Istvan Gallery to Feature New Work in February

Four Artists Just in Time for Valentines Day

OKLAHOMA CITY – Flowers and candy are great, but after a couple of days you have nothing to show for it but 5 extra pounds and a bunch of dead flowers. A gift of art from an Oklahoma artist can last forever.  We have collectable fine art, sculpture, jewelry and yes, flowers hand crafted from both fused glass and blown glass.

Just in time for your Valentine shopping, Istvan Gallery is welcoming four artists for a show opening on February 8.  Photographer Marvin Lee will be returning along with one of Oklahoma City’s favorite mixed media artists William Struby.  Emerging artists Amanda Bradway and Alesa Clymer will also be featuring their mixed media work.

William Struby is a mixed media artist and graphic designer living in Oklahoma City. Mixed media is central to his work, reflecting the richness of life with its textures, layers and impurity. Struby primarily uses photomontage, computer-treatment, and collage techniques in his pieces. Exploring the connections and space between the conscious and unconscious, his work uses free association to juxtapose images in a dialogue, invoking a story. “For me, mixed media evokes a fundamental quality of life—its impurity—messy and rich” states the artist.

Marvin Lee is a self-taught photo-artist originally from Wichita, Kansas.   He attended the University of Kansas, Phillips University, and University of Central Oklahoma where he graduated with a B.A. in Education. He settled in Oklahoma City in the mid seventies.  Previously an instructor of gifted students in art appreciation, photography, and videography, Lee is now a full time artist.  According to Lee, “I take photographs with my heart, and as I process them, it’s as if I’m back in that instant, molding and shaping it into the moment that I remember.”  

Oklahoma native Amanda Bradway’s passions include art and restoring formerly blighted Oklahoma City neighborhoods. After studying art and graphic design at the UCO, she began working on her own art and fashion projects. Amanda and her husband Dylan own and operate the DNA Gallery in the Plaza District.   Amanda is a full time artist, dividing her time between her own artwork and operating her gallery.  Her mixed media work is very organic, incorporating her graphic design, quartz crystals and even metal plated skulls from various kinds of Oklahoma wildlife.

Having recently graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Central Oklahoma, emerging artist Alesa Clymer draws inspiration from cultural storytelling and symbolism.  Even with the passage of time, tales outlive their origin but continue to instill value and meaning.  According to Clymer, “Art holds the exact same beauty in this nature, reflecting the people of its time and their values.”

Her current body of work illustrates segments of stories that she has grown up loving and that have affected the evolution of her work.   “I have drawn direct inspiration from them, distorting and altering them to be retold by my own stylization.  In doing so, I have modified the stories and added personal symbolism of my own to make the stories personal to me” states the artist.  Clymer’s mixed media work is bold, colorful and the symbolism is at once inviting and challenging to the viewer’s own value system.

The February art installation at Istvan Gallery will debut with an artists’ reception that is free and open to the public, Friday, Feb. 8 from 6 to 10 p.m. The event will include entertainment, light hors d'oeuvres, beverages and an opportunity to observe glass blowing demonstrations by artists at Blue Sage Studio. The installation will continue through Apr. 28, 2013.

Istvan Gallery is over 4,000 square feet of wall and floor space with new exhibits installed quarterly. Istvan Gallery’s hours are Tuesday through Friday 4 to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m. and by appointment. For more information, call (405) 831-2874 or visit www.IstvanGallery.com.