Exhibition Dates: March 2 – April 20, 2013
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 2 from 6–8 pm
Gallery Location: 432 Julia Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 am–5 pm
Contact Info: 504.522.1999; www.arthurrogergallery.com
The Arthur Roger Gallery is pleased to present The Shape of Relics, an exhibition of work on paper by Troy Dugas. The exhibition will be on view at Arthur Roger Gallery, located at 432 Julia Street, from March 2 through April 20, 2013. The gallery will host an opening reception with the artist in attendance, Saturday, March 2 from 6–8 pm.
Rye Whiskey Blue, 2012. Vintage labels mounted to paper, 72 x 72 inches.
The intricate, large-scale cut paper assemblages in The Shape of Relics are created from unused product labels that artist Troy Dugas collects. The shredded or cut source material is meticulously arranged to create mesmerizing compositions that appear woven. The purpose of the original label is obscured through the use of repetition, pattern, symmetry, precision and scale. New meaning is created by the reinterpretation of color, shape and line.
This exhibition, the artist’s third with the gallery, features the familiar mandala-like compositions, as well as a new series of portraits loosely based on Egyptian and Roman mummy depictions and online arrest reports. Working from imagination and reference, the artist attempts to create a kind of abstraction, unique stylization and synthesis. Similar to Picasso’s portraits influenced by African masks and the portrait of Madame Matisse, “The Green Stripe,” Dugas creates something continuous yet new. Influenced by ancient art, his subjects are flattened and covered in invented pattern reflecting a state of vulnerability, acceptance and sexuality.
Troy Dugas is a native of Louisiana. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Louisiana in Lafayette and his Master of Fine Art from the Pratt Institute in New York. His work is in several collections including the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, Louisiana and the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation in Los Angeles, California. He has been featured in numerous publications including Open Studios Press’ juried publication New American Paintings, the inaugural issue of Studio Visit Magazine (also a juried publication), the New Orleans Art Review, and David Rubin’s book “Psychedelic: Optical and Visionary Art since the 1960s.” In 2012, Dugas was included in the Oxford American Magazine article “The New Superstars of Southern Art.” He has received numerous accolades including a fellowship from the Louisiana Division of the Arts and the 2009-2010 Pollock-Krasner Grant.