A 绘画 of a pig with chickens on its back on a bright pink background by 俄亥俄州 alumna Allyson McDuffie

密歇根 art exhibition showcases Bobcat talent

OU Redux: Forty Years Down the Road features the artwork of nearly two dozen bet8九州登录入口 alumni.

Grace Koennecke, BSJ ’25 | 2024年8月8日

艺术, with its many different mediums, allows not only for creative expression but also a chance to connect with other artists and build community. 为此，朱迪思·拉赫特画廊 in Harbert, 密歇根, is honoring the work of 20 Bobcats in an exhibition titled OU Redux: Forty Years Down the Road.

皮特Maloy, 论坛86, is a commercial photographer, adjunct professor at Columbia College Chicago and one of the artists involved in the exhibition. He says the process of bringing it together came from a desire to show his students the importance of creating a tight-knit art community, like the one he had while in 雅典.

a blue and gold ceramic teapot on a gray gradient background

a print of a brown pig with three yellow chickens on its back, all on a hot pink background

a photo of a white woman at dusk wearing sunglasses, a white kerchief covering her blonde hair, a black coat with brown fur lining and black heels; she is holding a large white plate with a purple plastic octopus on it

black and white abstract 绘画 with touches of red, green and yellow

black and white photo of a gull flying over the shoreline at the beach

a colorful canvas depicting a white man with blond hair and camoflage-style shirt and hat carrying a deer with antlers on his back and smoking a cigarette

两年前, Maloy joined forces with Bill Zuehlke, MFA 86, who works for 朱迪思·拉赫特画廊 and has shown his art there several times, and Racht herself to start building the exhibition. Maloy and Zuehlke originally planned to include just three fellow alumni in the project, but that number unexpectedly expanded after word-of-mouth trickled down about the gallery, demonstrating the undeniable Bobcat spirit that the University leaves on those who attend.

an abstract art print primarily in black and white with blue and red accents

a panoramic landscape with uneven borders depicting a power plant and green field set against a cloudy sky

a colorful abstract photo with shades of blue, yellow, green and red

an abstract 绘画 in orange with lighter orange textured dots overlaid

a dark brown giclee print depicting three missiles

an impressionistic oil 绘画 of green trees against a blue sky

Maloy says he’s looking forward to reuniting with his classmates from across the country and exploring each artist’s work during the exhibition. He also hopes the presenting artists come to the exhibition to find new perspectives.

“I teach at Columbia College, which is in the South Loop in Chicago, 这是一个非常, very different college experience than 雅典, 俄亥俄州, in the foothills of the Appalachians on the 俄亥俄州 River,马洛伊说. “I try to explore with my students, 有时, 什么样的社区, what kind of commitment do they all have? 他们有我们拥有的东西吗? It's hard for me to gauge and to see it, and I’d love for artists to come and see that [and] develop their own.”

a sculptural composition of sticks painted white with brown tips on a light brown shelf

a brown ceramic jar with three feet and a lid

an abstract, unevenly circular sculptural piece in black and red with a white border

a fabric puppet wearing a multicolored crown and clothing with blue eyes, large red ears and a long red and white striped nose

“King of the Village” by Patty Mitchell, BFA ’87, MFA ’91, photography. Mitchell majored in photography and is an artist and social entrepreneur specializing in collaboration between artists with and without developmental differences. She is the founder and executive director at Passion Works Studio in 雅典.

an irregular square of metal with five X shapes inside a frame

“Quilt Series: 5 Panes” by Susan Griswold, BFA ’87, metalwork sculpture. Griswold majored in ceramics and is now a freelance art handler, rigger and welder in Portland, 俄勒冈州, operating under the name St Johns Sculpture.

cityscape scene depicting several buildings and a large construction crane against a blue sky with fluffy white clouds

“Keeboom” by Terrance Wharton, etching on paper. The lone non-alumnus in the exhibition was a dear friend of 皮特Maloy’s until Wharton’s death in 2021. “I just couldn’t do the show without a piece of his,马洛伊说. This piece “is a perfect representation of Terry and our time at OU. It was an appropriation from the men’s second-floor bathroom stall [in] Seigfred Hall … circa 1983.”