Oklahoma Artist to Exhibit Work at OSU, Proceeds Benefit Doel Reed Center for the Arts Fund

Friday, October 2, 2009

Lynn Schwartz paintings to be showcased in the OSU Foundation’s Malinda Berry Fischer Gallery until Dec. 31

(STILLWATER, Okla., Sept. 30, 2009) – Lynn Schwartz’s “Meaningful Images” exhibit will be on display in the OSU Foundation’s Malinda Berry Fischer Gallery until Dec. 31. Schwartz will donate 20 percent of each sale to scholarships benefitting OSU’s Doel Reed Center for the Arts.  Doel Reed was OSU’s first director of the Department of Art and his daughter, Martha, has donated the family estate in Taos, N.M., creating the interdisciplinary creativity center.

“It will be a pleasure to donate to the Doel Reed Center,” said Schwartz, who has a degree in fine arts from the University of Oklahoma. “Also, I certainly had an admiration for not only Doel Reed’s work, but the fact he came here in 1924 and he was the art faculty.”

“Meaningful Images” encompasses a variety of Schwartz’s new work. Many are oil paintings of Payne County landscapes. The free opening reception for is set for Oct. 8 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Malinda Berry Fischer Gallery located inside the OSU Foundation building.

Schwartz said she hopes her locales will suggest memories to her viewers, no matter where they live. The works are meant to be universal.

Schwartz is originally from Oklahoma City, but for more than 35 years she lived out of state and in Bartlesville before her family decided to make Stillwater home. She earned a liberal arts degree from Pine Manor in Wellesley, Mass., before attaining her fine arts degree at OU.

For Schwartz, art is a necessity in life. It has been with her since she was young and continues with her today.

“Art for me is breathing,” Schwartz said. “It is sustaining for me as life goes on with its ups and downs.”

Schwartz appreciates what Reed did for OSU and the students he taught. The DRCA is an opportunity she is elated to support.

“He (Reed) created a particular style that is his very own and I am certain that his creativity inspired students,” Schwartz said. “I was a delighted, and it is very important to me to contribute to this cause because I believe in it.”

Named in honor of the Foundation’s former board chairman, the Malinda Berry Fischer Gallery showcases Oklahoma and OSU artists.  The gallery serves to strengthen the connection between Oklahoma State University and the OSU Foundation.  The gallery is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.