Exhibition Dates: January 3rd – February 27, 2009
Location: 434 Julia Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Opening Reception: Saturday, January 3rd, 2005, 6 – 8pm
Gallery Hours: Monday – Saturday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Contact Info:: 504.522.1999. www.arthurrogergallery.com
The Arthur Roger Gallery is pleased to present “A Loss For Words,” a joint exhibition of recent work by Jacqueline Bishop and Douglas Bourgeois. The exhibition will be on view from January 3rd to February 27, 2009 at Arthur Roger @434. The artists will be present at the opening reception hosted by the gallery on Saturday, January 3rd from 6 to 8pm.
“A Loss for Words” brings together two artists whose works both call for a more complex communication through imagery. The exhibition is comprised of Jacqueline Bishop”s oil paintings on panel in antique frames as well as painted discarded baby shoes, along with Douglas Bourgeois’ acrylic and collage works, wood collages, and collage-based oil paintings.
To counterbalance the abundance of human indifference towards the nonhuman, Bishop uses natural world imagery such as birds, bird nests, mammals and insects as universal signifiers for reminders of our co-existence. For Bishop, a bird nest is loaded with symbolism because it is connected to humans through labor, shelter, birth, innocence and its temporary existence. Bishop literally and metaphorically explores global and landscape issues. She celebrates the beauty of nature but also conveys a sense of impending doom. In her own words, “My work is all about loss of innocence, loss of species, loss of the natural world.”
Also featured in “A Loss for Words” are Bourgeois” remarkable narrative oil paintings and school yearbook portraits. Rendered in rich detail, Bourgeois’ paintings are fused with fantasy and combine religious figures, pop-culture artifacts, as well as environmental and social issues. He explores the mysteries of human existence and portraits from found and forgotten sources.
Douglas Bourgeois was born in 1951 and raised on a small farm in the rural southern Louisiana community of St. Amant in Ascension Parish. After graduating from Louisiana State University in 1974 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and working in New Orleans for several years, he returned to St. Amant in 1981 to live.
Jacqueline Bishop earned her Bachelor of Arts at the University of New Orleans and Master of Fine Arts at Tulane University. She is presently an adjunct professor of Art at Loyola University where she is teaching a course on “Art and the Environment.”
For additional information contact the gallery at 504.522.1999 or visit our Web site www.arthurrogergallery.com.