Art Openings and Shows in NOLA

Each week, NoDef brings you a comprehensive directory of visual arts
in the Crescent City from Julia to St. Claude

May 1 - 7

It might be JazzFest, but the New Orleans visual art community still has a lot to offer. On Julia St., the monthly Art Walk goes on as always, and downtown has a pair of story-driven exhibitions seeing first light.

 

OPENINGS

 

Ariodante Gallery, 535 Julia St.

Paintings by Myria Williamson-Wirtz; Jewelry by Sylvan Spirt; “Laid Back Musicians” by Annie Hendrix, Lagniappe Show by Frannie Kronenberg. Opening reception is on May 5 from 6-9pm.

 

 

Cole Pratt Gallery, 3800 Magazine St.

In “Plein Air Perspectives,” local artist Phil Sandunsky shows his most recent paintings. Opening reception is on May 5th from 5:30-8pm.

 

 

Contemporary Arts Center

Nine Lives: A Musical Story of New Orleans, (April 30) Dan Baum's book about New Orleans, set to music. By Paul Sanchez and Colman DeKay. Tickets $38. For more information, visit here.

 

 

Flexspace, 638 Clouet St.

“Boyish and Belle,” Colin Roberson presents a collection of photographs that follow his relationship with his boyfriend. The opening reception is on May 4, 7-10pm.

 

 

Guthrie Contemporary Gallery, 3815 Magazine St.

DeeDee Morrison’s “Charmed” uses heavy industrial metals, laser get cutting methods and botanical inspired designs to create solar-powered, sustainable sculptures. Opens March 30.

 

 

The Hatchery’s Garret Theater, 4210 St. Claude Ave.

Amy Woodruff’s “Das Kino Von Der Mansarde” is a live-and-in-person evening hosted by Anita Berber (1899-1928), the infamous German ballerina, actress, exhibitionist, drug addict, and poet. Includes a screening of Berber’s 1919 picture, “Eerie Tales.” April 30th at 9pm is the last of three performances.

 

 

Jean Bragg Gallery, 600 Julia St.

Charles G. Smith’s “Close to Home” are representative, plein-air paintings in small frames. Opens May 5.

 

 

LeMieux Galleries, 332 Julia St.

“Made in Louisiana” features oil paintings by Shirley Rabe Masinter. Opening reception is on May 5 from 6-8pm. The exhibit closes May 26, 2012. For more information, visit here.
 

 

Martin Chaisson Gallery, 727 Camp St.

In “Parallel,” JT Blatty’s photographs explore the symmetry between the fossil and the human form, by combining portions of the human figure juxtaposed with fossils she has collected over the years. The exhibition will also include a separate display of fossils from the images. Opening reception is on Saturday, May 5 from 6-9pm.

 

 

Octavia Art Gallery, 4532 Magazine Street

Jeffrey Pitt’s “Order/Chaos” begins May 5th through May 26th, 2012. Opening reception with the artist is on May 12th, 6-8pm.

 

Soren Christensen, 400 Julia St.

Melissa Herrington’s work will be presented through May.

 

 

GALLERY EXHIBITIONS

 

1239 Congress

Curated by Christian and Lauren Hardy, this up-and-coming art space displays the work of Kayla Scholl, Nycholis Maziejka, and Sasha Kopfler, whose pieces range from painting to mixed media design.

  

 

Arthur Roger, 432 Julia St. 

Down Highway 23, David Bates: Exhibitions from Joseph Havel and David Sullivan as well.

 

 

Barrister’s Gallery, 2331 St. Claude Ave.

Crimes Against Faith and Other Acts of Compulsion  Jessica Goldfinch presents her mixed media art, comprised of oil, silver, and “Shrinky Dink.” Goldfinch is a locally raised artist whose work has also been shown in New York, Washington D.C. and Europe. She maintains a studio here.

 

 

Callan Contemporary 240 Chartres St. 

On view through May 25. Mitchell Lonas presents Undercurrents, a series of paintings that comment on what Lonas sees as the inextricable ties human beings have to their familial roots as well as to the natural world.

 

 

Carol Robinson Gallery 840 Napoleon Ave.

Painter Masahiro Arai presents Mind Scape. On view through May 26.

  

 

Contemporary Arts Center

Nola Now Part II: Abstraction in Louisiana (April 26) On view April 26-June 10. Opening reception May 5, 6-9pm. First Floor Gallery. Abstraction in Louisiana is a sub exhibition of the Nola Now series, which highlights local artists from the past and present.  New paintings from local artist Phil Sandusky. (April 29) On view through May 27. Opening Reception May 5, from 5:30-8pm.

 

 

Coup d’Oeil 2033 Magazine St. 
Mark Glaviano presents his solo photography exhibition Modern Ritual. On view through May 12. 

 

 

The Front, 4100 St. Claude Ave.

Room 1: photographer Craig Doty presents WILD GIFT
Room 2: sculpture Scott Saunders presents ar/tic/u/lat/ed
Room 3: creator of the iconic bunny art, Alex Podesta, presents Mostly Mades: Finished Works in Progress
Room 4: painter Dick Keaverny presents Piggies and Other Peoples

  

 

Good Children, 4037 St. Claude Ave. 
Jessica Bizer presents her paintings and installation, After Forever.
Painters Amy Feldman and Ilse Murdock present Ode Oh Owe.

 

 

Heriard-Cimino Gallery, 440 Julia St.

