Art Appreciation

With the holiday coming up, it's actually a semi-slow week in the arts world, believe it or not, so I thought we'd take it as an opportunity to recap some of the exhibits at the galleries and museums we've missed out on this month.

Explore the Americas

Last week, Gilcrease Museum, 1400 Gilcrease Museum Road, opened "Alfredo Zalce: El Graphico Popular," which includes more than 40 pieces from the Mexican artist's collection. The exhibit focuses on Zalce's work as a printmaker and consists mostly of lithographs, monotypes and relief prints.

Born in Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico, a colonial town three hours from the shore, Zalce was dedicated to representing Mexican life and culture through his art. Throughout his career, he was driven by a desire to bring awareness to Mexican people of their own unique history.

In addition to printmaking, Zalce was also an accomplished painter and muralist, influenced by many schools of thought. He embraced the ideals of Mexican School of Painting but rejected many of the rigid, traditional techniques. Many of his murals are prominently displayed in schools, civic centers and other cultural centers.

In the 1930s, Zalce co-founded the Taller de Grafica Popular (the People's Print Workshop) and worked with other noted Mexican artists to produce linoleum and woodcut prints that focused on political themes and everyday struggles of Mexicans. In 1945, he produced one of his most significant printmaking portfolios, Estampas de Yucatan, which consisted of scenes from pre-Columbian Mexican life.

Gilcrease's exhibition of "Alfredo Zalce: El Graphico Popular" is meant to demonstrate the museum's continued commitment to exploring the art and history of the Americas. The exhibit will be on display through Feb. 24, 2008. For more information, including ticket prices and museum hours, visit www.gilcrease.org.

Exploring Art Biblically

The Sherwin Miller Museum of Art, 2021 E. 71st St., opened "Sons of Adam, Daughters of Eve: Biblical Images in Art from Tulsa Collections" in October, and it is the museum's first scholarly examination of images common to both Jews and Christians, which coincides with the museum's mission for the community.

The exhibit includes works from its own collection, as well as those from private Tulsa collections, Gilcrease Museum, Congregation B'nai Emunah and Temple Israel. All media are represented, from prints, oil, acrylic, watercolor, sculpture, textiles, silver, books, coins, furniture, megillat (a Jewish publication), video and film. Each depicts the religious history of Christians and Jews as recorded in the Tanakh or Old Testament.

Staged in the museum's temporary galleries, artifacts in the exhibit are meant to mimic the narrative flow of the Bible by grouping them into scenes and events.

"I am especially proud to present works from our own collection, some pieces rarely seen or recently acquired, along with the fine and decorative arts lent by private collectors from our unique Tulsa community. It has been decades since the museum published such a beautiful, comprehensive catalogue," said museum curator Karen York.

Some of the donations from personal collections include bronze and porcelain sculptures, large quilts and tapestries and lithographs by the likes of Reuven Rubin, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali and Phillip Ratner.

In addition to "Sons of Adam, Daughters of Eve," York curated two companion exhibitions, "Biblical Images in Popular Culture" and "Animals from Noah's Ark." The former features movie posters, film, animation, books and comics that retell Bible stories in contemporary media. The latter features paintings by children during Camp Shalom over the summer.

The exhibit will hang through Jan. 20, 2008. For more information, including tickets and cost, visit www.jewishmuseum.net.

Explore Philbrook

Check out the Nov. 1-7 issue for a review on Philbrook's current exhibit, "Focus 4: Lucy Gunning," which runs through Dec. 30.

In addition, the museum is also displaying more than 140 artifacts from the collection of the Frank Lloyd Wright Collection in "Frank Lloyd Wright and the House Beautiful."

Wright's name isn't unpopular in these parts, and if you've never made the trek to Price Tower in Bartlesville, Philbrook Museum of Art, 2727 S. Rockford Rd., is bringing his fame a little closer to home through Jan. 20, 2008.

Wright's fame for creating a new way of life for Americans through architecture and design will be displayed at the museum with original objects including furniture, metal work, textiles, original drawings, publications and accessories.

Also on display at Philbrook is the annual Festival of Trees exhibit, which features decorated trees and other Christmas art by local artists and community members. The exhibit is widely visited every year by Tulsa families and offers a quick way to get into the Christmas spirit. See it before it comes down on Dec. 2.

For more information on any of the above events, visit www.philbrook.org.

Explore TAC Before Time Runs Out

"Acquisitions: Figure Paintings by Shane Hemberger" will close at the Tulsa Artists' Coalition Gallery, 9 E. Brady, Sat., Nov. 24, so you may want to check it out while you can.

Hemberger is a painter, working mostly in oil, whose work is and has been displayed all across Oklahoma.

Of inspiration, Hemberger has said, "I am fascinated by the way in which things acquire meaning with time and exposure. These acquisitions are both intellectual and emotional and seem to arise spontaneously when the thing enters our daily lives for some time.

"This series of paintings represents my own experiment into how our minds acquire and construct meaning for objects so that they go from new and discomforting to fitting into our own particular personal and cultural contexts."

The exhibit is free and open, and a closing reception will likely be Saturday from about 6 to 9pm. For more information, visit www.tacgallery.org.