From Oxford American, “Out of overwhelming curiosity, we wanted to discover the most talented and thrilling up-and-coming artists in the South. So we enlisted a range of Southern experts (gallery owners, curators, critics, artists) to help us find them. To make things manageable, we limited our interest (for the time being) to those who paint, photograph, and draw.”
Firmly rooted in the culture of south Louisiana, Lafayette artist Francis X. Pavy (b. 1954) arranges archetypal images into patterns within his paintings, block prints and sculptures. His colors and shapes walk the line between complementary and discordant, resulting in a variety of iconic yet contemporary Cajun imagery, all battling on his canvas for attention, in the same way daily aspects of Cajun culture – food, music, and art — resist hierarchical alignment.
Renowned artist John T. Scott’s colorful kinetic sculpture captured the New Orleans spirit. In 1992, Xavier University art professor Scott, who lived from 1940 to 2007, was awarded a $315,000 John D. MacArthur Fellowship, popularly known as a genius grant. It was a career-capping acknowledgement of Scott’s devotion to artistic experimentation and education that made him the city’s most influential modernist. Large-scale sculptures by Scott can be found in DeSaix Circle, City Park and at the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Having an opportunity to view a gathering of Elemore Morgan paintings and drawings is like having an opportunity to visit with an old friend. Coming face to face with works ranging from small scale eight by five inch gouaches on paper to thirty-four by sixty inch acrylics on masonite offers an intimate experience infused by memories extending over more than fifteen ago when I first met the artist and his work soon after having moved to Louisiana from Ohio by way of Wyoming, New Mexico and California.
from ogdenmuseum.org The Past Still Present: Photographs by David Halliday at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art On view January 19 – April 8, 2012 A master of light, New Orleans photographer David Halliday, produces lush and elegant images that are both classical and modern. Using window light to illuminate his subjects, Halliday’s direct formal…
Elemore Morgan, Jr. (1931 – 2008) was a renowned artist in Louisiana. Known primarily as a landscape painter, Morgan was also a beloved and influential teacher. As a member of the UL Lafayette (known then as the University of Southwest Louisiana) Art Department for over thirty years, Morgan’s influence as a mentor was profound. The University Art Museum will honor the artist and teacher with an exhibition of works by artists who credit Morgan as their artistic mentor.
Courtesy of absolutearts.com and the Davis Museum at Wellesley College The Davis Museum at Wellesley College Presents The Northeast Premiere of “Radcliffe Bailey: Memory as Medicine” February 15 – May 6, 2012 Internationally known Atlanta-based artist Radcliffe Bailey explores American history and memory to encourage healing and transcendence through art. The exhibition features…
Lesley Dill’s Poetic Visions: from Shimmer to Sister Gertrude Morgan focuses on two bodies of work by the versatile artist: one is metallic sculpture and the other is an installation inspired by the late folk artist, preacher, and New Orleans phenomenon Sister Gertrude Morgan. This exhibit is what you dream those dusty Smithsonian displays could be. It is history gone wild; a show of visual might that makes one feel like a child entering Disneyland.
All artists build imaginary spaces. James Drake is fully cognizant of the human tendency to project subjective history and meanings into the spaces he opens and constructs. Even before the visitor reaches the formal entry of his current exhibition at the New Mexico Museum of Art, the artist has placed three functional steel sculptures that announce his personal point of view. These include two benches and a graceful child’s table stacked with books of art and literature that are meaningful to him. There are monographs on Goya, Daumier, Rubens, the Mexican muralists, the novel “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy, two books of poetry by Jimmy Santiago Baca, including “Que Linda la Brisa” (2001) with photographs by Drake, and the 2008 University of Texas survey of the artist’s 35-year career.
