Breaking Bread, Marks & Musings and Main Street: Carnival Found
Gallery I: Breaking Bread - Poetic City Visual Arts
Poetic City Visual Arts - Breaking Bread is the sixth annual collaborative exhibit hosted by Poetic City Visual Arts, a creative collective of Black artists based in Oklahoma City. The artworks in this year’s theme, Breaking Bread, reflect on the significance of serving and sharing meals with others. Artists include Betty Refour, Erica Nkechi, Rico Young, Rochelle Cole, Tiffany Nicole, and Sunee Rice.
“Sharing a meal is one of the oldest and most trusted ways we create connections. For many communities, gathering around food is a form of cultural resistance… Century-old recipes become weapons in the fight against gentrification and systemic erasure.
Gathering around food offers us a chance to tell stories, mediate conflicts, and feel seen. Whether seated at the dinner table, in line at the cookout, or dividing a box of takeout with your roommate, the food offers more than physical nourishment. The meals offer an opportunity to bridge divides.
Breaking Bread honors the powerful everyday act of preparing, serving and sharing meals. The works in this exhibition explore the many layered meanings of food and highlight the impact of shared meals and celebratory occasions where food plays an integral role.”
- Sunee Rice, Curator and Artist
Displayed in Gallery I through June 26th, 3024 Paseo
Fix Me a Plate! - Betty Refour, $950
JABEE - Rico Young, $150
Mass of Greens - Rochelle Cole, $500
Something New - Erica Nkechi, $1,650
When Life Gives You Lemons - Sunee Rice, $350
Picnic on Sunday - Tiffani Nicole, $400
Gallery 2: Marks & Musings- Aztrid Moan, David Hertzel and Todd E. Clark
Marks & Musings, by artists Aztrid Moan, David Hertzel and Todd E. Clark, is a compelling exhibit infused with the vibrant spirit of Oklahoma City (and) that celebrates the raw beauty of human experience and our connection to the world around us.
Hertzel’s striking lino-cuts and textured sculptures embrace imperfection, while Moan’s layered prints and mixed-media pieces incorporate natural materials to tell powerful visual stories. Todd’s colorful depictions of cowboy kitties and rodeo clowns evoke memory and emotion in a way that feels both safe and lively. Together, their exhibition encourages viewers to slow down, look closely, and rediscover the charm of authentic, handcrafted, and playful imagery.
Displayed in Gallery II through June 26th, 3024 Paseo
Esca - Aztrid Moan, 16×20”, $215
Yee-Hawtie Dottie - Todd E. Clark, 48×48”, $2,750
My New Red Boots - David Hertzel, $299
Gallery 3: Main Street: Carnival Found - SJ Barrymore
SJ Barrymore’s Main Street: Carnival Found began “on a sunny day in Norman, Oklahoma, [as] I walked past Neighborhood JAM’s parking lot, now transformed into a carnival. The usual cars were replaced with rides, food stands, and thick electrical cords, a power generator humming in the distance. The carousel stood motionless, its colorful, carved animals frozen in time, as if waiting for riders. As I explored further, I met an older woman who asked if I worked there. After a brief chat, she asked for a cigarette, which I didn’t have. We parted ways, and I continued my walk, snapping shots of the carnival’s haunting stillness.”
Sj Barrymore began his journey with film photography on the streets of San Francisco. With a roll of black and white film loaded, he envisioned being the next Cartier-Bresson. He had such lofty sights.
Film photography is a significant influence in his compositional framing, and lighting. He later pursued art courses, further refining his skills in a self-taught manner. The digital medium opened up more possibilities for immediate feedback on creativity, experimentation and storytelling. Now primarily working on street portraits. Revealing the unique presence of the individuals.
Displayed in Gallery III through June 26th, 3024 Paseo
Sj Barrymore - no. 1
Sj Barrymore - no. 2