Transitions symbolized through animals in art show
EDMOND — Feathers, birds, butterflies and horses symbolize “Transitions” in a show by Jennifer Cocoma Hustis at the Fine Arts Institute of Edmond, 27 E Edwards.
The “Transitions: Finding Joy” exhibit runs through Nov. 21, along with ceramics by Espanta Steppe.
Hustis said of the show’s theme that most of the works “were created in the past two weeks since my father transitioned from life through death.”
Echoing the exhibit’s title is a 68-by-48-inch acrylic canvas called “Transitions: Finding Joy,” in which an owl flies directly at us.
Behind the owl, in this work, a speckled gray, blue and white horse rears while a monarch butterfly and its outline exit into the starry night sky.
Paint drips off a gray paint pony, or appaloosa, with feathers in its mane and tale as a white bird lifts into the red sky, in another work called simply “Transitions.”
A rearing palomino “Lead Stallion” expresses the male principle well, and a red-brown “Tail Feather” stands out dramatically, in two very large, vertical Hustis acrylics.
Birds and butterflies seem to fly through the outlines of horses in several smaller Hustis mixed media works and a print, expressing joy, or that “it’s easier in nature.”
Hustis, who received her master’s at the Pratt Institute in New York City, has worked more than 20 years at the Edmond art center and founded the Art of Horsemanship.
Hustis described the latter as offering a “safe, holistic, creative” approach to horsemanship, as well as art lessons for all ages.
Steppe, who also lives in the Edmond area, combines ceramics with other materials well in her mostly stoneware jewelry, cups, vessels and window-hanging bells.
The two-person exhibit is highly recommended during its run.