Post Pop Considerations
An exhibition curated by George Oswalt featuring the work of William Struby, Trent Lawson, and thedirtyfabulous.
- Exhibition on display March 20-May 9 with an opening reception March 20, 7-10pm and a second reception April 17, 7-10pm as part of Film Row’s Premiere events.
Pop Art revolutionized the art world in the mid-20th century by using popular images in art works. The sense of high and low culture was integrated into consumer aesthetics. Art was endorsed by mass society and became desirable—essentially consumable. The appropriation of images and the use of collage to juxtapose images form the foundation for the Pop Art dialogue.
Post Pop Considerations is an art exhibition with three important Oklahoma artists that practice forms of Post Pop Art. William R. Struby, Trent Lawson, and Thedirtyfabulous are three artists working with free association using pop and symbolic imagery that is at once critical of and empathetic toward our highly saturated culture. Each artist explores the connections of the conscious and unconscious in their own unique approach.
William Struby’s latest body of work revolves primarily around mandalas created digitally and then combined with collaged elements. Historically the mandala represents a variety of spiritual ideas—the universe, connection with the infinite. For the artist, the mandalas represent a fuller consciousness—the circle of interconnected life and death. The characters, chosen for their dramatic appeal, interact with or react to the mandalas, suggesting different stories.
Trent Lawson takes one part 80s child, adds three parts pulp cinema, and a dash of art history, then mixes thoroughly. Season that generously with essence of irreverence. Spread liberally onto preheated consumer culture, and bake until edges are good and flaky and you have the artist’s personal recipe for kitschy velvet paintings.
Thedirtyfabulous produces relics of the modern American psyche in large-scale mixed media paintings and drawings. Referencing diverse historical, literary and pop subjects, the compositions are littered with symbolic imagery that is part satire, personal musing and broken alchemy. This body of work began in 1993 with various pieces being shown in Europe, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and New York City.
The group exhibition of these three artists results in a thought provoking dialogue of contemporary sensibility—early 21st century art at its best. Opening on March 20, 2015, Post Pop Considerations will be in the main gallery of Individual Artists of Oklahoma, 706 W Sheridan Avenue in downtown Oklahoma City, for the months of March and April. Call (405) 232–6060 for more details. www.individualartists.org