September 30 - November 4, 2023
From Valley House Gallery:
“The Parthenon marble frieze housed at The British Museum was the springboard for Michael O‘Keefe‘s series of 50 graphite drawings, Conversations with Ancient Stones. A book has been published to document the work, with each drawing juxtaposed next to O‘Keefe‘s photographs of the marble reliefs. Valley House Gallery is pleased to offer all 50 drawings, with a selection of 13 on view.
Paris-based art historian Stephanie Nadalo, PhD, writes, “Michael O‘Keefe invites viewers to participate in a visual and conceptual dialogue between past and present, between ancient sculpture and contemporary drawing. Whereas academic artists in the past sought to faithfully reproduce copies or idealistically emulate the classical style, O‘Keefe responds to the ancient marbles in a dialogic manner that acknowledges the monument’s complex history while freely injecting elements of fantasy, contemporaneity, and pictorial experimentation into each scene… offering a fresh pictorial language that thrives independently from its ancient source.”
Michael O‘Keefe earned his MFA from SMU and teaches at The O‘Keefe Studio Center in Richardson, Texas. O‘Keefe maintains a studio practice focused on figurative sculpture and drawing. Valley House Gallery has represented his work since 2009.”
Artist talk: November 2, 2023 | 6:30–8 pm
at the Meadows Museum on the SMU campus, followed by a book signing.
6616 Spring Valley Road
Dallas, 75254 TX
(972) 239-2441
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