In a modern font, the words ART in black and NOW in red

ArtNow 2021

July 30-Sept. 13, 2021 | Eleanor Kirkpatrick Main Gallery

A Native figure dressed in traditional-appearing garb holds a staff

Bert Seabourn, Get Your Kicks

Organized by Guest Curator Helen Opper, ArtNow 2021 presented a dynamic group of Oklahoma-based artists whose works respond to the complexities of contemporary culture, reflecting the vibrant diversity of contemporary art in Oklahoma.

2021's ArtNow represented the first iteration of the biennale model, an approach adopted to better showcase the new works of selected artists with active studio practices in Oklahoma. (The exhibition no longer includes an art sale.)

Marking this inaugural edition was a special exhibition that features a number of Bert Seabourn’s works in recognition of his contribution to the cultural landscape in the state. Seabourn’s works are in national and international collections, and he is the recipient of the Governor’s Arts Award from the Oklahoma Arts Council (1981) and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters (1997) from his alma mater, Oklahoma City University. Besides his dedication to art, Seabourn has fostered comradeship in the arts in Oklahoma and has committed his time and talent teaching at Oklahoma Contemporary for many years.

Participating artists

A mixed-media art piece of small, pastel twisted pieces of plastic that appear like a textile

Karam, Vacatio

A painting of dark-skinned figure in a white tunic against a background of multiple brightly colored geometric textures

Edward Grady, I Rise and Rise

A pale-gray sculpture of a wooded field and electrical lines shows on three interior planes of a cube

Carrie Kouts, Dominion

An oil painting shows parts of figures in a mountainous landscape amid swirling, foggy lines that could be a road but culminate in the head of a snake

Kyle Larson, The Road Home

Helen Opper (Photo by Alexis Austin)

Helen Opper is an independent curator and an Associate of the Appraisers Association of America. In addition to owning her own business, Opper Fine Art, she serves as Director of The Art Hall gallery in Oklahoma City and is an Adjunct Professor in the Visual Art Program at Oklahoma City Community College. After several years of working in the arts in San Francisco and New York, she returned to her hometown of Oklahoma City to focus on working with traditionally underrepresented artists and expanding equal access to opportunities for exhibitions, collaborations and special projects in her immediate community. As a fine art appraiser, her goal is to close the knowledge gap around the business of fine art and to provide general education about the importance of professional appraisals for artist and client advocacy. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley, and earned her Master of Arts in Museum Studies at New York University.

Writer and editor Liz Blood, a 2021 Tulsa Artist Fellow, serves as Guest Curatorial Associate, providing curatorial and editorial support for the exhibition catalogue. Oklahoma Contemporary Associate Curator Pablo Barrera serves as coordinating curator. Opper picked up the curatorial baton for ArtNow 2021 from ArtNow 2019 Guest Curator Patrick Reynolds.

Thank you to our ArtNow 2021 sponsors

Artisan Fine Wine and Spirits | COOP Ale Works | Jeanette and Rand Elliott | Shirley and Bankhead Families | West Real Estate Company

Images:
Hoesy Corona, Climate Poncho, 2020. Hand-cut vinyl on vinyl, plastic rope and metal rod, 54 x 48 in. © Hoesy Corona. Photo courtesy the artist.

Sarah Ahmad, Bol 15, 2015-2018. Digital print on Velvet Fine Art paper, 36 x 48 in. © Sarah Ahmad. Photo courtesy the artist.

Bert Seabourn, Get Your Kicks, 2010. Acrylic and collage on canvas, 60 x 48 in. © Bert Seabourn. Photo courtesy Alexis Austin.

Edward Grady, I Rise and Rise, 2017. Oil on canvas, 28 x 22 in. © Edward Grady. Photo by Alexis Austin.

Karam Cheong, Vacatio, 2020. Acrylic on canvas, 32 x 26 x 3 in. © Karam Cheong. Photo courtesy the artist.

Kyle Larson, The Road Home, 2021. Oil on canvas, 60 x 72 in. © Kyle Larson. Photo courtesy the artist.

Carrie Kouts, Dominion, 2020. Cast concrete, mixed media, and organic materials, 22 x 22 x 22 in. © Carrie Kouts. Photo by Matt Miller.