What to do in Oklahoma on June 1, 2012: See sculptures by Glenna Goodacre at JRB Art at the Elms

Today’s featured event:

See artwork by Glenna Goodacre, who is known as “America’s Sculptor,”at JRB Art at the Elms, 2810 N Walker in the Paseo Arts District.

Goodacre is previewing several new works at the gallery this month. Her show will open with a reception from 6 to 10 tonight during the monthly Paseo Gallery Walk. Several other galleries in the district also will open new exhibitions during tonight’s festivities.

Glenna Goodacre's "Spotted Tail"

The Goodacre exhibit will include a 10-foot bronze of “Spotted Tail” created this year as well as a new 3-foot bronze of a young ballet dancer. The exhibition also will feature some of the most celebrated and beloved sculptures created throughout her career, including 31 bronze miniature sculptures mounted on acrylic and bronze pedestals and 19 bronze portrait reliefs.

The exhibition will be on view through June 30. The artist will be in attendance at the JRB Art at The Elms’ Eighth Annual Prix de West Brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, June 10.

In public, private, municipal and museum collections across America, Goodacre’s bronze sculptures are immediately recognizable for their lifelike, compelling expression, rich texture and dramatic composition.

“Her work captures the essence of the human spirit that reaches out, touches us and draws us to it,” says JRB gallery director Joy Reed Belt in a news release. “People can walk up and touch them; they want to look in the eyes.” This appeal is a defining characteristic of Goodacre’s sculpture.

The world knows Goodacre’s work from her design of the Sacagawea gold dollar coin. After a nationwide competition in 1999, Goodacre’s rendering for the face of the coin was unveiled at the White House by Hillary Clinton. Continuously minted since 2000, the dollar is currently being re-released with a new reverse featuring Native American themes. After creating Sacajawea and Jean Baptiste’s faces for the gold dollar, the artist decided to make a full 8-foot three-dimensional sculpture honoring the intrepid Shoshone Indian interpreter who accompanied Louis and Clark’s remarkable expedition to explore the American West in 1805. The City of Edmond purchased her Sacajawea sculpture; it will be installed at Hafer Park later this year.