Exhibition Dates: March 3 – March 31, 2012
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 3 from 6 – 8 pm
Gallery Location: 432 Julia Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Contact Info: 504.522.1999; www.arthurrogergallery.com
The Arthur Roger Gallery is pleased to present “200: Art Inspired by 200 Years of Louisiana Statehood,” an exhibition of paintings by Francis X. Pavy. The exhibition will be on view at Arthur Roger Gallery, located at 432 Julia Street, from March 3 – March 31, 2012. The gallery will host an opening reception Saturday, March 3 from 6-8 pm.
Red Raft, 2012. Block print and oil on canvas. 34 x 54 inches.
Francis Pavy is a visual narrator of South Louisiana’s vibrant culture. The selected works in “200: Art Inspired by 200 Years of Louisiana Statehood” are not historical representations; rather, they are all new pieces inspired by events, people and themes that have figured in the history of Louisiana.
The common element weaving these various strands together is the Mississippi River. Water, whether going with the current or against it, has been crucial to the story of Louisiana and provides the central theme of Pavy’s series. One of his inspirations for the collection is the historical figure Captain Shreve, namesake of Shreveport, who led the effort to break up the massive Red Raft logjam in the 1830s. Pavy’s painting “Red Raft” features layered and stacked images of logs, water and nautical motifs, and is his visualization of the imagery that Shreve’s story brings to mind.
Pavy is one of Louisiana’s most recognized artists. His work pulses with color and musical rhythm, grounding abstract dimensions in Southern motifs that play on themes of mysticism, love, nature, humor and friendship. Pavy’s work has been included in over 20 major exhibitions worldwide and his paintings are in the permanent collections at the Morris Museum of Art, New Orleans Museum of Art, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the collections of Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Ron Howard, Lorne Michaels, Walker Percy, Chef John Besh and Roger Ogden, among others.
Francis Pavy graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1976. He originally worked as a sculptor, opening his Lafayette studio in 1981 and experimenting with glass, drawing and painting. Over time, painting became Pavy’s major focus. His work stems from the southern storytelling tradition; common subjects are the folk-life and folklore of local people juxtaposed with images of everyday American life. Pavy is renowned for his colorful, abstract approach to Southern iconography and storytelling.