Curated by Stacey Durham, NBC Oklahoma Manager of Art Collections

Contemporary art often seems perplexing because of its experimental qualities and lack of conventional beauty. It embraces abstraction, tests the boundaries of realistic representation, and challenges our notions of what art is or should be. "Synergy: An Exhibition of Contemporary Works of Art" explores the relationships that occur when a group of contemporary works of art are placed into dialogue with each other. The word synergy is defined as "The creation of a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts." Synergy is most important and powerful when it creates something that is greater than mere sum of its parts. Like the definition, these synergistic compositions are a collision of processes, principles and ideologies that thrive together to create artistic harmony — harmony that is achieved by the artist's touch and his or her creative vision. Inspired by the late George Bogart and his work, “It's Altogether Fitting and Proper That We Should Do This,” we invite you to examine the works in this exhibit and trace the connections that make them into a (greater) collective whole.

SPOTLIGHT ARTIST

Yatika Starr Fields is an internationally recognized Native American artist who was born in Tulsa, OK, and reared in Stillwater, OK. At an early age, Fields showed a natural understanding of composition and design. He studied fine art at Oklahoma State University as well as in Boston, where he began to explore urban graffiti culture and mural projects. Those experiences led to many art commissions, art battles and exhibitions across the nation and abroad. Fields’ artistic talents also have merited numerous honors over the years, including the American Vision Award in 1999. Today, Fields lives in Brooklyn, NY, where he paints and finds inspiration among the creative forces of urban life. His work can be found in the following institutions: OSU Museum of Art, Stillwater; Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Norman, OK; and the Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ.

Field’s work is a kaleidoscope of elements inspired by natural and urban environments and is fused with hints of Native imagery to create rich contemporary compositions. Movement and fluidity are key components of his work; his paintings emphasize the free forms of lines, shapes and color. The layers and overlapping of forms create a sense of bending and floating from all angles and suggest a movement beyond the picture plane. The energetic movement of his brushwork and body intuitively shapes his work. His palette includes rich pinks, yellows, golds and blues; his abstract style and colors challenge traditional views of Native art. More importantly, his works embody a contemporary perspective and inspire the audience to reshape their relationship with both nature and the built environment. Fields uses live painting techniques, as evident in Ingression and Yellow Emergence, in the studio to bring about aesthetic spontaneity found in street art. Various brushes create wide and thin lines; fast-moving hand gestures make the same lines curve and form fluid paths across the canvas. Splashes of bright yellow create circular patterns and repetitive shapes and forms create one cohesive image.