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Contemporary artist Louise Jones, aka Ouizi, has just finished painting a blooming, big and beautiful artwork titled “Summer Always Blooms” in Downtown Bentonville, produced and curated by Justkids and commissioned by OZ Art.
Ouizi was born and raised in Santa Monica, California, to Shanghainese parents and lives and worked in Detroit. She is best known for her large-scale floral mural installations that often depict site-specific plants and animals, and her education uniquely informs the techniques in drawing and printmaking. Ouizi’s affinity towards botanical subjects continues to grow, stemming from an early introduction to American master Georgia O’Keeffe and fond memories of picking figs with her grandmother.
The mural is Ouizi’s second visit to Bentonville when back in 2018, she was invited to paint a special indoor mural in honour of master O’Keeffe’s retrospective. ‘The Beyond: Georgia O’Keeffe and Contemporary Art’ at Crystal Bridges Museum.
“I am delighted and humbled to return to Bentonville to paint a new mural in the town square. When I was last here painting inside Crystal Bridges, it was Summer, so I look forward to seeing the city in the Spring!” Ouizi
For her return visit to Downtown Bentonville, Ouizi painted a bouquet of coral charm peonies, dubbed The Queen of Flowers, flowering dogwoods, and black-eyed Susans or rudbeckias.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed being back in Arkansas for this project, and I have heard nothing but positive responses about the mural. I even got to see the dogwoods start to bloom in real life!” Ouizi
The piece was produced and curated by women-led global curator group Justkids and commissioned by OZ Art, who recently partnered to bring 13 public art experiences by world-class artists, including Nina Chanel Abney, Lakwena, Camille Walala, Steve Powers, Mantra and many more, to 9 cities in Arkansas last Fall.
“We are very excited to be back in Northwest Arkansas and continue our
collaboration with OZ Art to bring a new public art piece to Bentonville. For some time Ouizi was on our radar and part of our conversation with the team at OZ Art. This building, right on Bentonville’s Town Square, is such a focal point and busy corner that we were looking for a crowd-pleaser type of piece and Ouizi, with her beautiful style and subject matter,
was the perfect match.” Charlotte Dutoit, founder of Justkids.
This is not the first time Justkids has brought public art to the Northwest Arkansas region, including Bentonville. Since 2015 the global curator group has curated and produced over 50 projects in the area, from sculptures to installations, performances, murals, and pop-up exhibitions for institutions, cities, and organizations.
Photo Credit Justkids / OZ Art
