Surtain’s series is “rooted in memory, joy, and community,” honoring pre-Katrina New Orleans, “when the city felt like one big front porch.” His vividly composed canvases—children diving for a football, laughing through water gun fights, makeshift parades—evoke the rhythms and bonds that shaped his Mid-City childhood. Works such as the new Superdome cityscape anchor the show, preserving both the architecture and spirit of the neighborhoods that defined him.

The exhibition follows significant local media attention: as NOLA.com reported, Surtain’s path “from Katrina to the LSU football field to Tulane University” reflects a life shaped by resilience and creative determination. Displaced by Hurricane Katrina at age 11, Surtain was placed in Baton Rouge’s gifted visual arts program, where mentors and his mother’s advice to “follow his heart” led him to art. At LSU, he balanced painting with playing defensive back, later earning master’s degrees in Architecture and Sustainable Real Estate Development from Tulane. Today, he is Assistant Director of Community Engagement at Tulane’s Albert and Tina Small Center for Collaborative Design, a member of the National Organization of Minority Architects, where he serves on the board of Broad Community Connections.

Remember? is Surtain’s third solo exhibition with Arthur Roger Gallery, following the acclaimed STEPPERS Forever (2024) and Night Shift (2019). His work has been featured at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Baton Rouge Gallery, and in press outlets including The Advocate, AP News, InRegister, SEC Sports, and Gambit.