ARTISTS
Rivers & Roads: Steven Yazzie in Action
The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma will open Rivers & Roads: Steven Yazzie in Action on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. The exhibition presents works created in Colorado from two of Yazzie’s ongoing series—Drawing & Driving and Drifting & Painting—which explore movement, place, and our evolving relationship with the environment. In these projects, Yazzie introduces motion into the creative process itself, producing spontaneous works shaped by speed, rhythm, and natural forces.
Drawing & Driving began in 2006 at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and has evolved to include works made in Denver’s urban parks. Drifting & Painting extends this approach to Colorado’s rivers. Both series are accompanied by video, emphasizing the role of movement, environment, and chance.
"The process of unpredictable travel translates into a visual language all its own," Yazzie said.
During the exhibition, Yazzie will create a new work in his Drawing & Driving series on the OU Norman campus in collaboration with the OU Crimson Camera Club and Emilie Upczak, Assistant Professor for Film and Media Studies in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences. Yazzie, a Gulf War veteran with the United States Marine Corps, will build on a long-standing museum partnership by meeting with the Recreation Therapy Department at the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center. On campus, Yazzie will meet with veteran students through the Military Connected and Veteran Student Success Center. OU’s military-connected community comprises over 12% of the student body.
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The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma will open Rivers & Roads: Steven Yazzie in Action on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. The exhibition presents works created in Colorado from two of Yazzie’s ongoing series—Drawing & Driving and Drifting & Painting—which explore movement, place, and our evolving relationship with the environment. In these projects, Yazzie introduces motion into the creative process itself, producing spontaneous works shaped by speed, rhythm, and natural forces.
Drawing & Driving began in 2006 at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and has evolved to include works made in Denver’s urban parks. Drifting & Painting extends this approach to Colorado’s rivers. Both series are accompanied by video, emphasizing the role of movement, environment, and chance.
"The process of unpredictable travel translates into a visual language all its own," Yazzie said.
During the exhibition, Yazzie will create a new work in his Drawing & Driving series on the OU Norman campus in collaboration with the OU Crimson Camera Club and Emilie Upczak, Assistant Professor for Film and Media Studies in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences. Yazzie, a Gulf War veteran with the United States Marine Corps, will build on a long-standing museum partnership by meeting with the Recreation Therapy Department at the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center. On campus, Yazzie will meet with veteran students through the Military Connected and Veteran Student Success Center. OU’s military-connected community comprises over 12% of the student body.
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