East Gallery
Christina Pickard Pillars, Bones, Shadows, and Rings:
Five Years of Drawing and Painting
June 26 thru August 27, 2006
Oklahoma
native Christina Pickard creates highly abstract multi-media pieces
with vivid undulating forms and stark monochromatic lines. Her work
serves as a paradigm to those who began movements such as Abstract
Expressionism, yet her work is extremely representational.
During the late 19th century, fine art subject matter shifted from
accurate depictions of what is seen to an emphasis on the creative
process of painting. Semi-abstracted compositions appeared within the
works of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. This evolution from semi-abstracted
forms into pure abstractions required the viewer to examine works of
art on a different level often without the ability to solve the mystery
of the artist’s intent.
Pickard’s exhibit, Pillars, Bones, Shadows and Rings: Five Years of Drawing and Painting explores the artist’s imaginative representation of tangible objects that have inspired her.
“Although I could be called an abstract or non-representational
artist, whatever I paint or draw comes directly from what I see, and
for me it is always representative of something. Whether it is the
memory of bones protruding from a beached whale carcass, the streetlight
peeking through a window shade, or a particular part of a drawing from
the model, every form has meaning of some sort,” explained Pickard.
Before earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Kansas City
Art Institute, Pickard studied art history and French culture at the
Sorbonne in Paris. After spending a semester backpacking and mountaineering
at the National Outdoor Leadership School, she continued her education
at Oklahoma City University where she earned a masters degree in Early
Childhood/Montessori Education.
Pickard is on the Artist in Residence roster at the Oklahoma Arts
Council and teaches art at Westminster School in Oklahoma City. She
has participated in numerous exhibits throughout the United States
and her work appears in collections with the US and Canada.
Sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council. For more information contact Scott Cowan or Karen Sharp at 405.521.2931 or scott@arts.ok.gov.
The East Gallery is located on the 1st floor of the State Capitol and open daily from 8:00-5:30.