O What a Night! Gala is Saturday, October 21, 2023! Here is a sneak peek of this year’s Silent Auction, sponsored by Neal Auction.

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 14, 2023.

Alex Sorapuru, Pick & Choose,  2023, Color pencil on matte board, 11 x 14 inches (framed), Courtesy of the artist

Working as an architectural designer, Alex Sorapuru’s acrylic and pen paintings are driven by his longtime passion of art. Through deliberate use of color blocking and intimate line work, his most recent work centers itself around his return back home to New Orleans, Louisiana. After graduating from Louisiana State University in 2016, Sorapuru moved to Colorado then Virginia, where his creation of contour portraits became an important part of him visualizing personal relationships and growth. In 2018. his first show, I Never Learned To Swim, opened in Steamboat Springs CO.

Inspired by the visualization of black cultural and most importantly, familial relationships; Sorapuru’s new work explores the triumphs, failures and juxtapositions of being back home. Through the central reference of past memories and photos, these paintings build on lessons learned in envisioning life as a queer black man. The topic of visibility, physical and perceived, drives the color pallet throughout the collection. Prominent use of directional line work compliments the organic composition of the contour drawings and highlights key relationships between the subjects of each piece.

Nonney Oddlokken, Butterfly Birther 2,  Sewn paper collage, 27 x 21 inches, Courtesy of the artist

Nonney Oddlokken’s life was greatly colored and shaped by her agoraphobic aunt, who raised Oddlokken with her working class mother. Unlike her mother, a cafeteria waitress, her aunt was unable to leave the house due to her mental illness. However, what could have been a catastrophic environment was turned into a world of magical realism. So colorful was Oddlokken’s childhood, that it took her until the age of seven to realize how unique and peculiar their own household was. Oddlokken explains, “My entire childhood was filled with my aunts daily magical creations: baby birds leaving Juicy Fruit gum at the windowsill, voodoo spells, a child named Toots that lived in the huge pear tree outside our door. Life was filled with magic and wonder… but also secrets.”

“It’s with the mixture of my own childhood ‘fables,’ Catholic references, Cajun folklore, New Orleans Voodoo and use of only the indigenous landscapes of Louisiana swamps and bayous and its flora and fauna, I’ve created these stand alone art pieces that also piece together a larger Louisiana narrative entitled Tiny, Little Fables.

To best express my vision, I created my own fiber art technique comprised of handmade paper substrates, stitched collage elements, finished with hundreds of yards of hand-stitched gold thread embellishments. The encircled eye symbolizes the enchanted people and creatures that live among us.”

Sophia Germer, Red Fish, 2023, Acrylic on birch panel, 30 x 34 inches, Courtesy of the artist

Sesthasak Boonchai, Martian in Munich, 2023, Pigment print on aluminum, 16 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Boyd Satellite

Sesthasak Boonchai is a creative nomad and educator whose work runs the gamut through drawing, painting, time-based media, photography and installation. He explores the effects of time and distance on how we construct memories. As an educator, he has taught at The New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts. University of New Orleans, The School of Visual Arts, Tulane University and Maine College of Art. His creative work has been exhibited at The Mississippi Museum of Art, The New Orleans Museum of Art, Contemporary Arts Center (New Orleans), Ogden Museum of Southern Art and others.

Martion in Munch is from an ongoing project that documents, explores and celebrates the world of stereo music and sound reproduction.

Kyle C. Salandy, “Deo Vindice,” 2023, Glazed and acrylic painted ceramic, wood, 20 x 20 x 23 inches, Courtesy of the artist

Kyle Christoph Salandy is a Trinidadian-American ceramist born in Brooklyn, New York but spent most of his life in Reading and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Salandy is a recent graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana’s Bachelor of Arts program, where he majored in fine arts and concentrated in hand-built ceramics. An aspiring art professor, Salandy currently serves as an educator and social media coordinator at YAYA Arts Center in New Orleans. His artistic journey is an exploration of resilience, unity and the power of storytelling. Through his most recent body of work, he aims to illuminate the stories of marginalized communities worldwide and the challenges they face from mutual adversaries. This collection stands as a testament to a collective responsibility to combat hate, bigotry and systematic oppression.

Bidding on Silent Auction items, sponsored by Neal Auction, will start online October 14 at 5 p.m. 

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 21, 2023 while also joining us in honoring this year’s recipient of the OPUS Award, Luis Cruz Azaceta. The gala will feature live music, food, entertainment, live and silent auctions, cocktails, dancing and more!

Reserve your tickets today!