Gayle L. Curry
Artist Bio
Gayle L. Curry is an artist from Oklahoma who advocates for the arts. Her art was commissioned for an installation at the Samis Education Center in the OU Complex. She has shown her art at the Oklahoma State Capitol, Gaylord Pickens Museum, Science Museum, and many other places in Oklahoma. Gayle was accepted into the Oklahoma Arts Council Leadership Arts Program and was the 2015-2016 Skirvin-Hilton Artist in Residence. Her studio can be found at Studio Six Gallery in the Paseo Arts District.
Having worked with a variety of media and subjects, Gayle has found her true passion in encaustic wax. This unique medium offers her the perfect balance between precision and freedom; she can manipulate the wax in a way that is both sculptural and painterly. Her art is imbued with energy and a sense of movement that comes from the shifting and melting of the wax. Each piece is a journey, a moment captured in time and space. She invites you to enter her world and experience the beauty of encaustic wax.
Artist Work
Title: Color the Way Installation
Category: Visual Arts
Genre: Encaustic Painting
Description: Color the Way is an exploration of internalizing and directly experiencing the great wisdom of the Tao Te Ching. Tao Te Ching translates to “live and apply the Great Way.” This ancient Chinese text consists of spiritual teachings, folk wisdom, political instruction, observations of nature, and mystical insights. In this installation, I interpreted the 81 verses authored by Lao Tzu, a Chinese prophet.
I read, studied, sketched, and journaled about each verse to uncover the personal truth each has to offer. I achieved personal revelations during this journey, which I translated into each painting. I employed a technique of applying layers of pigments and encaustic wax to capture the essence of each verse. The paintings correspond to the 81 verses of the Tao.
Through this installation, I aim to capture the heart and spirit of the Tao Te Ching and inspire visitors to explore and appreciate the mystical teachings of the Way.
Title: Samis Education Center Installation
Category: Visual Arts
Genre: Encaustic Painting
Description: I was commissioned by Miles and Associates Architect firm to create over 100 paintings for the new Children’s Physicians Building (Samis Education Center) that is attached to the OU Children's Hospital. The displayed photo is a set of 12 paintings created for one sitting area outside the auditorium. This set of paintings is called "Living by Melting into Harmony - 1." The 10-panel installation is 10 feet wide by 4 feet tall. The two inset paintings on the adjacent wall are each 27.5” wide x 47.75” tall. All are encaustic paintings on birch wood panels with 1" cradle boards.
Title: Beautiful Chaos
Category: Visual Arts
Genre: Encaustic Painting
Description: 24" x 24" Abstract Encaustic on Birch Wood.
Painting with encaustics (wax) is an ancient art form that mixes beeswax and dammar resin crystals to create the medium, and then dry pigment or oil paint is mixed in to create color. It must be kept hot (about 200 degrees) during painting. It is applied with bristle brushes in layers to an absorbent surface, such as birch wood panels. The layers are fused with a propane torch. The word encaustic comes from the ancient Greek, meaning "to burn in."
Location
Suburb 2 73112