An exhibition featuring an art professor鈥檚 world-circling approach to landscape painting will be featured in 野狼社区 University鈥檚 art gallery this spring.
鈥淟iz Roth: Interpreting Place鈥� will feature works from the artist鈥檚 ongoing global project, 鈥�40掳 North Latitude.鈥� It will be on display in OCU鈥檚 Nona Jean Hulsey Art Gallery from March 10 to May 30, with an evening reception at 5 p.m. April 3.
The gallery is inside the Norick Art Center at 1608 NW 26th St. Hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
, a renowned painter and visual arts professor at Oklahoma State University, infuses her landscapes with social, environmental, optical and phenomenological themes. For 鈥�40掳 North Latitude,鈥� Roth travels along the 40th parallel, drawing and painting the landscapes she encounters. The project highlights the environmental and historical richness of the 40th parallel, which crosses Europe, Asia, North America and the Atlantic Ocean. Roth鈥檚 method of drawing on-site and interacting with local communities adds depth and immediacy to her work.
The 40th parallel is a historically significant line across the U.S. including the Mason-Dixon line and the Kansas-Nebraska border, and is the subject of other famous geological surveys. Globally, the latitude runs through or near numerous important cities and areas like Philadelphia, Madrid, Majorca, Naples, Istanbul and Beijing along with much of the terrestrial silk route. The latitude encompasses a tremendous diversity of ecosystems: deserts, forests, beaches and landforms.
Roth鈥檚 art delves into the underlying layers and traces left by time and human activity.
鈥淚 am motivated to demonstrate the power of observation and aesthetics as a mechanism of intellectual inquiry,鈥� Roth said. 鈥淢y work reveals how representational art can lead to questioning and learning about the world. As a resident of Oklahoma, I think a lot about the history of this location. I have chosen to depict land because how we perceive and value land is fundamental to ideas of identity and nationhood, concepts of ownership, and how land鈥檚 usage contributes to wealth and poverty.鈥�
Roth is an oil painter and professor of painting and drawing. She has served as the interim director for the Oklahoma State University Museum of Art. Roth鈥檚 work has been exhibited in more than 100 competitive exhibitions, including more than a dozen solo exhibitions. Her art has been acquired by prestigious institutions such as the Walker Museum of Art, the Museu del Joguet in Spain and the Museum of Awa Japanese Paper.
