Events

About the Artist:
William Dunlap is an artist, writer, arts advocate, and commentator with a career spanning more than four decades. He has exhibited internationally, and his work is included in numerous public and private collections. The American landscape is a central element in his work. Dunlap describes his work as Hypothetical Realism, as he states is, “The places and situations I paint aren’t real…but they could be.” Dunlap maintains studios in Coral Gables, Florida; McLean, Virginia; and Mathison, Mississippi.

Artist’s Statement About the Exhibition:
The paintings and single construction in this exhibition are good and true examples of my artistic practice and concerns. The works on paper are oil paint and dry pigment and those on canvas are polymer paint with the occasional addition of gold leaf. The construction, Three Dog Allegory, is made of found and fashioned objects and represents a direction I’m working in more and more.

The landscape is about a sense of place and is a constant in what I do. I owe a great deal to the literature of our region, both its content and process of making. I’d like to think these pieces are informed by if not about history. This history can be of a personal nature like the Starnes House in Hunting and Pecking, or more universal and allegorical as in Landscape with Memory or the Brand Loyalty pieces that have to do with painter’s pants, work shirts and Civil War tunics. These pieces speak to a fierce loyalty to one brand or the other and reference a loyalty that brought our nation to the edge of disunion.

The animals, the dogs and buffalo that appear here, are always symbols standing in for an often absent human presence, the only exception is Late Light – Umbrian Hill Town. This diptych is the earliest work in the exhibition and features a nude female model situated in an ancient cemetery outside the Umbrian village of Todi. It’s a slight departure from the other paintings who feature defunct cotton gins, other agri-buildings and hunting dogs, but the concerns are the same and the choice of subject matter in each work is nothing if not democratic.

I often call what I do “Hypothetical Realism.” This began as a tongue in cheek response to the Art World’s obsession with categorization. The longer I work the more I realize the relevance of the phrase. The places and objects I paint aren’t real, but they could be. Hence, “Hypothetical Realism.”

About the Exhibition:

The Masur Museum of Art’s Annual Juried Competition showcases contemporary artists throughout the United States of America working in any medium. First started in 1964, the Annual Juried Competition is the Masur Museum’s longest-running tradition and one of its best-reviewed exhibitions each year. Annually, 700-1000 recent artworks are submitted by artists all over the nation, in all styles and media.

Announcing this year’s guest juror:
Susan Baley
The Annual Juried Competition is also a chance to exhibit some of the United States’ best curatorial talent. This year, the Masur Museum is excited to invite Susan Baley to judge the submitted artworks and select the cash award winners. Susan Baley returned to Oklahoma in November 2018 to become the Executive Director of 108 Contemporary. Located in the Tulsa Arts District, 108 Contemporary provides exhibition space for the most innovative contemporary craft from Oklahoma and around the world, exposing the region to the world of fine craft. The nonprofit gallery is known for its community partnerships that connect vulnerable populations with contemporary craft. Currently, Baley is the Director of Grinnell College Museum of Art in Grinnell, IA.

Exhibition on View November 19 – February 5, 2021
Public Reception: Friday, November 19, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Curator’s Talk with Anne Marie Sawkins, Ph.D.: 6:00 pm
FREE and open to the public

This exhibition was curated by Annemarie Sawkins, Ph.D., and Martha Chaiklin, Ph.D., and generously loaned from the collection of Jan Serr and John Shannon. Featuring over 50 Japanese color woodblock prints, this exhibition explores the art of woodblock prints and the history, stories, and costumes of Japanese Noh theater at the turn of the 20th century. Artist Tsukioka Kōgyo (1869–1927) came of age in the Meji era (1868–1912), a period of modernization when Japan was opened to world trade after more than two hundred years of relative isolation. Kōgyo specialized in depictions of Noh Theater, a classical art form that until then had primarily been enjoyed by social elites. This changed at the end of the 19th century, however, when Noh Theater expanded in popularity and was embraced by the middle class. Kōgyo’s numerous paintings were translated into a series of woodblock prints, including Pictures of Noh (1897–1902), One Hundred Noh Dramas (1922–1926), and Encyclopedia of Noh plays, (1925–1930). This exhibition and accompanying programming are generously supported through a grant from the Toshiba International Foundation. Information on accompanying programming to go along with this exhibition will be forthcoming.

Funding provided by:
This exhibition and accompanying programming are generously supported through a grant from the Toshiba International Foundation.