by Steven Forster, via nola.com

New Orleans area art fans flocked in to the Arthur Roger Gallery for the opening this weekend of “Southern Gothic: An Insider’s View by Willie Birch and Paintings, Drawings” [sic] and an exhibit of paintings, drawings and photographs by George Dureau.

Among the guests were photographer Glade Bilby II, George Dureau’s brother Don Dureau, Dr. Michele Zembo, actress and singer Troi Bechet, artist Ron Bechet, Sarah Story, Meryt and Peter Harding, Sarah Weaver, James Williams and Jared Glassman

Also attending were: William Andrews, director of the Ogden Museum of Art; Joe and Lucianne Carmichael, who founded A Studio in the Woods; Sonny Schneidau, talent buyer for the House of Blues; and Echo Olander, executive director at KID smART.

The exhibition is up through July 13.

Willie Birch draws inspiration from the 7th Ward neighborhood where he grew up. The exhibit, which features paintings and works in bronze, continues the artist’s exploration of universal political, sociological and spiritual themes.

Dureau, a native New Orleanian, has been exhibiting since the 1960s. The works in Dureau’s exhibit date from the 1960s through the 1990s.