Precarious Shapes—the annual Northern Oklahoma College student art exhibition is on display through May 3 in the Eleanor Hays Art Gallery in the Kinzer Performing Arts Center at NOC Tonkawa.Visual art students Hope Gillespie, Kelsie Grigg, Ash Herard, Tommy Jenkins and Zoe Oxford planned and organized the exhibit as part of the requirements for a credited Portfolio/Gallery Seminar at NOC. Precarious Shapes highlights the original art of these five artists along with works of other students enrolled in visual art, creative writing and digital imaging classes during the 2021-2022 academic year.Under the guidance of Audrey Schmitz, gallery director and art instructor, Gillespie, Grigg, Herard, Jenkins and Oxford gained experience in developing the infrastructure of the exhibit, including choosing the show title and poster design which includes details of each student’s art in the title’s typography. They also prepared their own work to be exhibition-ready, produced artist statements and title cards and installed dozens of additional curated works made by other students, all as part of their professional growth as working artists.“Overall there is great diversity of media, subject matter and style in the works on view in Precarious Shapes, and the student show is always the most popular event in the Eleanor Hays Gallery,” Schmitz added. “We are glad to be back in the gallery after two years of having an “online only” show, and it is also the perfect opportunity to buy original art at great prices from talented artists early in their career.”The wide variety of work on display includes watercolor, acrylic and oil painting; sculpture; pastel, pencil, charcoal and ink drawings; pottery and ceramic forms; digital media; masks; bas relief tiles and mixed media works. Select items are available for purchase. The exhibit also includes a selection of poems by students enrolled in creative writing courses.Regular gallery hours are noon - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and during events in the KPAC. The exhibit will also be open following NOC commencement Saturday, April 30.For more information about Precarious Shapes contact Schmitz at 580.628.6670 or audrey.schmitz@noc.edu.
