MARFA, TX.- Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors will sponsor a special art exhibition featuring two internationally renowned artists, Barbara Strasen and Jenny Okun at the historic Building 98 at Fort D.A. Russell in Marfa on Friday, October 10. This event strengthens Grubb & Ellis’ ongoing dedication to the arts both in Texas and nationally. October 10 also marks the opening of the 20th Anniversary Chinati Open House Weekend, a major international art event.

Strasen will be exhibiting a new group of six, multi-part artworks in banner format. Her works are contemporary riffs on iconic Texas imagery. She will also be exhibiting a group of singular, painted lenticular artworks. Okun’s artwork consists of large-scale color photographic interpretations of buildings by Frank Gehry, Thom Mayne, Richard Meier, and many other renowned architects. Frank Gehry is quoted as saying, "Okun's photographs go right to the soul of architecture, allowing us to share her vision of the creativity of the architect."

“Marfa is a serious and well respected arts community,” said Ross Crowe, Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors’ Regional Asset Manager. “The opportunity to present this exhibition with Barbara Strasen and Jenny Okun is extremely important to Grubb & Ellis. It reinforces our commitment to the visual arts and we are excited and proud to be a part of this notable weekend.”

In conjunction with the opening, Grubb & Ellis will donate two sculptures to Building 98. The sculptures are the colorful works of the late George Sugarman. In the early 1960’s, Sugarman, along with Donald Judd, were among the first artists to create large-scale sculptures and place them directly in the viewer’s space: on the floor. These sculptures have been fully restored and will be a permanent part of the gallery’s collection.

“We are delighted to accept these inspired sculptures and add them to our permanent collection,” Mona Blocker Garcia, Building 98 representative said. “George Sugarman was a prolific artist and his work is highly regarded. This generous donation from Grubb & Ellis is greatly appreciated; we hope to continue this relationship.”

Building 98 at Fort D.A. Russell was formerly an officer’s club and bachelor officer’s quarters. The building still contains oil-on-plaster murals painted by German prisoners of war interned at the camp between 1943 and 1945, some of the few murals of this kind still in existence. All of Fort D.A. Russell was designated a National Historic Monument by the United States Department of Interior in January of 2007.

Barbara Strasen has been creating, exhibiting, and teaching for thirty years. She has pushed the boundaries of painting, photography and printmaking and the result is made up of multi-image works. The results take the form of layered lenticular artworks, paintings, drawings on transparent surfaces, and digital prints. Strasen will be exhibiting a new group of six, multi-part artworks in banner format: contemporary riffs on iconic Texas imagery. She will also be exhibiting a group of singular, painted lenticular artworks. She has exhibited extensively in Europe and the United States, achieved numerous public commissions, curated several exhibitions, and has taught at the University of California at San Diego.

Jenny Okun has traveled the world to create dazzling multilayered interpretations of buildings by Frank Gehry, Thom Mayne, Richard Meier, and many other renowned architects. Okun’s artwork consists of large-scale color photographic abstractions. Rather than produce literal representations of buildings, Okun distills their essential qualities of form, texture, color, and detail, developing a Cubist interpretation. Okun also has a new book, Variations: the Architecture.