ARTIST TALKS
Artist Talks continue Oklahoma Contemporary’s commitment to providing a platform for artists to share their creative processes and studio practices with the public in an effort to connect artists more deeply with their communities. Free and open to the public. Tickets and reservations not required unless otherwise noted.
Jen Lewin
6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 23, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater
Jen Lewin joins us to discuss her work Aqueous, on view in Campbell Art Park. An internationally renowned new media and interactive sculptor currently based in New York, Lewin has leveraged her architectural background to fabricate a large-scale interactive, public sculpture that encourages community interaction and play. Following her talk, join Lewin for a meet and greet in Campbell Art Park to experience Aqueous fully illuminated at dusk.
Abelardo Morrell
6-7 p.m. Thursday, May 14, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater
Abelardo Morrell joins us to discuss his work Camera Obscura: View of Times Square in Hotel Room, on view in Bright Golden Haze. Employing camera obscura techniques for nearly 30 years, Morrell’s imagery explores the marriage of indoor and outdoor environments. Hear from the Boston-based artist and learn more about this photographic process as we celebrate National Photography Month.
PANEL DISCUSSION
Two or more individuals explore, interrogate and discuss exhibition-related topics. Free and open to the public. Tickets and reservations not required unless otherwise noted.
Illuminating Perspectives
6-7 p.m. Thursday, April 30, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater
This panel discussion highlights the contributions of Native artists to opening exhibitions Bright Golden Haze and Shadow on the Glare as well as to contemporary art more broadly. Featuring artists Yatika Fields, Marianne Nicolson and Ryan Redcorn, the discussion is moderated by Dr. heather ahtone, senior curator at the First Americans Museum. Panelists will reflect on tangible and metaphysical elements of light from an Indigenous perspective, sharing insight into the culturally grounded narratives that inform concepts they present and examine in their work.
PERFORMANCES
Dead Languages by Jonathan Wei
7-7:45 p.m. Thursday, July 16, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater
Dramaturg Jonathan Wei joins us for a reading of Dead Languages, a powerful telling of his own coming-of-age story. Growing up as an anomalous, biracial kid in small Southern and Midwestern towns, Wei became attuned at a young age to subtext – the stories behind the stories. This performance is offered as an additional reflection on the concept of belonging as relates to Tavares Strachan’s I Belong Here (White).
CREATIVE LECTURE
Learn about current exhibitions, installations and projects and current topics and perspectives in contemporary art through individual lectures by leading thinkers, curators and scholars. Free and open to the public. Tickets and reservations not required unless otherwise noted.
Seth Riskin
6-7 p.m. Thursday, June 4, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater
Seth Riskin joins us from MIT to discuss Bright Golden Haze through the intersection of visual art and vision neuroscience. As a visual/performing artist and the manager of MIT Museum Studio and Compton Gallery, Riskin collaborates with neuroscientists to develop an interdisciplinary approach to human perception and visual art. Check out his performative lecture to learn more about the science of vision as it relates to our relationship with light.
FILM SCREENINGS
Sunday Matinee | Art21
Drop in the theater to view curated selections from Art in the Twenty-First Century (Art21) handpicked to complement our opening exhibition. Art21 provides a window into contemporary art that is ordinarily hidden from public view, presenting artists in their private homes and studios, going behind-the-scenes to reveal how artworks and exhibitions are created. During Bright Golden Haze, join us on the last Sunday of the month for approximately 30-minute screenings featuring artists in the exhibition as well as additional artists exploring related themes or working in similar media. Courtesy Art21, art21.org, founded 1997.
James Turrell and Olafur Eliasson
30-minute screening on the hour: 2, 3 and 4 p.m Sunday, March 29, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater
James Turrell in “Spirituality,” 2001 (12:47) and Olafur Eliasson in “Berlin,” 2018 (13:28)
From Art21’s Art in the Twenty-First Century series
Vija Celmins and Roni Horn
30-minute screening on the hour: 2, 3 and 4 p.m Sunday, April 26, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater
Vija Celmins in “Time,” 2003 (12:27) and Roni Horn in “Structures,” 2009 (13:09)
From Art21’s Art in the Twenty-First Century series
Carrie Mae Weems and Graciela Iturbide
30-minute screening on the hour: 2, 3 and 4 p.m Sunday, May 31, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater
Carrie Mae Weems in “Compassion,” 2009 (14:47) and Graciela Iturbide in “Investigation,” 2014 (17:01)
From Art21’s Art in the Twenty-First Century series
Florian Maier-Aichen and Trevor Paglen
30-minute screening on the hour: 2, 3 and 4 p.m Sunday, June 28, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater
Florian Maier-Aichen in “Fantasy” (12:34) and Trevor Paglen in “Secrets” (16:44)
From Art21’s Art in the Twenty-First Century series
Brian Jungen and John Feodorov
30-minute screening on the hour: 2, 3 and 4 p.m Sunday, July 26, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater
Brian Jungen in “Vancouver” (12:41) and John Feodorov in “Spirituality” (9:01)
From Art21’s Art in the Twenty-First Century series
GALLERY TALKS
Gallery Guides, Oklahoma Contemporary staff, artists and special guests facilitate lively discussions about works on view in the current exhibition(s). Free and open to the public. Tickets and reservations not required unless otherwise noted.
