Four Oklahoma artists are featured in a gallery exhibition in which they go “Beneath the Surface” of the theme of nature. Looking beyond the obvious, Individual Artists of Oklahoma Gallery visitors can see the artists’ deep feelings and spiritual journeys.
The idea for the show was born in the wake of rejection from the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition’s Art 365 grants. So Gayle Curry, Natalie Friedman, Janice Mathews-Gordon and Diana J. Smith decided to create their own 365-day project, culminating in “Beneath the Surface.”
“We all knew each other, but we weren’t real close friends or anything, but we became very close friends,” Curry said.
She creates art based on Chinese philosophies and reverence of nature, while Friedman bases her art on Japanese gardens. Mathews-Gordon tackles landscape art with the deeper meaning of the change and turmoil people go through, and Smith’s art traces the journey of wolves into dogs.
“We are all delving beneath the surface of each of those projects,” Curry said, noting that they used different media, including cloth and paint, to name a few.
“Beneath the Surface” remains on display at IAO, 706 W. Sheridan, through Saturday. For more information, call 232-6060 or visit iaogallery.org. —Carmen Forman
