Area residents have until Friday to see more than two dozen abstract works by Oklahoma City artist Mary Nickell at the Art Gallery of the University of Science and Arts. Gallery hours are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. The gallery is located in Davis Hall on the USAO campus.

“Mary’s work offers a fresh and exciting abstract style that reflects emotions ranging from loneliness to vitality,” said Layne Thrift, assistant director of the USAO Art Gallery. Nickell’s work includes oil paintings, mixed media, collage and sculpture.

Nickell began painting in 1984 and currently works with an array of media. Her award-winning work has been included in many local and national exhibits, as well as private collections throughout the country.

“Use of color, line and texture present a mood and images appear after many layers of paint and materials. I don’t intentionally begin with a subject but sometimes conclude with a semblance of past experiences, memorable places or fantasies,” Nickell says.

The 75 year-old artist describes herself as “a native Oklahoman with a rural background” whose interest in art began in elementary school and has intensified throughout her life.

Nickell started painting at the age of 50 in workshops where she met friends who had similar interests. After painting at home for several years, she moved to Studio Six in The Paseo – the arts district in Oklahoma City. Nickell says that she paints or assembles most days in her studio space.

Nickell’s goal in art is “to reject the trite and create work that challenges me.”

For more information about the show or the gallery, call Thrift at 405-574-1239 or visit www.usao.edu/gallery/.