Modern, Traditional Styles Intermix

There is a lively interchange between modern and more traditional styles in a show by three artists on view in Oklahoma City. The exhibit by Hoka Shenandore, Yakita Starr Fields and Josh Johnico is at the gallery in Suite 100 of Exhibit C, 1 E Sheridan in the Bricktown district. Called “Traditions: A Showcase of Native Painters, it runs through June 30. Norman artist Shenandore said he embraces the “ethos of punk rock and hip culture and painted graffiti art” in his work. Shenandore added that his art tries to “bridge the gap between the gallery, the gutter and everything in between.” A man stares out behind an arbitrary grate or latticework of dark blue and deep reddish-brown, in two aerosol-acrylics from his “Ego Trippin' ” series. Shenandore juggles black-and-white profiles with abstract and comic-graffiti imagery in seven acrylics on old records from a “Heroes and Villains” series. Also combining abstract, graffiti-based and figurative imagery is an acrylic Shenandore calls “I Beg Your Pardon,” plus drips in his “It's Too Early.” Hung from the ceiling, or in front of a white background, are the cut out, painted wooden “Modern War Clubs” of Tulsa artist Fields. Embellished with studs, bells, ribbons and abstract designs, Fields' creations, when hung from above, have some of the appeal of contemporary mobiles. Staring at us almost confrontationally are the warrior and chief subjects of head and shoulders acrylic portraits by Johnico, an artist of Choctaw ancestry. The faces of “Wolf Robe” and a “Chief” have a strong blue-purple cast, for example, while Johnico's “Sitting Bull” has a lined forehead and stern downturned lips. Including a number of other excellent works, not by the featured artists, the Shenandore, Fields and Johnico exhibit is recommended during the rest of its run. — John Brandenburg, for The Oklahoman Read more on NewsOK.com