Birds in Art, an exhibition that features innovative perspectives throughout diverse artwork by some of the world’s most talented artists, will land in Tulsa in late November 2015 for a showing at Gilcrease Museum.
Birds inspire artists worldwide as these avian marvels signal seasonal and environmental change, mesmerize with their flight, dazzle with their colors and soothe with their songs.
The internationally renowned Birds in Art exhibition, organized annually by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, draws steep competition each year from artists vying to be selected for the show.
Artworks in the 2014 exhibition, on tour now, feature a diverse array of birds preening, resting on unexpected perches, engaging in mischief and more. Owls abound — from French sculptor Hélène Arfi’s bronze pair perched on a high tree branch to Japanese pyrographer Nobuko Kumasaka’s trio of dozing barn owls. Three dimensional surprises await in Kerry Miller’s hand-colored collage created from a vintage book. Swedish artist Gunnar Tryggmo’s moody watercolor depicts gulls on a misty morning.
A painting of American goldfinches nestled, nearly camouflaged, among resplendent sunflowers exemplifies the watercolors of Barry Van Dusen, selected as the Woodson Art Museum’s 2014 Master Artist. “We were delighted to honor Barry Van Dusen and acknowledge his exceptional artwork. Barry’s watercolors are remarkably luminous and sensitive, which is due in part to his preference for working in the field, a long-standing tradition among artists who look to nature for subject matter,” said Kathy Kelsey Foley, director of the Woodson Art Museum.
Each fall at the Woodson Art Museum, the Birds in Art exhibition presents original paintings, sculptures, and graphics created within the last three years by artists from the world over. More than 500 artists annually (564 in 2014) submit their work for consideration by a jury of three different professionals who winnow the field to about 90 artworks.
The Birds in Art touring exhibition, which comprises 60 artworks from the annual exhibition, has traveled to several locations throughout the country: Museum of the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur, Texas; Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson; The Wildling Museum in Solvang, California; and the Newington-Cropsey Foundation in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, before its arrival at Gilcrease.
A 132-page full-color, illustrated Birds in Art catalog featuring every work along with artists’ statements will be available for purchase in the Gilcrease Museum Store.