by Sue Strachan, via nola.com

Luis Cruz Azaceta (standing in front of “Heroes Tale,” acrylic on canvas) at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art’s Louisiana Contemporary presented by Helis Foundation Opening. Friday, August 5, 2016. (Josh Brasted Photo)

Seventy-eight original works, 48 artists: the 2016 Louisiana Contemporary presented by the Helis Foundation debuted at a VIP reception at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art on Friday (Aug. 5). The exhibition officially opens tonight during Whitney White Linen Night.

The juried exhibition highlights Louisiana artists, with best in show, second place, third place and honorable mentions awarded. This year’s juror was Bill Arning, director of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, who announced the 2016 winners at the reception: Best in Show: Luis Cruz Azaceta, Heroes Tale (acrylic on canvas); First Place: Ronna Harris, Anonymous Male #3 (oil); Second Place: Troy Dugas, Francesco (mixed media painting collage on wood panel); Third Place: Peter Horjus, David, A Series of Men #1 (used men’s shirts, cotton and cotton blend fabric, cotton batting, cotton thread); and Honorable Mentions: Abdi Farah, Terrible Fans (nylon, chenille patches, fringe); Adrione Domino, The Inheritance (digital video); Ryan Sartin, Cosmic Ash Flower Bed (palm ash on fabric stuffed with blankets), Maxx Sizeler, Boyhood Dream – First Time at the Beach (acrylic on canvas), and Xavier Juarez, I Lied About Where I Was (video).

“It was my first time entering,” says Luis Cruz Azaceta.

Those in the crowd on museums’ fifth floor were board chair Allison Kendrick, Bill Goldring, Coleman Adler, Dawn Wheelahan, Adele and Graham Ralston, Jane Scott Hodges, Marshall Hevron, Aubrey Edwards, Catherine Todd, Claire Thriffiley, New Orleans Museum of Art Montine McDaniel Freeman Director Susan Taylor, Scott Hutcheson and David Hoover, Alexa Georges and Jerry Armatis, Anastasia Pelias and daughter Artemis Antippas (whose work is in the exhibition), Hattie and Corey Moll, Alexa Pulitzer and Seth Levine, Brian Bailey, Arthur Roger, Nicole Hershey, Elliot Hutchinson, Jessie Haynes, Michael Schott, Benjamin Lowry and Shelly Gallender, and the Helis Foundation’s David Kerstein and the Ogden Museum director William Andrews, both of whom made remarks at the reception.

The exhibition is on view through Sept. 18, 2016.