Works of Art

During the annual Red Earth Festival, the talents of a multitude of Native American tribes will be on display during a juried art show and market. Handcrafted beadwork, basketry, jewelry, pottery, sculpture, paintings, graphics and cultural attire are just a small sampling of the art you’ll see. But there is more to Red Earth than just the annual festival. The Red Earth Art Center hosts a respected permanent collection featuring more than 1,400 pieces of Native American artwork. Expect to see fine art, pottery, basketry, textiles, and beadwork. The Center features widely acclaimed traveling exhibitions, as well as such prized permanent exhibits as the Deupree Cradleboard Collection, one of the finest individual collections of its kind in North America. The Red Earth Art Center also provides an outlet for Native American artists to sell their works to the public. 

Exhibit C also features works by Chickasaw artisans. The hand-crafted pieces include jewelry, pottery, paintings and clothing. There’s always something new to see at Exhibit C, as a new artist is featured every four months. 

A can’t miss exhibit this month is ”Best of the West” at JRB Art at the Elms. The exhibition, which runs through June 27, features works by Joe Andoe, Billy Schenck and Bert Seabourn. Andoe, an Oklahoma native who is part Cherokee, is celebrated across the county. His works are part of permanent collections in a variety of museums including the Museum of Modern Art and the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art. Seabourn, an internationally acclaimed expressionist painter and sculptor, has made Oklahoma City his home. Seabourn’s works are held in private and public collections worldwide including The Vatican Museum of Religious Art in Rome; The National Palace Museum in Taiwan; the Smithsonian Museum of National History, Washington, D.C.; and the President Gerald Ford Library. Outside of the “Best of the West” exhibit, Seabourn’s work can be seen locally at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.