PRESS RELEASE
Featuring artworks by LETICIA GALIZZI, JIM KEFFER, & STELLA THOMAS
Just as the sun appears to stand still on Winter Solstice Day in December, the Gallery’s cumulative exhibition begins in November and ends in December. In both November and December we are featuring the work of three different artists: Leticia Galizzi, Jim Keffer, and Stella Thomas. Each of these artists has a distinctive voice that has been shaped by their unique personal histories and life experiences.
Leticia Galizza was born in Brazil and has a Master's Degree in Applied Linguistics from Brazil and an M.F.A. in painting from the University of Oklahoma. She joined the OU faculty teaching Portuguese at OU in 2018 and also teaches art at the Fire House Art Center in Norman and at Oklahoma City College. In her paintings, Leticia explores contradictions—between ornamentation and abstraction; planned backgrounds and unplanned gestures. The tile patterns she uses signify the grid of values and principles internalized throughout one’s life that serve as guiding principles to one’s decisions and choices. The tension that can be found in the paintings mirrors the shifting dynamic between what one would like to be and what one is.
Jim Keefer, is a self-taught artist whose work is born from a lifetime of observing places in the landscape, as well as places of the heart. After spending his first 47 years of observing and thinking, Jim picked up a paint brush and began to paint in a style that he refers to as modern primitive. In his new body of work, “Light on the Landscape,” Jim has worked to capture “the artist’s primal moment” when the light perfectly illuminates the landscape. “Light changes, comes and goes, and changes the landscape. It has been said that one cannot cross the same river twice. I will say one never sees the same landscape twice. Those fleeting moments become my paintings.” He frequently travels from Oklahoma City to New Mexico, where he photographs and studies the land and all the objects that become fodder for his paintings. Jim lives in Oklahoma City with his wife Laurie, a dog and several cats,
and paints in a studio in Guthrie that he calls “Rhythms". He promises to retire when
he is so incapacitated that the paint brush falls from his hand.
Stella Thomas was born in Kuantan, Malaysia. She grew up helping her mother make most of the family’s clothing and soon began incorporating her own unique style to the designs. She attended the Paris American Fashion Academy, FITC, in Kuala Lumpur, graduating first in her class and winning a scholarship to study in Paris. She has since lived in the US and Thailand, working with several couture designers, and creating unique pieces for celebrities, diplomates, pageant contestants and members of the royal families of Malaysia and Thailand. Her designs are bold pieces of art with timeless elegance that she hopes stir your soul.
In November, Stella will be presenting an exhibit “Felted Art,” where she will present elaborate wall hangings and a few wearable fashion items made from lamb’s wool, as well as her distinctive jewelry. Stella often goes to sheep farms and helps shear the wool from the animals. She then spends hours combing, dyeing, and felting the wool before fashioning it into decorative and often wearable objects of art. In December, Stella will restock the gallery with clothes, jewelry, and other fashionable items for which she has garnered an international audience. Every detail in her work expresses a love of beauty and a strong tradition of artisanal craftsmanship.
Join us November 4th for all three shows opening on First Friday from 6 to 9pm! Complimentary Hors d'oeuvres and drinks will be provided. JRB Art at the Elms gallery is located at 2810 N Walker, Oklahoma City.
For more information contact Joy Reed Belt : (405) 528-6336 or visit our website : www.jrbartgallery.com
JRB Art at The Elms presents a diverse roster of emerging, established, and internationally exhibited artists who create in a wide range of media including : paintings, drawings, sculpture, ceramics, glass, fine crafts, functional objects, fiber art, and photographs. This 8,000 square foot award-winning gallery in Oklahoma City’s Paseo Arts District presents its exhibits in a gracious environment that fosters a dialogue between the arts and the larger community while providing quality art for the first time buyers as well as individual, corporate, and museum collections.