The Abstract Remix artists represent distinct backgrounds and approaches. Jones, who is originally from Texas but now makes Oklahoma her home, works with both paint and stained glass and hopes to merge the two media in the future. Yang lives and works in Tulsa as a mixed-media artist with Flash Flood Print Studios, where she combines her love of screenprinting, painting and collage. Originally from Portland, Ore., Smith combines graphic design, painting and graffiti writing in his works, which have been shown internationally. He is currently a muralist, street artist and tattoo artist in Tulsa. Deck, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation, works in acrylic paint, aerosols and occasional beadwork. Her collaborative mural with Chad “Nish” Earles, Earth and Sky, stands at Sheridan Avenue and Gaylord Boulevard in downtown OKC. Both Deck and Jones participated in the 2021 Sunny Daze Mural Fest.

Their body of work ranges from Smith’s angular creations filled with light and shimmer and Deck’s flora- and fauna-inspired explosions of color to Yang’s collage-inspired patchworks and Jones’ amorphous, billowing visions. All the artists are united in their commitment to large-format work that calls for viewer interpretation.

In the six years since the Oklahoma Mural Syndicate began working with local muralists to beautify the bare walls of the city, Oklahoma City leap-frogged over more established cities and organizations to become a welcoming, hospitable place for large-scale wall paintings. In 2017, Oklahoma Contemporary hosted Not For Sale: Graffiti Culture in Oklahoma, a group art show that featured 10 artists integral to the Oklahoma graffiti scene. Artists painted their pieces directly on the walls of the gallery, transforming Oklahoma Contemporary (then located at the Fairgrounds) into an amazing display of styles.

Jeremiah Matthew Davis, artistic director at Oklahoma Contemporary, said Abstract Remix is a continuation of the ideas explored with Not For Sale.

“Like Not For Sale, our 2017 exhibition highlighting Oklahoma graffiti writing and culture, Abstract Remix presents the opportunity to learn about art history and visual culture through bold, new works of contemporary art,” Davis said. “With this new exhibition, we’re inviting four artists — each of whom has developed a unique approach to abstraction — to paint murals right on our gallery walls. At the conclusion of the exhibition, the original works will disappear behind coats of paint, never to be glimpsed again.”

In addition to Oklahoma’s embrace of public art, Barrera also saw that Oklahoma had flipped the script on the power dynamics surrounding murals — the artists have more say in the final results than they have in some other communities.

“It was really like, ‘Here’s some walls; go nuts,” Barrera said. “I thought that that was really cool, because I think a lot of artists had input on the foundation of the Oklahoma Mural Syndicate and the creation of this program, so it was definitely for artists and definitely designed to showcase artists. I found that to be a very different flavor.”