Time/Dreams/Perception featuring the work of Oklahoma-based artists Lanny Fiegenschuh, Sarah Ivey, Patrick Riley and Summer Scott is currently on view in the Eleanor Hays Art Gallery on the Northern Oklahoma College Tonkawa campus, according to gallery director Audrey Schmitz.
A reception with the artists is scheduled for Tuesday, March 3 from 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. with Artists’ Talks at 7 p.m.
Lanny Fiegenschuh was born and raised in the Nebraska panhandle and became an educator like his mother, all the while working and honing his skills as a visual artist. From early on he was fascinated by expression of ideas found in various cultures, whether visual, written or orally transmitted. For him, titles are often as important as the work itself, reflecting his continuing interest in the power of the written word.
Fiegenschuh is known for his beautifully crafted mixed media works. He states, “Imagine Peter Bruegel in a room filled with coffee pots, broken appliances, silverware and other common abandoned objects from present day material culture. Not a single brush or tube of paint in sight, but still there is the desire to depict “The Seven Deadly Sins” or tell the story of how “Big Fish Eats Little Fish.” I like to think of my work in that way. Objects are imbued with meanings from their use. New meanings are added when objects are used out of context and comprise the artist palette.
Sarah Ivey is an emerging artist/teacher whose specialty is painting, drawing and medical tattooing. She is on the faculty as visual art instructor with Duncan Public Schools and teaches visual art and art history. She is also the owner and artist of Luxxor Advanced Aesthetics, which offers tattooing techniques for healing to victims of accidents and injuries.
Ivey’s discusses her work in the exhibition, “I enjoy drawing in pen and ink on paper, and I am currently working on a series of drawings which are inspired by illuminated pages from the Irish Gospel Book, The Book of Kells. My goal is that the drawings connect to the spiritual magic of that illustrious medieval book
Patrick Riley is a nationally recognized teaching artist whose career spanned from middle school to college professor as well as Artist in Residence with the Oklahoma Arts Council. In 2006 he retired from public education and began his own company, Patrick’s Arts of Oklahoma. During his art career he has designed a mask for Lady GaGa and constructed a monumental steel Eagle Mask sculpture for the Judicial Center Building at the State Capitol Complex in Oklahoma City. Riley served as guest curator for Time/Dreams/Perception exhibition at NOC.
Riley’s works in the exhibit include masks and totems – multi-cultural art forms that have always intrigued him. He comments, “Recently I began including musical instrument components as part of the sculptural form for new masks and totems. I use other found objects (including shoes and glass beads) in some of the sculptures to convey a cynical sense of humor about the culture in which we live.”
Summer Scott is an emerging artist and art teacher whose specialty is painting, drawing, and mask making. She is a full-time art instructor on the faculty of Kingfisher High School, and she is also a talented calligrapher and signage artist. She is strongly supportive of the Small Grant Support for Schools Program with the Oklahoma Arts Council and has participated in the program for five years.
Scott is exhibiting paintings and leather masks and shares, “My works of art are usually inspired by nature as well as my feelings. I am also influenced by experiences gained while traveling in Europe, including Italy, and on my relationship to my child and family.”
Time/Dreams/Perception remains on view through March 28. The Eleanor Hays Art Gallery, located in the Kinzer Performing Arts Center, is open 12:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, by private appointment, and during evening and weekend events in the KPAC. Admission is free. Contact gallery director Audrey Schmitz at (580) 628-6670 or audrey.schmitz@noc.edu.