The University of Oklahoma School of Art & Art History and the Lightwell Gallery present FISH, a multimedia art exhibition, curated by OU professor and artist Cedar Marie. The exhibition explores a concern for one of the planet’s most diminishing food resources and includes sculpture, photography, video,painting, and other media from national and international artists.

FISH is on display from Tuesday, Oct. 23 through Wednesday, Nov. 7 in the OU School of Art & Art History’s Lightwell Gallery. A free, public reception will be held on Thursday, Oct. 25 from 6-8 p.m., offering a variety of locally sourced, sustainable and seasonal food, donated by LOCAL of Norman, and fish hors d’oeuvres prepared by Pepe Delgado’s.

“FISH offers us an opportunity to consider how we tend to our relationships with the food we grow, harvest, and consume,” said Cedar Marie. Artwork represented in this exhibition includes pieces from Bangkok-based photographer Jane Iverson, whose work documents the simplicity and fragility of Asian fishing culture, and Texas-based artist Christine Foerster who creates interactive installations based on green design. Other artists participating in this exhibition address issues such as Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, American kitsch, and patriotism of the 1960’s.

Coinciding with the exhibition, the School of Art & Art History welcomes visiting Guggenheim Fellowship artist, Ray Troll. Troll will give a free, public lecture on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 10:30 a.m. in the Mary Eddy and Fred Jones Auditorium at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.

Ray Troll describes his work as “quirky aquatic images based on the latest scientific discoveries… in the worlds of ichthyology & paleontology.” His paintings and drawings are a delightful commentary on the “fishy” behavior of humans. His unique blend of art and science has reached a wide range of audiences in major shows at the Smithsonian, the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and the DenverMuseum of Nature and Science. He has served as art director for the Miami Museum of Science’s Amazon Voyage traveling exhibition, and has lectured at Cornell University, Harvard and Yale. Troll has also received commissions from Tokyo’s Museum of Science and Nature and Greenpeace, and has appeared on the Discovery Channel. An exhibition based on his book Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway–written in collaboration with Dr. Kirk Johnson–is currently on tour.

Ray Troll earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, his M.F.A. in studio arts from Washington State University, and holds an honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from the University of Alaska Southeast. In 2007, Troll also received a gold medal for “Distinction in the Natural History Arts” by the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.

The University of Oklahoma’s School of Art and Art History is located in the Fred Jones Art Center (FJC), 520 Parrington Oval, in the OU Arts District. The Lightwell Gallery is located on the second floor and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and closed on holidays and weekends.

For more information on the University of Oklahoma School of Art & Art History please visit art.ou.edu. For special accommodations call 405.325.2691 or email art@ou.edu.