25 Artists Selected by Juror Courtney J. Martin for 2018 Louisiana Contemporary, Presented by The Helis Foundation Opening at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art August 4, 2018

NEW ORLEANS — Juror Courtney J. Martin, Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the Dia Art Foundation, has selected 34 works by 25 Louisiana artists for 2018 Louisiana Contemporary, Presented by The Helis Foundation. This annual juried exhibition will be on view at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art August 4 – November 4, 2018, with a VIP reception on August 3 and a public opening reception on Hancock Whitney White Linen Night on August 4.

Louisiana Contemporary, Presented by The Helis Foundation 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 2018 artists are Renée Allie, Craig Berthold, Bradley Bowers, Katie Clark, Anita Cooke, Dean Dablow, Marianne Desmarais, Cat Gambel, Mitchell Gaudet, Erfan Ghiasi, Ryan Gianelloni, Southerly Gold, Marcia Holmes, David Knox, Lena Kolb, Justin Lundgren, Bonnie Maygarden, Esther Murphy, Jack Niven, Alex Podesta, Laurel Porcari, Rhenda Saporito, Matthew Shain, Riley Teahan & Natalita Oliver and Nell Tilton

“In a state with an abundance of acknowledged cultural resources, the Louisiana Contemporary exhibition raises the awareness of the region’s equally rich field of contemporary art and artists,” says Courtney J. Martin.

This year, 382 artists submitted 507 entries, totaling 1,161 pieces of art.

On August 3 from 6 to 8 p.m., the VIP reception will take place, and the winners of the exhibition will be announced. Awards include first, second and third place, along with the Best in Show winner, who will receive the The Helis Foundation Art Prize. William Pittman Andrews, Executive Director of the Ogden Museum, and David Kerstein, President and Executive Officer of The Helis Foundation, will make announcements.

“We are proud to offer The Helis Foundation Art Prize to the Best in Show winner,” says David Kerstein. “The Helis Foundation is committed to supporting the Louisiana arts community and the dynamic artists who contribute to its vibrancy.”

Louisiana Contemporary, Presented by The Helis Foundation will open to the public August 4 from 5 to 9:30 p.m. on Hancock Whitney White Linen Night, an annual event in the Arts District of New Orleans.

If you have questions regarding Louisiana Contemporary, Presented by The Helis Foundation, 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.

Cash awards will be presented to first, second and third prize, in addition to the Best in Show recipient who will receive The Helis Foundation Art Prize of $5,000.

About Courtney J. Martin                                    

Courtney J. Martin is the Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the Dia Art Foundation. Prior to Dia, she was an assistant professor in the History of Art and Architecture department at Brown University; assistant professor in the History of Art department at Vanderbilt University; Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the History of Art at the University of California, Berkeley; a fellow at the Getty Research Institute; and a Henry Moore Institute Research Fellow. In 2015, she received an Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant. She also worked in the media, arts and culture unit of the Ford Foundation in New York.

In 2012, she curated a focus display at Tate Britain, Drop, Roll, Slide, Drip…Frank Bowling’s Poured Paintings 1973-1978. In 2014, she co-curated the group show, Minimal Baroque: Post-Minimalism and Contemporary Art, at Rønnebæksholm in Denmark. From 2008-2015, she co-led a research project on the Anglo-American art critic Lawrence Alloway at the Getty Research Institute and is co-editor of “Lawrence Alloway: Critic and Curator” (Getty Publications, 2015, winner of the 2016 Historians of British Art Book Award). In 2015, she curated an exhibition of the American painter, Robert Ryman at the Dia Art Foundation, entitled Robert Ryman. She is the editor of “Four Generations: The Joyner Giuffrida Collection of Abstract Art” (Gregory R. Miller & Co., 2016).

She received a doctorate from Yale University for her research on twentieth century British art and is the author of essays on Rasheed Araeen, Kader Attia, Rina Banerjee, Frank Bowling, Lara Favaretto, Leslie Hewitt, Lubaina Himid, Asger Jorn, Wangechi Mutu, Ed Ruscha, Jack Whitten and Yinka Shonibare. In 2018 she will oversee exhibitions of artwork by Mary Course, Dan Flavin, Dorothea Rockburne and Keith Sonnier at the Dia Art Foundation.

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.