OPENING RECEPTION:
thursday, May 10th, 5-8pm

ON VIEW May 10th - june 7th

David Crismon is an accomplished Oklahoma artist that has been dedicated to his painting practice for over twenty-five years. Since receiving his MFA from the University of Oklahoma in 1990, Crismon has shown his work nationally and internationally. He is currently a professor of Art at Oklahoma Christian University. 

The paintings on display are a part of Crismon’s Dislocated Histories series, whose subject matter is influenced by pre-existing small-scale paintings. Crismon alters the subjects through size, shape and color by taping a grid on metal backgrounds and adding layers to create drastic transitions. Although the subjects are traditional in terms of portraiture, still-life or landscape, Crismon brings movement and liveliness into each composition through contrasting bright colors and geometric patterns. The fragmentation of the images is meant to embody an evolution through time as well as the tremendous changes society has gone through because of technological advancements. 

When the original subjects were painted, there was an obvious lack of technology compared to what society can access today.

“Systems, digital imaging, scans, photocopies, and data glitches are a small part of larger strata of visual surveillance about ourselves and the world around us.”

Society today is surrounded and defined by technology; However, with this tool, the past can be reimagined, reconstructed or misrepresented. This series is a visual reminder of how various distortions and interferences of information occur whether intended or not. 

By bringing the subjects from the past into the present, Crismon finds a way to recreate them; “reconstructing various historical works where some information has been duplicated, altered, or is missing altogether.” Within the composition of Misrepresentation of Electress Sophia of Hanover, a painting is created through segments with the result of a portrait having three eyes; The woman does not have a third eye, rather it seems a screen has frozen, or her face moved slightly during a photograph. It is obvious that the subjects within Crismon’s series have been purposely distorted. These altered historical paintings show history being transformed into a kind of abstract data. The fluctuation shown in the paintings through repetitive shape, splicing of color, and the general fragmentation of the composition help to convey how the past and present rely on each other to exist.  

Artspace at Untitled is fortunate to display David Crismon’s Dislocated Histories; his strength within the painting medium is apparent, and there is much to learn from both the technique and concept of his practice.

Review by John Brandenburg for The Oklahoman

[Press] Gallery

Emma Difani's Wild Places

Artspace is proud to present an exhibition by our current Artist in Residence Emma Difani alongside Crismon's work.

Difani describes herself as an observer, collector, and mapmaker. She draws cartographic symbols from both grown and constructed environments, creating maps to navigate an increasingly complex world; a world that blends the natural and the cultural, the physical and the digital.

During her residency at Artspace, Difani explored the downtown neighborhood and sought out wild places in urban spaces. She broadened her appreciation of ecology to include the four foot squares of soil inset in the sidewalks, the birds' nests in the eaves of bridges, and the ivy creeping across parking garages. 

Difani's collection of prints on display are each a kind of map, drafted for discovering alternative definitions of nature in the city and embracing the grown and constructed. They are the artist's way of charting sincere connections to a place.