Out of the more than 400 commercial galleries were surveyed this month, more than 70% had painting shows on view. Among them are two dozen solo exhibitions by New American Paintings alumni. New Orleans native Nicole Charbonnet, who was featured in one of our earliest issues, presents new work at the venerable Arthur Roger Gallery.
One could, on seeing Ted Kincaid’s photos at Devin Borden Gallery, be tempted into a conversation on the authenticity of photography. But that conversation would be old hat. What interests me is that these highly manipulated images are not obviously double-coded. They aren’t images of things and about being images of things. They generally lack irony.
Dallas-based artist Ted Kincaid, who creates ethereally beautiful, landscape-recalling photographic-type images, has two passions- nature and history- and his work rarely diverts from those themes. Ships disappear into storms, listing in the waves; vibrant clouds display otherworldly hues; tree branches form impossible webs, veiling the forest.
Jacqueline Bishop practices a kind of unnatural naturalism, fantastical in its imagery even as it concentrates on the natural world. In fact, Bishop tends to be faithful to the rendition of actual animals – especially the fish and fowl that populate these meditations on aqua-ecology – while elaborating their surrounding conditions, including flora, weather, and water itself, in a surrealistic manner that effectively dramatizes their situation. Bishop comments pointedly on ecological conditions, but what she stresses is the sensation of nature itself and the delicate yet vital role and presence within it of its sentient creatures.
Jim Richard’s “Make Yourself at Home,” on view at the New Orleans Museum of Art through February 24, 2013, remains one of the best shows of the year. A modernist journey through the colorful interiors of homes filled with a mix of high art, tchotchkes, and period furniture, Richard’s twelve-work exhibit showcases his deep knowledge of contemporary and historical art alongside refined technical skill, and pokes a little fun at modern art in the meantime.
Art Rocks! The Series – 513Season 5 Episode 13 | 28m 31sSculptor Martin Payton, Josie Pace, Jackson Square in New OrleansAired: 12/22/17Rating: NR
More than any other medium, photography is about time and time’s relationship to light and circumstance. In the hands of three Southern photographers, the results are often poetic. Deborah Luster’s early works, on view at Arthur Roger Gallery, predate her more famous images of Louisiana prisoners and crime scenes, but the same insightful whimsy illuminates views that include rural children posed with captive eels or dressed in their Sunday best amid fields of billowy cotton.
The Hole and Arthur Roger Gallery cordially invite you to A Live Pour by Holton Rower in the ballroom at the Historic Villa Vecchia on Thursday, December 6 at 10pm.
Does anyone seriously doubt global warming anymore? Some people who used to ask why we live in such a vulnerable place had a rude awakening when Hurricane Sandy made it clear that vast storms are no longer confined to the tropics but now threaten even New York’s financial district. Perhaps climate change is a reminder that we have become alienated from our origins. Jacqueline Bishop has been addressing such questions in her paintings and mixed-media work for many years, and her new show at Arthur Roger Gallery is startling, not simply for its meticulous virtuosity, but also for its scope.
Ida Kohlmeyer continues to be an important part of NOMA’s history and art history in New Orleans; to honor her 100th anniversary, NOMA is presenting an exhibition of key pieces from the permanent collection, including a recent promised gift from Arthur Roger.