Virginia Sitzes: Navigating Back to My Birthday Suit

• December 3 – January 12, 2021
• Visitor Center, Crystal Bridge Conservatory
• FREE to see during regular hours, daily 9 am-5 pm, Sunday 11 am-5 pm

Virginia Sitzes is a printmaker, painter, and muralist living in Oklahoma City. She has exhibited regionally, taught workshops, been the drawing and painting liaison at Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain, and is also a printmaking mentor for Artspace at Untitled’s high school mentorship program. In addition, Sitzes is an active arts organizer, co-founding the emerging artist collective, Art Group OKC, and serves as operations coordinator for the Connect: Collect, an international print exchange. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Sitzes earned a bachelor’s degree in printmaking in 2017.

My work is a process of letting go. It is a visual manifestation of my inner thoughts. I play with process and abstraction while letting my brain subconsciously deal with moments, memories, and thoughts. I am primarily a printmaker, however, I like to experiment—start with a blank slate and gradually add a screen print, some paint, and other various elements are chosen intuitively. I love the risk involved in not knowing how certain elements will respond to each other, and the pleasure of witnessing new colors and shapes emerge. I am always collaborating, both with my community and fellow artists and with my tools, making space for what each one might provide.

Navigating Back to My Birthday Suit is a reflection of my human experience, and a search to uncover the moments, memories, and layers that have been hidden, intentionally or not. If you can relate to any of this, cheers my friend.