On the Brink seems an unusual title for a geometric abstract painting show. The crisp geometry of traditional art deco, op art or minimalist design, like the sleek lines of modern architecture and furniture, all epitomize a kind of optimistic rationalism, but Luis Cruz Azaceta was forever marked by the chaos that characterized the Cuban revolution and his life as a youthful refugee.
February 2017 Installation of Gene Koss’ Sculpture Wheel at the Ogden / Barnes Residence in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The work in DeDeaux’s I’ve Seen the Future and It Was Yesterday excavates a sense of industrial utopianism—that ominous diving suit, for example, or is it a space suit?—which is both ironic and real. DeDeaux captures that sense with images of those nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century structures made when it seemed like the great works of mankind were all signs of progress and would last forever.
The main poster, “Funk Foundation” is by artist Francis X. Pavy. He also created the poster depicting The Neville Brothers in 1997 and Jerry Lee Lewis in 2007. Art Neville is also a founding member of The Meters, the legendary band formed a decade before The Neville Brothers. In addition to Art Neville, Pavy’s work depicts the original 1966 Meters: George Porter, Jr. (bass), Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste (drums) and Leo Nocentelli (guitar). The legendary band will reunite again to close out the 2017 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on May 7.
Luis Cruz Azaceta: No Exit is the first substantial overview of the work of the Cuban-American artist Luis Cruz Azaceta (born 1942). Azaceta’s childhood memories in Cuba (where he remained until he was 18 years old) mix with his first professional experiences in New York City (where he studied at the School of Visual Arts and where he lived for three decades) and those of his period of professional maturity in New Orleans.
Thumbs up for the Mothership features individual works as well as a collaborative installation by New Orleans conceptual artist Dawn DeDeaux and Alabamian self-taught sculptor and musician Lonnie Holley. Deeply influenced by their southern roots, both artists mine the landscapes around them for found objects (a nod to Rauschenberg’s “combines”) and engage in dialogues around issues of ecology and social justice.
The Birmingham Federal Reserve, one of downtown Birmingham’s most historic buildings, is nearly complete with its $20 million renovation and now has a modern sculpture to mark its new life – “Spire,” from New Orleans artist Lin Emery.
Luis Cruz Azaceta, an artist who fled Cuba at age 18, shortly after Fidel Castro came to power, is a fitting inaugural exhibition for Miami’s new American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora.
The River and the Painter: Simon Gunning, New Orleans, the Mississippi River and its Bayous includes over 90 full-color plates of artist Simon Gunning’s paintings and sketches and includes an introductory essay and interview with the artist by author John M. Barry. This book is the very first survey of Gunning’s work and depicts his three collections of paintings: The River, The City, and The Bayous and Swamps.
The Arthur Roger Gallery is very pleased to be a part of Art Miami this year. At Booth B100, we are exhibiting works by John Alexander, Luis Cruz Azaceta, David Bates, Jacqueline Bishop, Douglas Bourgeois, Robert Colescott, Stephen Paul Day, Lesley Dill, James Drake, Troy Dugas, George Dureau, Lin Emery, Vernon Fisher, Tim Hailand, Whitfield Lovell, Deborah Luster, Gordon Parks, Holton Rower, and Amy Weiskopf.