Welcome to the OU School of Visual Arts
The OU School of Visual Arts at the University of Oklahoma cultivates a vibrant intellectual community that fosters the greatest possible excellence in the study of the visual arts, design, and art history. The School was established in 1915, and is the oldest and most comprehensive school of art in the state of Oklahoma. Through civic engagement, we endeavor to meet the artistic needs of Oklahoma’s citizens and promote the growth of culture. We offer the BFA and MFA in Art and the BA, MA, and Ph.D. in Art History. We strive for excellence in teaching, publishing, and creating art and design at the highest level. The School prepares our students for success nationally and internationally as artists, designers, scholars, teachers, and influential patrons of all the arts.
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MFA Inclusive Exhibition 2021
SPOTLIGHT: Art Exhibitions
Gang of Five: Reconnecting Art Exhibiton
Nov. 21-Dec. 16
Lightwell Gallery, Fred Jones Art Center
Artists Talk and Reception
4:30 p.m., Nov. 21, Fred Jones Art Center, room 205
These events are open to the public with complimentary admission.
On Nov. 21, having lived the past 40 years in careers immersed in art, they will return to show recent work and talk with current art students about what life might be like after art school.
Gang of Five: Reconnecting Art Exhibition will be on display in the Lightwell Gallery of the OU School of Visual Arts, 520 Parrington Oval on the OU Norman campus from Nov. 21 through Dec. 16. An artist talk and reception is set for 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21, in room 205 in the same building. The exhibition, talk and reception are open to the public without admission charge.
In the early 1980s, five students studied fine art painting under the guidance of Professor George Bogart in the University of Oklahoma’s then School of Art. While studying at OU, the five students, including Ying Kit Chan, Caroline J. Farris, David E. Hailey, Nina Karavasiles and Laura Warriner, were such a close-knit group that they were sometimes called “The gang of five.” They would often work together into the early-morning hours on their paintings and spent hours at a local coffee shop discussing various philosophies of art.
Black Artists of Oklahoma Project
Karina Cunningham’s Playhouse
Sept. 17-Oct. 8, 2022
Spotlight Gallery
The main focus of Karina Cunningham’s art is the exploration of the liminal space between childhood and adulthood. Her works often convey mature narratives while utilizing objects and spaces associated with childhood nostalgia. The artificial characters stand at odds with the weight and reality of the topics investigated. The toys and characters are often altered by adult content through words, actions and expressions. Her paintings offer a visualization of the way adult hood spills into childhood as people grow.
The Black Artists of Oklahoma Project is a multiplatform effort based in the School of Visual Arts at the University of Oklahoma that aims to celebrate the history of African American art in Oklahoma through research, exhibitions, publications, and related programming . At present, work is underway on a directory of artists intended to assist scholars, curators, teachers, and community members who want to know more about the history of Black art in the state. This exhibition series is the first outgrowth of that directory: four solo exhibitions highlighting the work of emerging African American artists with ties to Oklahoma that will run in the Spotlight Gallery during the 2022-2023 school year.
