East Gallery
Gerald Cournoyer
October 11 thru December 5, 2004
In
his studio at the University of Oklahoma, Gerald Cournoyer moves from
one large canvas to another, adding color beside color, his emotion
and the pounding music driving him to move faster or slower as the
pulse and his mood dictate.
Growing up on a reservation in South Dakota, Cournoyer’s roots
are revealed in one way or another in everything he paints. “My
paintings reflect cosmology of the Lakota Sioux people. The symbolism
of the geometric shape, color usage and repetitive motif reflects a
verse in a song, the more often you sing, the closer you are with the
Great Spirit,” said Cournoyer.
He is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux tribe, Pine Ridge, South
Dakota. After high school, he enlisted and served in the United States
Marine Corps for 4 years and then went on to earn degrees from the
Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a Bachelor
of Fine Arts and a Master of Art at the University of South Dakota.
Now a painting student in the Masters of Fine Arts program at OU, Cournoyer’s work has evolved since he arrived at the School of Art. “It’s more of a process to paint. My use of color in my paintings is personal. I use complementary colors to represent the relationship of the life on earth and the after life and how we walk in balance between the two worlds,” he added.
Cournoyer explains that the use of color and symbolism is evident
in his more recent works as he deals with the death of his father. “I’ve
interwoven ravens throughout my work because they are symbolic messengers
of the spirit. The smoke from the pipe carries our prayers and expresses
our faith.”
Inspiration, in the beginning came from other Native American artists,
Fritz Scholder, Allan Houser, T. C. Cannon, Oscar Howe, and Dan Namingha.
Now, he’s moved on into more abstract and contemporary work by
Mark Rothko, Jasper Johns, Jim Wade and others.
“Gerald Cournoyer’s work is showing significant advances
and is now exciting the notice of art dealers, collectors and critics.
He is defined by his Northern Lakota roots, adapted themes and Native
cosmology to paint abstract works of startling and brilliant color.
These paintings reveal his intense devotion to tradition, yet appear
in bold blocks of color reminiscent of quill work and the designs of
the Northern Plains,” said Dr. Mary Jo Watson, Associate Dean
of the OU College of Fine Arts.
Watson says that while he is a young man, Cournoyer is already putting a unique fingerprint on his paintings.
Sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council. For more information contact Scott Cowan or Karen Sharp at 405.521.2931 or scott@arts.ok.gov