Jose Bedia uses his paintings to explore indigenous cultures from all over the world. On view through April 28.

 

 

HomeSpace, 1128 St. Roch 
CATALPA, REALITY, RESURRECTION, REVOLUTION AND SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS. A SHOW OF SCULPTURE, DRAWINGS, PHOTOS, A BOOK BY ROBERT C. TANNEN, AND, SCULPTURE BY NOEL. Continuation of a concept that began with the care of one of New Orleans’ oldest Catalpa trees, located 2326 Esplanade Avenue. And, in the Blue Room, Plaster of Paris sculptures by Noel.

  

 

Jonathan Ferrarra Gallery, 400a Julia St.

 Game Room: Sculpture by Michael Combs, through May 19. Michael Combs draws from Americana and masculine icons to create his exhibition, which comments on his upbringing in Long Island, New York. Additional exhibitions: Etchings and Mixed Media from Tony Fitzpatrick, Michael Pajon, and Catherine Brooks.

 

 

New Orleans Children's Museum, 420 Julia St.

Garrett Horse, by Karen Garret. Garrett constructed her sculpture in 2008 using only recycled materials.

 

 

New Orleans Healing Center, 2372 St. Claude Ave.

Final Frontier Exhibition. Artists Jessica Bizer, Amanda Cassingham-Bardwell, Generic Art Solutions, James Goedert, Brian Guidry, Daphne Loney, Malcom McClay, Bob Snead, & Dan Tague show work that was removed recently in a CAC protest. 2nd floor gallery. On view through April 30.

 

 

New Orleans Museum of Art

Leah Chase: Paintings by Gustave Blache III. (April 24) It’s Dooky Chase chef Leah Chase's 90th birthday, and there will be a gala celebration on April 23 at NOMA in her honor. The gala will also inaugurate the Leah Chase Art Purchase Fund. The exhibition of Blache’s 20 paintings of the New Orleans icon will be on view April 24-September 9.

   

 

Stella Jones Gallery, 201 St. Charles Ave.

ELIZABETH CATLETT 60 YEARS OF PRINTS AND SCULPTURES, through the month of April. Catlett passed on April 2nd and would have been 97 on April 15th. Also featured, local artist, Rukiya, as the gallery celebrates Louisiana Bicentennial and the contributions African Americans made to the state where cotton was king.

 

 

MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS

 

New Orleans Museum of Art

1 Collins Diboll Cir.

 

• Thornton Dial’s exhibition, Hard Truths: The Art of Thornton Dial. Dial’s paintings and found-object sculptures will be on view until May 20.

 

• Dario Robleto’s The Prelives of the Blues, will be on view until September 16, 2012. Robleto’s exhibition is centered on the time he spent in New Orleans and his observations on the nature of the city’s musical culture.
• Self Taught Artists from NOMA’s Permanent Collectionwill be on view through June 10, 2012. The exhibition features the works of eleven auto didactic southern artists.
• What is a photograph? Opens April 20. On view through August 19 in the Templemen Galleries. Works dating back to the 1840’s from NOMA’s permanent collection explore the question in the exhibition’s title.

 

Contemporary Arts Center

900 Camp St.

 

• NOLA NOW, Part II.Through August 5, 2012, First Floor Gallery. Curated by Don Marshall, Founding Executive Director of CAC.

 

• NOLA NOW Part II: Abstraction in Louisiana. On view through June 10, 2012. Reception Saturday, May 5, 6-9pm.

 

• Spaces: Antenna, The Front, Good Children Gallery. On view through June 10, 2012. Second Floor (Lupin Foundation) Gallery. The large exhibition features multiple artists that operate on or near the St. Claude area.

 

• EXPOSE: Parse Gallery, Staple Goods Collective, T-LOT. On view until October 7, 2012 in the St. Joseph St. Windows.
• Free screening of the film, The Island President April 19 at 7pm in the CAC theater. The documentary investigates The Maldives’ President Mohammed Nasheed’s struggle with climate change and his political battle to keep the islands’ inhabitable for his people.

 

Ogden Museum of Southern Art

925 Camp St.

 

• William Adair: The Gilded Doors to Infinity Project. Adair’s exhibition of 31 total doors (3 at the Ogden) comments on the current battle between industry and  intellectual property rights. The artist surrenders his ownership by encouraging the public to alter the doors.

 

• Andrews-Humphrey Gallery: George “The Dot Man.”Andrews (1911-1996) was a self-taught artist from Plainview, Georgia. The exhibit also includes his son, the late Benny, who was a civil rights activist and proponent for change in the art world, where he faced discrimination as a multiracial artist. Nene Humphrey is a sculpture, drawer, and printmaker whose work draws from her Roman Catholic background.

 

• Walter Anderson Gallery. Anderson was born in New Orleans on 1903. He was a painter, potter, writer and naturalist. He spent the majority of his life working at his family’s pottery business and eventually moved to Horn Island, which became the main influence of his later works.   

 

• Shifting, Photographs by Michel Varisco. Opens April 19, reception at 6pm. Varisco’s work captures the beauty of the Louisiana Wetlands and the Gulf of Mexico while bringing attention to the major risks these areas face, both natural and manmade.

 

• Made in Louisiana by painter Shirley Rabe Masinter. A series of works that document everyday life, opening reception May 5, 6-9pm.

 

Image from Made in Louisiana by Shirley Rabe Masinter (Courtesy LeMieux Galleries)