BIOGRAPHY

I was born in Oklahoma City in 1949. I am a painter, songwriter, art critic, and have been involved with making 3 films. I work in both figurative and abstract styles in painting. My goal as an artist is to fully realize my creative potential. My work represents the hybrid nature of society. This hybrid reality is as much where I live as the physical space of Oklahoma City. Growing up in Oklahoma has given me a sense of space that has a direct impact on my visual work both environmentally and politically. My research has stretched me out of the parochial into a wider understanding of culture, due in part to my extensive travel. I have a Master’s in Fine Art in painting and have taught at both the secondary school and college level. I was the director of the Artsannex which was a gallery space and school for the Oklahoma Museum of Art, curating exhibitions, hiring faculty and producing plays. I was on the board of a non-profit gallery for 30 years where I curated and hung exhibitions throughout my tenure. I have shown my own work in hundreds of exhibitions since my first one-man show in 1974, including national and regional shows. I have been a full time artist since 2007. I have continued to exhibit my own work and curate since.

ARTIST INSIGHTS

How are your background and life experiences connected to your art?

My life is reflected in my paintings. All the good and bad relationships. The many travels, education, books I have read. It is an ongoing research called living life.

Who are some of your biggest artistic influences?

Too many to name individually. From late 19th Century art, 20th Century art, to present day. I am also influenced by my own engagement with culture in general through media like books and movies.

How have you developed your artist career?

In my 50 year career, I have worn many hats... I am no longer naive about the art world, and I have sustained an art practice for those 50 years. I'm still growing and learning.

What does your artistic work intend to communicate to its audience?

I want to communicate a sense of beauty and mystery. I want to pose questions.

Does your work comment on any current social or political issues?

Yes, in a sublime way.

Do you have a particular story that stands out from your career as an artist?

The accumulation narrative of the community of artist in Oklahoma City that interacted in way that a great novel could be written. I was a part and a leader in that quest of artistic relevance.

What is one thing you would like your audience to know about you?

I am passionate still as a man in my 70s. I'm looking for an on going dialogue with the world.

Which current art world trends are you following?

I follow many young painters from all over the world... very exciting.

Why have you chosen to sell your work in the 1515 Lincoln Gallery?

I love the community.

ARTIST STATEMENT

As in our waking life, words and images often become intermixed in my paintings. Sometimes these paintings are similar to palimpsest, or a manuscript page, with layers of old images and words hiding behind the new. Each painting represents a turning point in my life, revealing a simultaneous reflection of the present and past: weightlessness, loss, beauty and life transitions. My paintings are metaphors of living in a hybrid reality of the seen and unseen. I attempt to expose and dissect the information, which is seductively repackaged and delivered to us in a variety of media. My works ask questions about appearance and meaning in Mother Culture.

GEorge OSWALT’S AVAILABLE ART