Oklahoma Artist Donald Longcrier Presents New, Large-Scale Works at MAINSITE Contemporary Art
Longtime Oklahoma art fixture Donald Longcrier stays busy as Director of the Nona Jean Hulsey Gallery and as an adjunct professor at Oklahoma City University, but when it comes to his art, he likes to keep the peace.
“My work springs from a longtime interest in the contemplative life in both Western and Eastern traditions,” Longcrier said. “I work with materials that are familiar to me: rope, wood, beeswax, carpenter’s tools, and fishing tackle. Individual pieces are quiet. Objects are presented in the simplest possible way, without embellishment or decoration. The results are intended to be humble and contemplative.”
Wooden Fish is just that, a tranquil collection of new, large-scale works that opens to the public on Friday, October 11 with a reception from 6 to 10 p.m.
The pieces vary in media and scope, ranging from the massive, vaguely hypnotic wall pieces composed of thousands of feet of measuring tape to the Wooden Fish itself.
The wooden fish is a simple percussion instrument used in some Buddhist traditions to maintain a rhythm while reciting sutras and Buddhist scriptures,” Longcrier said. “Originally a large, carved fish found hanging outside temples along with the bell and gong; it was used to call monks to their assigned duties. The fish in Buddhist tradition never sleeps and therefore symbolizes wakefulness.”
Longcrier is joined by Norman Arts Council Individual Artist Award winner and printmaker Barbara Ryan, whose exhibit Play Is Practice will be on display in The Library gallery.
The Water Closet Gallery will house prints from Estonian artists, collected and curated by Norman printmaker Laura Reese.
The opening reception will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday, October 11 at MAINSITE Contemporary Art, 122 E. Main, Norman, Okla. in conjunction with October’s 2nd Friday Circuit of Art. The exhibit will run through Saturday, November 9 with a closing reception schedule from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday, November 8.
MAINSITE Contemporary Art is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Visit mainsite-art.com for more information on the gallery.
For more information on Longcrier, visit donaldglongcrier.com.