New Orleans (February 21, 2020) – The Ogden Museum of Southern Art will present Entwined: Ritual Wrapping and Binding in Contemporary Southern Art, an exhibition of over 50 works of art by 11 artists, focused on the use of wrapping and binding techniques within the canon of contemporary Southern Art. On view from March 28 through August 30, 2020, Entwined explores the shared practice of tying in the execution of unique contemporary visions by a varied group of Southern artists.
Drawing inspiration from the traditions of various cultures, the diverse selection of artists featured in Entwined are connected by a similar approach in the execution of their work. From visionary allegorical paintings of the female form by Susan Jamison to the abstract textile sculptures of Sarah Zapata, ritual is a common theme. For some, it is the ritual of repetitive laborious handwork. For others, it is a ritual and spiritual act of creation. Through wrapping, painting, weaving, coiling, drawing or knotting, each artist creates their own unique and thoroughly contemporary vision to an ancient, universal and very human practice.
“From Native American sacred medicine bundles to Jewish laying of Tefillin, wrapping and binding have been used as a symbolic device by humans throughout history,” says Bradley Sumrall. “Both the ritual act and the act of creating art are ways of putting concrete reality to abstract ideas.”
One of the artists featured in the exhibition is Sarah Zapata, who creates large textile works using labor intensive processes such as hand weaving, rope coiling, latch hooking and sewing. Creating work through methodical repitition allows Zapata to connect emotional messages to her work and test the boundaries of the medium’s expressiveness. Inspired equally by the cultural traditions of fiber arts as well as nontraditional execution, Zapata’s work challenges the gender roles embedded in the craft’s history and places emphasis on themes of control systems, labor, cultural relevance and identity.
Kristin Meyers, an interdisciplinary artist based in New Orleans, enages ritual practice within her work to explore the human condition. With an interest in ritual as a lens to explore universal truths, Meyers describes the combination of actions involved in her ritualistic practice of creating as “combustible,” meaning that the energy exerted to create the piece is transformed into a work of art in an explosive way. Her work, created using nontraditional materials, utilizes installation and mapping ritual to explore these energies.
Artists featured in Entwined include Friendswood Brooms, Jeffrey Cook, Sonya Yong James, Susan Jamison, Sharon Kopriva, Kristin Meyers, Susan Plum, Ashley Pridmore, Elizabeth Shannon, Ed Williford and Sarah Zapata.
On view concurrently is the exhibition, Revelations: Recent Photography Acquisitions. Revelations will feature the work of 39 photographers whose work has been added to the Ogden Museum’s permanent collection over the last decade.
ABOUT THE OGDEN MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN ART
Located in the vibrant Warehouse Arts District of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana since 1999, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art welcomes 85,000 visitors annually to experience and learn about the artists and art movements of the American South. It is home to a collection of more than four thousand works, making it the largest and most comprehensive repository dedicated to Southern art in the nation, with particular strength in the genres of Self-Taught art, Regionalism, photography and contemporary art. The Museum is further recognized for its original exhibitions, public events and educational programs, which examine the development of visual art alongside Southern traditions of music, literature and local craft. Among its recent exhibitions are Piercing the Inner Wall: The Art of Dusti Bongé (2019), New Southern Photography (2018 – 2019), The Whole Drum Will Sound: Women in Southern Abstraction (2018), and Solidary & Solitary: The Joyner/Giuffrida Collection, presented by The Helis Foundation (2017 – 2018).
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 Museum is located at 925 Camp Street, New Orleans Louisiana 70130. For more information visit ogdenmuseum.org or call 504.539.9605.