O What a Night! Gala is Saturday, October 15! Here is a sneak peek of this year’s Silent Auction, sponsored by Neal Auction Company.
We are pleased to present 100+ works of art by regional artists in our O What a Night! Gala Silent Auction, supporting and celebrating the art of the American South. Support the O and the artists, who receive a portion of the proceeds, by previewing at the Museum and bidding online starting October 8.
Becca McGirney, Laundry Day, 2013, Archival Pigment, 8 x 10 inches, Courtesy of the artist
Becca McGirney identifies as a street and travel photographer. She uses photography as a means to explore the world around her through documenting every day narratives and exploring different forms of light, shadow, color and texture.
This photo, Laundry Day, was taken in the spring of 2013, in Burano Italy. Burano is a small island in the Venetian Lagoon, only accessible by boat. The island is known for its small, brightly painted homes. The light was just right in this moment and the monochromatic color scheme was inviting.
Earl Dismuke, Inner Peace, 2021, Wood, stone, porcelain doll parts, 24 x 9 x 7.5 inches, Courtesy of the artist
Earl Dismuke is a Mississippi-based sculptor. Growing up on a cattle farm in a rural community, he spent his time exploring, collecting and using his imagination to entertain himself. Storytelling was a big part of his childhood. In the south storytelling is still very much a part of the culture.
His sculptures are abstract, made from wood, steel, cast aluminum and found objects. Some of these found objects you see in your everyday life, but others are rather bulky industrial metal castoffs that he finds while searching scrap yards and fabrication plants.
Dismuke tells a story with each piece he builds. He does not always know what the end narrative will be, nor is that his intent. He leaves enough ambiguity in the work that the audience can make their own interpretations. By inviting the viewer to interpret what the work means or what the artist was thinking, the viewer is forced to bring themselves into the work.
Kaori Maeyama, Land of Dreams, 2020, Oil on panel, 12 x 24 x 2 inches, Courtesy of the artist and LeMieux Galleries
Kaori Maeyama is an urban landscape painter born and raise in Fukuoka, Japan. A New Orleans resident since 1994, she worked as a focus puller and a digital audio editor before shifting her focus to analog image making. Her recent work has been shown at Staple Goods, LeMieux Galleries and Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and reviewed on Gambit Weekly, Louisiana Life Magazine and Pelican Bomb. She holds a BA in filmmaking from the University of New Orleans and an MFA in painting from Tulane University where she learned to paint without paintbrushes.
Trenity Thomas, On Foot, 2020, Photographic print, 30 x 30 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Jonathan Ferrara Gallery
Trenity Thomas is a self-taught photographer who has also experimented with painting and sketching since grade school. As a photographer, he has worked in a myriad of genres including fashion, lifestyle, editorial, conceptual, sports, portraiture and nightlife photography. As a photographer, Trenity uses his camera to capture the life and composition of still life around him. His photographs have a warmth to them that pulls the viewer into the scene as if they were present – a feature that has become characteristic of his photographic style. Trenity has been in various juried exhibitions, which includes Jonathan Ferrarah Gallery’s 24th Annual No Dead Artists, International Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Art and the Louisiana Contemporary juried exhibition presented by The Helis Foundation at Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, Louisiana. His photographs have also received international attention when they were chosen for exhibition in photovogue, a prestigious collection of photographs curated by the Photo Editors of Vogue Italia.
Susan Havens-Morris, Ming Dragon Vase, 2022, Acrylic and spray can on canvas, 30 x 24 inches, Courtesy of the artist
Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, Susan Havens-Morris was raised in the rich international culture of the city. When it came time to solidify her love of art into a career, she did not have to travel far; it was in her backyard on Michigan Avenue. Susan polished her creative skills with a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She then spent the next 27 years working in Chicago Advertising Agencies as an Art Director and Creative Director.
Enchanted by history, warm weather and a new culture, New Orleans became a source of further enrichment. Susan and her family moved to the Big Easy in 2012. With her design partner/ husband Gregory Morris, they expanded their company Haven America in their Uptown art studio. Last year’s pandemic spawned her to create a new art experience—Gallery Haven, digging deeper into her fine art roots.
Bidding on Silent Auction items, sponsored by Neal Auction Company, will start online October 8.
O What a Night! Gala raises critical funds for Ogden Museum’s exhibitions and programming. Come support the arts and culture of the South on October 15 while also joining us in honoring this year’s recipient of the OPUS Award, George Dunbar. The gala will feature live music, food, entertainment, live and silent auctions, cocktails, dancing and more!
Reserve your tickets today!
LEARN MORE ABOUT O WHAT A NIGHT! GALA 2022