Exhibition Dates: November 3 – November 24, 2007
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 3 from 5–8 pm
Gallery Location: 434 Julia Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 am–5 pm
Contact Info: 504.522.1999; arthurrogergallery.com

The Arthur Roger Gallery is pleased to present Rain of Huitzilopochtli, an exhibition of mixed media drawings by James Drake. The exhibition will be on view at Arthur Roger Gallery, located at 432 Julia Street, from November 3 – 24, 2007. The gallery will host an artist walk-through on Saturday, November 3 at 2pm and an opening reception with the artist in attendance, on Saturday, November 3 from 5-9 pm.

Drake’s “Rain of Huitzilopochtli” consists of large-scale charcoal drawings on both canvas and paper executed in an Old Master drawing style. Huitzilopochtli, whose name means “Blue Hummingbird,” was a major deity in Aztec mythology and was a sun god and a god of war, as well as a god of storms. Aztecs offered frequent human sacrifices to their gods, including Huitzilopochtli, to secure rain. Several of the drawings are hauntingly suggestive of the chaos accompanying a great storm. Milagros for Water, Drake’s over life-size drawing that references the religious charms in Mexico that the faithful believe are endowed with spiritual or magical powers for healing and helping restore well-being and balance in lives.

Drake was born in Lubbock, Texas in 1946. He received his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, California. In 2000 his work was included in the Whitney Biennial.

His work is found in the permanent collections of many leading institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the Dallas Museum of Art.

In 2009 the University of Texas Press will release a major publication about James Drake and his artwork.