at The Elms announces its upcoming exhibition, Fine Art vs. Illustration, which opens on July 4 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm and runs through August 30, 2025. The show presents work by three recognized Oklahoma artists: O. Gail Poole, George A. Bogart, and D.J. Lafon.
Curated by Oklahoma native artist, photographer and native Oklahoman John Seward, this exhibition was built around a central question: What separates fine art from illustration? The works were selected to explore the differences in intent, process, and audience, where personal expression meets interpretive design.
John Seward brings over two decades of curatorial experience to the project. He began with Four Photographers Four Visions in 2002, followed by Visions in the Flesh in 2005, featuring artists like Greg Gorman and Jerry Uelsmann. He has co-curated Momentum for OVAC and worked as Interim Executive Director at Artspace at Untitled, where he organized several exhibitions. Seward has also served twenty-five years on the OKC Mayor’s Arts Commission held board positions on Quartz Mountain Arts Institute and is currently on the Exhibitions Committee at Oklahoma Contemporary.
The Fine Art vs. Illustration includes works by O. Gail Poole (1935-2013), who spent over fifty years as a working artist in Oklahoma. Poole exhibited at institutions including the Philbrook Museum and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and also ran a successful advertising firm.
George Bogart (1933-2005) taught at the University of Texas, Penn State, and University of California-Berkeley before joining the faculty at the University of Oklahoma. His work is held in public collections including the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art and the Spencer Museum.
D.J. Lafon (1929-2011) Born in Utah, he moved to Oklahoma to become the Chair of the Art Department at East Central University in Ada Oklahoma. His art was featured in Life Magazine in 1951. His commission works appear in corporate collections including Warner Brothers, Southwestern Bell, and the University of Oklahoma. A selection of his works on paper, including pieces from his long-running “businessmen” series, will be included in the exhibition.
A portion of the essay, by artist, illustrator and professor at Savanah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Mike Wimmer, accompanied the exhibition. Wimmer, who knew both Poole and Bogart personally, writes:
“For the fine artist, the origin is interior. Work emerges from personal vision... In contrast, the illustrator begins with a need to solve a problem outside the artist. Illustration is not merely decorative, but interpretive—it becomes a bridge between another's ideas and the viewer's understanding.”
