Clever, Quick, Magnetic: The Art of Witty Banter
Joe Bradley, Good World, 2025. Oil on canvas. 85 x 116 in. © Joe Bradley. Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner.
Overview
Clever, Quick, Magnetic: The Art of Witty Banter
September 3, 2026 - January 11, 2027Eleanor Kirkpatrick Main Gallery
Admission is always free; tickets are not required
Oklahoma Contemporary presents Clever, Quick, Magnetic: The Art of Witty Banter, an exhibition that explores how paintings can feel connected even when they appear visually distinct. The exhibition considers how artists balance deliberation with spontaneity, and how that tension gives each work its particular character. When viewed together, the paintings reveal a shared openness and curiosity, as well as a decisiveness that binds them from within.
A central question posed by the exhibition is whether a painting can possess something akin to a personality. Can a work of art seem alive in the way it guides the eye across its surface, or in how it sustains tension, energy, or calm? Approaching painting in this way offers insight into why certain works feel expressive or emotionally charged.
The exhibition also examines the relationship between intention and style. Intention refers to what the artist seeks to convey or investigate. Style is the manner in which that intention materializes in the work. What ultimately resonates is not intention alone but the dynamic relationship between intention and the act of making.
Visitors are invited to consider the decisions that shape each composition, including its marks, images, forms, and structure. Though the paintings differ in subject and appearance, they may share underlying characteristics. By looking closely, audiences are encouraged to reflect on the artistic process, what informs creative choices, and how works that appear unrelated can reveal deeper connections.
Featured artists
Ross Bleckner | Joe Bradley | Cecily Brown | John Currin | Alex Katz | Bennett Miller | Neo Rauch | David Salle | Julian Schnabel | Dana Schutz | Amy Sillman | Josh Smith | Henry Taylor | Charline Von Heyl | James Welling
About the Curator
David Salle helped define the post-modern sensibility in painting. Solo exhibitions of his work have been held at museums and galleries worldwide, including the Whitney Museum; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; MoMA Vienna; Menil Collection, Houston; Haus der Kunst, Munich; Castello di Rivoli; MoCA, Chicago; and the Guggenheim, Bilbao. His essays have appeared in Artforum, Art News, The Paris Review, Esquire, and The New York Times Magazine. He is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books. A collection of his essays, HOW TO SEE: Looking, Talking, and Thinking about Art, was published by W.W. Norton in 2016.
Featured artworks
Images
- Joe Bradley, Good World, 2025. Oil on canvas. 85 x 116 in. © Joe Bradley. Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner.
- Portrait of David Salle. Photo by Robert Wright.
- Josh Smith, The Getaway, 2025. Oil on linen. 60 x 48 in. © Josh Smith. Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner.
- Ross Bleckner, Untitled, 2025. Oil on linen. 72 x 60 in. Courtesy of the artist.
