An exhibition featuring an art professor’s world-circling approach to landscape painting will be featured in OCU University’s art gallery this spring.
“Liz Roth: Interpreting Place†will feature works from the artist’s ongoing global project, “40آ° North Latitude.†It will be on display in ذكذكتسئµâ€™s 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 “40آ° North Latitude,†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’s 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’s art delves into the underlying layers and traces left by time and human activity.
“I am motivated to demonstrate the power of observation and aesthetics as a mechanism of intellectual inquiry,†Roth said. “My 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’s usage contributes to wealth and poverty.â€
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’s 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.