Follow
The only way to enter into OKC’s newest art gallery is to enter through the art itself. Crowning the entry way of Sloan Installation Gallery (SIG) is Canadian artist Shayne Dark’s eight-foot-tall wooden steeples, an installation he calls Spire. Dark is one of six artists featured in the current exhibit, titled “Strange Lands.”
“I put [Spire] in front of the door so you have to immediately engage with the art,” says Steven Battles, Director of SIG. “It draws people into it.”
The gallery, created by owner Ginger Sloan; owner and developer, Christina Fallin; and Battles, has over 2,500 square feet of public gallery space. SIG will offer a new exhibit each quarter, free of charge to the public and open four days a week.
The first exhibit, “Strange Lands,” aims to capture mankind’s reach toward heaven, as well as its roots in the earth. It consists of three Oklahoma artists and three international artists, creating a unique blend of art that complements the exhibit as a whole. The gallery’s art ranges from a life-size kaleidoscope by Japan’s, Masakazu Shirane and Saya Miyakazi, to the digital art of Kyle Van Osdol (OKC) in SIG’s Experience Room.
“We intend on maintaining a balance between Oklahoma artists and others,” says Battles. “We want that dialogue, we want to open up the Oklahoma arts scene to see things from elsewhere and not think of it as foreign, but local, in a sense. I want people to see the way the Japanese use shape, and the
n the materials of Spire with the Canadian heart to it. Seeing it together, they all complement each other. The conversation is what’s important to us.”
Located on the ground level of downtown OKC’s historic Carnegie Centre, SIG will also be available as a rental space for a host of events, such as receptions, weddings, corporate functions, and sporting event watch parties. The gallery’s digital art room expands its potential to board meetings, lectures, and presentations with the best advanced technology projection systems.
Steven Battles sees SIG reaching beyond just a place for people to experience the art and leave. “It’s a space for people to come hang out,” he says. “We’d love for downtown professionals to join us for lunch, or to have students coming in with their books. We definitely want the public to be engaged.”
His vision, he says, is to see SIG become something more than an art gallery, but an epicenter for modern art in OKC. While the downtown art community is growing, Battles believes his gallery can accelerate that growth and add its own unique flavor.
“I want to grow the arts in Oklahoma,” he says. “I want to see the things we bring here, stay here, in various places around the city and state. I want people to get involved. I want to place [Spire] next to the great architecture in Oklahoma. I want people to say, ‘how can I create something beautiful like this?’ I want to get a whole community of people coming together.”
Not only does Battles intend to bring the arts community together in a new way, but he also hopes that SIG will inspire people to remember, cherish, and open their eyes to the art of downtown that has faded into the background over the years.
“Our goal is to get our art in corporate buildings where it can give new life to the art that’s already there, as well as inspire all generations with new ideas and light their imaginations on fire,” he says.
“Because that’s what this is about—art is about taking you to a strange place and leaving you there, and making you reevaluate what you know.”
For more information, visit sigokc.org.
Photography by Aaron Gililland
Follow