Gallery Talks | Shadow on the Glare
Join us to hear directly from artists featured in Shadow on the Glare. Examining how light contextualizes space, this exhibition amplifies the unique visions of Oklahoma artists contemplating Oklahoma settings. Learn more about these photographic, video and multimedia explorations of the Oklahoma landscape as we celebrate National Photography Month.
Keli Mashburn and Billy Palumbo
6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 7, 2020
Main Building | Oklahoma Gallery
M.J. Alexander and Marjorie Bontemps
6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21, 2020
Main Building | Oklahoma Gallery
Sam Charboneau and Gary Mason
6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 28, 2020
Main Building | Oklahoma Gallery
Gallery Talks | Bright Golden Haze
Jeff Price
6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 18, 2020
Main Building | Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick Main Gallery
Jeff Price, professor of game design and animation at Oklahoma City University’s School of Visual Arts, joins us to share his perspective and insights on John Gerrard’s Farm (Pryor Creek, Oklahoma). Gerrard’s work features simulated environments built from detailed photographic surveys. Following his talk, join Price for a demonstration in our digital lab to learn more about methods of 3-D modelling and building virtual realities.
Francesca Giani
6-6:45 p.m. Thursday, June 25, 2020
Main Building | Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick Main Gallery
Curator Francesca Giani joins us to discuss the Light and Space movement. In 1960s Southern California, Light and Space emerged as a loosely affiliated group of artists who explored light as a medium, using it to manipulate space and the viewer’s perceptual experience. Bright Golden Haze includes work by movement pioneers Robert Irwin and James Turrell, as well as their contemporaries, Vija Celmins and Olafur Eliasson. Join Giani in the gallery to learn more about the context of Light and Space.
Allison Glenn
6-6:45 p.m. Thursday, July 16, 2020
Main Building | Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick Main Gallery
Allison Glenn, associate curator, contemporary art at Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, joins us to more closely examine Tavares Strachan’s I Belong Here (White). A seemingly simple statement, the work offers viewers the opportunity to reflect on who ‘I” is, where “here” is and what it means to belong. Join Glenn to engage with the work more deeply and take part in the conversation.
OTHER HAPPENINGS
Contemporary Cocktails
6-9 p.m. Thursdays, March 19, April 16, May 21, June 18, July 16, 2020
Main Building
Oklahoma Contemporary periodically invites local mixologists to develop cocktail offerings inspired by exhibitions on view. These creative libations are available for purchase by visitors 21 years and older during Thursday Night Late.
Architectural Tour | Rand Elliott
7:30-8:30 p.m. Thursdays, March 26 and April 9, 2020
Main Building | Herman and LaDonna Meinders Main Lobby
Hear directly from architect Rand Elliott about his vision and process for designing our new home. Our nearly 54,000 square-foot building is divided into four floors, featuring 8,000 square feet of gallery space, a theater, café, studios and more. Learn more about the building’s moniker, Folding Light, hear behind-the-scenes insights and get familiar with Oklahoma City’s new home for contemporary art.
Star Party | Oklahoma City Astronomy Club
7-9 p.m. Thursday, April 2, 2020
Main Building
Join the Oklahoma City Astronomy Club (OKCAC) for an evening of stargazing on the lawn. Volunteers from OKCAC will be on site with a number of telescopes to highlight different planets, stars and features in the sky. Bring your questions about space or astronomy – OKCAC volunteers will be excited to answer them all! Weather permitting.
Closing Party | Bright Golden Haze
6-9 p.m. Thursday, August 6, 2020
Multiple locations
Join us as we celebrate the closing of our opening exhibition! Surprises will be programmed throughout the Main Building and across campus.
