"Our Inheritance"
Exhibit C Gallery Opens Latest First American Art Exhibit July 1 “Our Inheritance” explores native heritage through nature and landscapes.
Oklahoma City, Okla.— A new exhibit titled “Our Inheritance” will open on July 1 at Exhibit C Gallery in Bricktown, Oklahoma City. The installation showcases artwork by four First American artists representing Chickasaw, Choctaw, Potawatomi, and Western Shoshone nations.
“Our Inheritance” celebrates the vital link between nature and First American culture with unique and personal interpretations of landscapes by artists Brent Brander (Chickasaw), Alexandra Brodt (Choctaw), Peter Paul Bruno (Potawatomi), and Topaz Jones McCoy (Western Shoshone). From vibrant mesas to other-worldly terrains, these artists offer a glimpse into the rich subliminal ties and lasting significance the land has in native cultures.
“This exhibition is a tribute to the landscape’s vital role in First American heritage,” said Paige Williams Shepherd, director of tourism for the Chickasaw Nation. “Each artist’s personal interpretation comes alive on canvas, and it is powerful to see.”
Brent Brander, a Chickasaw citizen, uses oil on canvas to create his landscape paintings. “I love to capture what light gives and takes from an environment or atmosphere. The abstraction of how I would like the viewer to see the moment,” said Brander. “Using a large palette knife, brushes and oil sticks, I create what nature gives me and give it back to the viewer.” Brander went to Oklahoma State University and the Kansas City Art Institute. While he has a 40+ year career in advertising, Brander’s talent for art started at an early age, and he continues to celebrate the natural world and his heritage through art. “Through my paintings, I aim to capture the vast beauty, complexity, and diversity of the landscapes that surround us. We are more than the homeland of Tennessee, Georgia and Kentucky. Or the adopted land of southern Oklahoma,” he said. “Every landscape has its own unique spirit and energy, and it is my goal to capture and convey these qualities to the viewer through my art.”
Choctaw Native Alexandra Brodt received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2010. Alex owns a small business where she specializes in graphic design and illustration and travels the nation as an artist at Anime and Comic conventions. She also sells merchandise on her website, with many of the items inspired by her cats. Brodt will showcase her “Dreamscapes” series for this exhibition, a colorful display of nature through illustration inspired by Brodt’s vivid dreams. “It feels like a story, something I’m searching to piece together and tell. Elements from native stories are big, imaginative and magical, I can feel those qualities resonating in these pieces,” she said. Brodt is also a member of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators Oklahoma chapter.
Peter Paul Bruno, a Potawatomi citizen and Oklahoma native, shares landscapes’ beauty through oil paintings and other mixed mediums. “As a Native American artist, I am deeply inspired by the beauty and complexity of my cultural heritage. Through my art, I seek to explore the intricate relationships between the land, the people, and the spirit world,” he said. “I like to use bold brushstrokes, vivid colors, and elaborate details to capture the vibrancy, energy and richness of Native American stories and traditions.” One work in the exhibit, “Shaman Dreams #1,” is inspired by his time growing up on a reservation in Arizona. “This painting is inspired by parts of the Navajo creation story and brings me memories of living on the Navajo reservation as a child,” he said. Bruno is both a full-time artist and an energy healer.
Western Shoshone Native Topaz Jones McCoy resides in La Mesilla, New Mexico. She started taking oil painting classes at just ten years old. Since then, she’s earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico and a Museum Studies certificate. McCoy uses symbolism, surrealism and self-portraiture in several of her paintings, creating a contemporary feel. Her First-American roots are a massive inspiration for each of her works. “They are infused with my multi-cultural identity, which is important for me to capture and express because I believe that exploring self-identity sets artists apart. Introspection can create unique stories and images that can’t be replicated or appropriated because they are solely my experience,” said McCoy. She works as an Identity Project Art Educator and Native American Student Services Liaison for the Santa Fe Public Schools.
“Our Inheritance” opens on July 1 at Exhibit C Gallery at 1 E. Sheridan Avenue in downtown Oklahoma City. It will run through October 31. There will be an opening reception from 4 to 5 p.m. on July 8. Exhibit C Gallery is the Bricktown district’s premiere art and retail space showcasing a diversity of arts and culture from First American artists. All artists’ works are for sale. For more information, call 405.767.8900 or visit online at ExhibitCGallery.com.