Eva Schlegel: Multiple Voices
Presenting Sponsor: Dobson Fiber
Through a unique public-private partnership with the City of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Contemporary sets a high bar for contemporary public art in our region at Campbell Art Park. This unique space, set just in front of our new facility and along Broadway Avenue, provides a home for public art installations, special events, educational programs and more. Perhaps most importantly, the space remains a public park, accessible to residents and visitors alike.
Made of 1.4 million feet of recycled lobster-fishing rope and painted with 350 gallons of terra cotta colored paint, Orly Genger’s Terra weaved its way through the park’s center section from October 2014 to April 2016. Tomás Saraceno’s Cloud City reflected, refracted and rearranged the skyline of downtown Oklahoma City in the fall of 2016. Erwin Redl’s Whiteout, a grid of 550 suspended LED bulbs, was an incandescent treatment of urban public space across the dark fall and winter of 2018-19.
In conjunction with Oklahoma Contemporary’s inaugural exhibition, Bright Golden Haze, Jen Lewin’s Aqueous engaged visitors as they walked along its surface — lighting up as they stepped, danced or play along the pathway. Chakaia Booker's monumental Shaved Portions, made of recycled tires stretched across steel frames, stood sentinel atop Automobile Alley. Breve historia del tiempo, by Guadalajara artist Gonzalo Lebrija, also plays on the auto theme, with a class Plymouth Duster frozen in time.
Campbell Art Park is an integral part of Oklahoma Contemporary’s new home, allowing us to actively engage the community outside our doors.
To fully activate Campbell Art Park, and to expand its accessibility and usage, Oklahoma Contemporary has received a Parks and Public Spaces Grant from the Oklahoma City Community Foundation to install lighting to illuminate temporary exhibitions and ensure the park is an inviting and welcoming space during evening or morning hours. By providing additional viewing hours, visitors to Oklahoma Contemporary (and other Automobile Alley or Innovation District businesses) can see works with the new perspective that a change of light can bring.