NEW ORLEANS — Juror and guest curator, David Breslin, the DeMartini Family Curator and Director of the Collection at the Whitney Museum of American Art, has selected 44 works by 23 Louisiana artists for the 2019 installment of the annual juried show, Louisiana Contemporary, Presented by The Helis Foundation. This exhibition will be on view at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art August 3 – January 5, 2020, with the winners being announced at a private reception on August 2 and a public opening reception on Hancock Whitney White Linen Night on August 3.
Louisiana Contemporary, now in its eighth year, is an annual exhibition that promotes contemporary art practices in the state of Louisiana, provides exhibition space for the exposition of art and engages a contemporary audience that recognizes the vibrant visual culture of Louisiana and the role of New Orleans as a rising international art center.
The 2019 artists are John Alleyne, Luis Cruz Azaceta, Mac Ball, Sean Clark, Tony Dagradi, Sarrah Danziger, Rachel David, Thomas Deaton, Ben Depp, Sarah French, John Gargano, Kristina Larson, Julian Martin, Kristin Meyers, Lara Morgan, Tom O’Brien, Ruth Owens, Dan Rule, Claire Samani, Jill Shampine, Leona Strassberg Steiner, Jessica Strahan and Carlie Trosclair.
These 23 artists were chosen from 364 total applicants, and 44 pieces were selected from 1,066 entries of work. Since the exposition began in 2012, the Ogden Museum has exhibited 394 artists and 674 of their works in this effort.
“Throughout the years, we have found that each new group of Louisiana Contemporary artists brings different stories, themes and voices, all of which eloquently aggregate to provide a shimmering glimpse into the ideas at the forefront of contemporary Southern art,” says William Pittman Andrews, Executive Director, Ogden Museum.
On Friday, August 2 from 6 to 8 p.m., a private reception will take place, and the winners of the exhibition will be announced. Awards presented include Best in Show, who will receive the The Helis Foundation Art Prize; and additional awards for First Place; Second Place and Third Place. William Pittman Andrews, Executive Director of the Ogden Museum, and David Kerstein, President and Executive Officer of The Helis Foundation, will make announcements.
Louisiana Contemporary will open to the public with free admission on Saturday, August 3. Free programming on this day includes a portfolio review from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Curators and jurors of the 2018 and 2019 Louisiana Contemporary, Courtney Martin and David Breslin, will spend the morning reviewing selected artists’ work with a deep dive into vision and practice.
From 4 – 5 p.m., the curators will lead a public gallery talk, reviewing the breadth of the presented works and the processes that informed their selection.
To conclude, from 5 to 9:30 p.m., guests can explore the exhibition as part of Hancock Whitney White Linen Night, an annual event in the Arts District of New Orleans.
Admission to the Museum and scheduled programming is free of charge on Saturday, August 3.
If you have questions regarding Louisiana Contemporary please contact Melissa Kenyon at mkenyon@ogdenmuseum.org or 504.539.9631.
About Louisiana Contemporary, Presented by The Helis Foundation
Louisiana Contemporary, Presented by The Helis Foundation is a statewide juried exhibition organized by the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Established in 2012, this annual event promotes contemporary art practices in the state of Louisiana, provides exhibition space for the exposition of art and engages a contemporary audience that recognizes the vibrant visual culture of Louisiana and the role of New Orleans as a rising international art center.
About David Breslin
David Breslin is the DeMartini Family Curator and Director of the Collection at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Prior to joining the Whitney, Breslin was the John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation Chief Curator at the Menil Drawing Institute in Houston, Texas. Previously, he was Associate Director, Research and Academic Program and Associate Curator of Contemporary Projects at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. At the Whitney, Breslin has organized the exhibitions Spilling Over: Painting Color in the 1960s and Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900-1960. He also co-organized David Wojnarowicz: History Keeps Me Awake at Night and An Incomplete History of Protest: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1940-2017.
Breslin has also organized exhibitions such as Raw Color: The Circles of David Smith and Monet | Kelly at the Clark Art Institute and co-curated Make It New: Abstract Painting from the National Gallery of Art, 1950-1975. His exhibition, The Condition of Being Here: The Drawings of Jasper Johns, opened at the Menil Collection in 2018. Breslin is also overseeing the catalogue raisonné of the drawings of Jasper Johns. He has written essays on the work of, among others, Valentin Carron, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Jenny Holzer, Cady Noland, Pablo Picasso and Paul Thek. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Amherst College, a master’s in art history from Williams College and a Ph.D. in the history of art and architecture from Harvard University.
About the Ogden Museum
Located in the vibrant Warehouse Arts District of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art holds the largest and most comprehensive collection of Southern art and is recognized for its original exhibitions, public events and educational programs which examine the development of visual art alongside Southern traditions of music, literature and culinary heritage to provide a comprehensive story of the South. Established in 1999 and in Stephen Goldring Hall since 2003, the Museum welcomes almost 85,000 visitors annually, and attracts diverse audiences through its broad range of programming including exhibitions, lectures, film screenings and concerts which are all part of its mission to broaden the knowledge, understanding, interpretation and appreciation of the visual arts and culture of the American South.
The Ogden Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. with extended hours on Thursdays from 6 – 8 p.m. for Ogden After Hours. Admission is free to Museum Members and $13.50 for adults, $11 for seniors 65 and older, $6.75 for children ages 5-17 and free for children under 5.
The Ogden Museum is free to Louisiana Residents on Thursdays from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. courtesy of The Helis Foundation. The Helis Foundation is a Louisiana private foundation, established by the William Helis Family. The Art Funds of the Helis Foundation advance access to the arts for the community through contributions that sustain operations for, provide free admission to, acquire works of art and underwrite major exhibitions and projects of institutions within the Greater New Orleans area.
The Museum is closed Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day.
The Museum is located at 925 Camp Street, New Orleans Louisiana 70130. For more information visit ogdenmuseum.org or call 504.539.9650.
About The Helis Foundation
The Helis Foundation is a Louisiana private foundation, established and funded by the William Helis Family. The Helis Foundation’s resources and objectives are divided into two areas: the general fund, and the Diana Helis Henry and Adrienne Helis Malvin Art Funds. The general fund focuses on community needs primarily within the Metropolitan New Orleans area by granting funds to numerous local nonprofit organizations.The Art Funds were established by bequests from Diana Helis Henry and Adrienne Helis Malvin. The Art Funds make grants to sustain operations, to provide free admission to, and to acquire significant art works on behalf of major institutions within the Metropolitan New Orleans area. The Art Funds also underwrite major initiatives and special projects, such as Prospect.3’s Basquiat and the Bayou presented by The Helis Foundation, the ongoing Poydras Corridor Sculpture Exhibition presented by The Helis Foundation, the installation of Lynda Benglis’ The Wave of the World in City Park, The Helis Foundation Enrique Alférez Sculpture Garden, Solidary & Solitary: The Joyner/Giuffrida Collection presented by The Helis Foundation organized by the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Baltimore Museum of Art, and The Historic New Orleans Collection’s Tricentennial Exhibition, Art of the City: Post Modern to Post Katrina. In 2019, the Foundation launched the first large-scale mural exhibit: Unframed presented by The Helis Foundation, a collection of five murals in Downtown New Orleans. In partnership with the Arts Council New Orleans, Unframed features the first Southern U.S. commission by internationally-acclaimed artist Fujiko Nakaya at the Louisiana Children’s Museum.
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