ArtNow 2025: Materials and Boundaries

September 18, 2025–February 15, 2026
Eleanor Kirkpatrick Main Gallery

Organized by Guest Curator Alexa Goetzinger and Guest Curatorial Assistant Virginia Sitzes, Materials and Boundaries is the 2025 edition of the Oklahoma Contemporary ArtNow biennial exhibition, highlighting new and recent art from a selection of artists active in the state.

This exhibition is an exploration of Oklahoman identity showcasing work created by contemporary artists utilizing the themes of place and self with experimental materials and new practices.

Oklahoma has a complicated past which has shaped both the landscape and the people living within its boundaries. Many artists explore how place and identity can be manifested through materiality, but contemporary Oklahoma artists have an interesting position based on where they find themselves geographically. The state is not considered south, midwest, or west; Oklahomans are directly in the center—a difficult place to define while being an all-encompassing mixture and a nonentity.

The artists selected for ArtNow have a range of unique perspectives regarding their relationship to the Oklahoma cities in which they live and their broader familial histories of living within this state. They present thoughtful, nuanced, and methodical practices attuned to global trends while remaining grounded in the cultural and environmental shifts shaping contemporary Oklahoma.

Ceramics covered in Braille in front of a wall with Braille writing

Amy Sanders de Melo, Am I? (2025), foreground, and Myself (2025), background, detail. Photo by Blake Studdard

Artists in the exhibition

About the Guest Curator
Alexa Goetzinger is a nonprofit professional, independent curator, development consultant, and grant writer based in Oklahoma City. Goetzinger was born and raised in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and has degrees in fine art and art history from the University of Oklahoma. From 2019-2023 Goetzinger co-curated a national annual print exchange, Connect: Collect, and coinciding exhibition, Print as Object, for Oklahoma City University’s Hulsey Gallery.

Goetzinger has worked as a development consultant for Sunny Dayz Mural Festival, Education Director for Artspace at Untitled, and Associate Director of Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, where she administered both the program and national catalog for Art 365 (2021) and Concept (2020). She has worked with the Paseo Arts Association as a mentor for FEAST and as a curator for Print on Paseo. In her spare time, Goetzinger is an advocate for arts education and integration programs in the state of Oklahoma.

Find related programs here

ArtNow: Materials and Boundaries is supported by ABC Office Furniture, Allied Arts, Ann Lacy Foundation, ARTDESK, BancFirst & BancFirst Trust, Beadles Portraits, Beck Design, Bedré Fine Chocolate, Annie Bohanon, Susan Esco Chandler, The Chickasaw Nation, Robert and Sody Clements, Randy and Mendi Coleman, E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation, Rand and Jeanette Elliott, The Evans Family Fund, Ken and Mary Ann Fergeson, Mrs. Raena Ford, Kirsten and David Griffin, James Hatcher, Dr. Latisha Heinlen, Eli Hellman, Joe and Lori Hodges, Leslie and Clifford Hudson, Rudy Hymer and Tripp Hall, Inasmuch Foundation, Johnson & Associates, Kam's Kookery, Farooq Karim and Blossom Crews, Christian Keesee, Kimray, Kirkpatrick Bank, Kirkpatrick Family Fund, Lingo Construction Services, Lively Beerworks, Main Street Parking, McAfee & Taft, Ryan Coe on behalf of the Merrick Foundation, MidFirst Bank, G. David Neff and Suzanne Peck, Lynda and Chuck Nelson, A New Leaf, O’Connor Family Foundation/Kim and Joe O’Connor, OG&E, Oklahoma Arts Council, Parrish DeVaughn, James A. Pickel, QUAD Construction, George Records, Robinson Park, Linda and Steve Slawson, Sooner Valet, Spectrum Dermatology, SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital, Takaramono, Glenna and Dick Tanenbaum, Tyler Media, Velocigo, Visit OKC, The Williams Family, and Willoughby Development.

Images:

Installation view of ArtNow 2025: Materials and Boundaries, including, left to right, Mary Claire Becker’s Tulipmania (2019-2025), Leticia R. Bajuyo’s Loop: Gravity Repeated (2025), and Kirsten Griffin’s Country Road (2023). Photo by Blake Studdard.

Installation view of ArtNow 2025: Materials and Boundaries. Photo: Blake Studdard.

Installation view of ArtNow 2025: Materials and Boundaries, including Đan Lynh Phạm’s I Bear the Fruit of My Ancestors (2024), wall, and Tre Già, Măng Mọc (2025), floor. Photo by Blake Studdard.

Kendall Ross, I Remember Thinking It Would Change, 2024. Hand-knit with wool. Courtesy Kouri + Corrao Gallery. Photo by Blake Studdard.

Maria Do Anderson, Laundry Day. Photo by Maria Do Anderson in collaboration with Galit Aloni.

Amy Sanders de Melo, Am I? (2025), foreground, and Myself (2025), background, detail. Photo by Blake Studdard.