Exhibition Dates: March 15 – April 19, 2014
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 5 from 6–8 pm
Gallery Location: 434 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 People of New Orleans from A to Z, an exhibition of works on paper by Bunny Matthews. The exhibition will be on view at Arthur Roger@434, located at 434 Julia Street, from March 15 – April 19, 2014. The gallery will host an opening reception with the artist in attendance on Saturday, April 5 from 6-8 pm.
Zulu, 2014. Pen, ink and colored pencil on paper, 17 x 14 inches.
“Without its curious and diverse denizens, New Orleans would just be a swampy environment with poor drainage and too many mosquitoes,” states Bunny Matthews. “’The People of New Orleans From A to Z’ is my tribute to the human beings who make New Orleans the utterly unique place that it is.”
This exhibition of twenty-six vibrantly colored 17×14 inch drawings created with pen, ink and colored pencil celebrates the citizens of New Orleans. Each resident in this compelling collection is represented by a letter of the alphabet and characterized by ideology, occupation or vice without particular judgment or praise.
Included are Astrologer, Drunk, Oyster Shucker and Xenophobe. Representing “V” and “N” are the iconic Vic and Nat’ly Broussard, cartoon characters created by Bunny Matthews in 1982 for the Times-Picayune’s Dixie magazine. These residents of “Da Nint’ Ward” have since graced the sides of the entire fleet of Leidenheimer Baking Company’s delivery trucks, a Bacchus Mardi Gras float, posters celebrating Barq’s Root Beer’s 100th anniversary and murals at the Audubon Zoo, the Audubon Insectarium, the Louisiana State Museum and the official City of New Orleans Pavilion at the 1984 World’s Fair.
Bunny Matthew’s work has been exhibited at the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Contemporary Arts Center, the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts, the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and the St. Tammany Art Association. Many of his original drawings are in the permanent collection of the Historic New Orleans Collection.