Shawne Major: Crown Shyness
Exhibition Dates: May 2 – July 3, 2026
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 2, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Gallery Location: 432 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 Crown Shyness, an exhibition of recent mixed media works by Shawne Major. The exhibition will be on view at 432 Julia Street from May 2 through July 3, 2026. The gallery will host an opening reception on Saturday, May 2, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
Crown Shyness is Shawne Major’s second solo exhibition with the gallery, featuring Major’s signature mixed-media tapestries, which function as meticulously entwined explorations of human psychology and the filters of reality
Since the early 1990s, Major has eschewed traditional paint to focus on a personal vernacular of found objects and hand-sewn fibers. Her work utilizes the dross of civilization, jewelry, toys, and discarded power cords, disassociating them from their former uses to weave new, emotionally charged narratives. Major views these loaded planes as metaphors for the build-up and assimilation of information, reflecting the density and complexity of the human experience.
In Crown Shyness, Major’s abstract mosaic tapestries specifically address the difficulty of deliberately altering one's thoughts and behaviors. The repeating patterns and overlapping designs form an abstract garden of neural pathways, mirroring interior spaces that serve as both a comfort and a trap. The surfaces grow outward with a dense layering of beads and objects, creating a "thick haze" over the eyes that represents the impossibility of true communication and the struggle to see a common reality.
The exhibition includes approximately 10 new pieces, including a monumental 5x5-foot tapestry alongside smaller, highly detailed works measuring approximately 30 x 30 inches.
Born in New Iberia, Shawne Major received her BFA from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1991 and went on to earn her MFA from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Major’s work is held in permanent collections, including: The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Hilliard Museum of Art, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, and the US Embassy in Brazzaville, Congo.
For more information, please contact the Arthur Roger Gallery at 504.522.1999 or visit our website at arthurrogergallery.com.
