Ogden Museum of Southern Art
925 Camp St
New Orleans, LA 70130
504.539.9650 | HOURS
925 Camp St
New Orleans, LA 70130
504.539.9650 | HOURS
Rick Dobbs, Wildman Kyron, 2024, Photography, 24 x 36, Courtesy of the artist
Ogden Museum of Southern Art first launched Louisiana Contemporary, presented by The Helis Foundation in 2012, to establish a vehicle that would bring to the fore the work of artists living in Louisiana and highlight the dynamism of art practice throughout the state. Since the inaugural exhibition thirteen years ago, Ogden Museum has shown works by over 560 artists, making Louisiana Contemporary an important moment in the national arts calendar to recognize and experience the spectrum and vitality of artistic voices emanating from New Orleans and in art communities across Louisiana.
This statewide, juried exhibition promotes the contemporary art practices in the state of Louisiana, provides an exhibition space for the exposition of living artists’ work and engages a contemporary audience that recognizes the vibrant visual arts culture of Louisiana and the role of New Orleans as a rising, international art center.
This year’s juror, Lauren Haynes, Head Curator, Governors Island Arts and Vice President for Arts and Culture at the Trust for Governors Island, has selected 41 works by 37 artists from over one-thousand submissions.
Haga clic aquí PARA TRADUCIR AL ESPAÑOLPresenting Sponsor:
Host Committee:
Kaye Courington
Alison Hartman
Eclectic Home
Jan W. Katz & Jim Derbes
Jackson & Donna Little
Catherine Makk
Roger H. Ogden & Ken Barnes
Erica J. Washington
Richard Wilkof
Contributor:
Debra J. Fischman
support louisiana contemporaryArtemis Antippas
Theresa Batty
Erin Bennett
Ginina Biondini
Virginia Candler
Compton III
Anita Cooke
Kristie Cornell
Giancarlo D’Agostaro
Janet Dake
Rick Dobbs
Matthew Draughter
Misty Findley
Kate Gordon
Amber Hart
Jaelyn ”Yaya” Hill
Warren Irwin
Yume Jensen
Miles Jordan
Lillian LaGrange
Deanna Larmeu
Nicholas LiCausi
Shawne Major
Milagros Collective
Cristina Molina
Joelle Nagy
Cora Nimtz
Nikki Nolan
Pablo Perez
Peyton Pickenpaugh
Suzanna Scott
Katie Singleton
Alexander Stolin
Jill Stoll
Jessica Strahan
Trenity Thomas
Meg Turner
The Memory of Miss River, 2023, Multi-channel video installation
“I didn’t know You then but I know You now,” 2023, Inherited fabric, fiber fill, thread, wood, lace
church, 2022, Acrylic, oil, rice paper on wood cutout
view master, 2022, Acrylic and oil on coffee
Jezebel, 2023, Aluminum foil, fabric, thread, fabric hardener
Lauren Haynes is the Head Curator of Governors Island Arts and Vice President for Arts and Culture at the Trust for Governors Island. Prior to joining the Governors Island Arts, Haynes was the Director of Curatorial Affairs and Programs at the Queens Museum in Queens, New York; Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University; and Director of Artist Initiatives and Curator, Contemporary Art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary in Bentonville, Arkansas. Haynes led the inaugural visual arts programming for the Momentary when it opened to the public in February 2020. Haynes’s recent curatorial projects include Lyle Ashton Harris: Our first and last love (co-curator, 2023); The Power of Portraiture: Recent Acquisitions (2022); Beyond the Surface: Mixed Media and Textile Works from the Collection (2022); Reckoning and Resilience: North Carolina Art Now (co-curator, 2022); Kenny Rivero: The Floor is Crooked (2021); Crystal Bridges at 10 (2021); Sarah Cain: In Nature (2021); State of the Art 2020 (co-curator, 2020); and The Beyond: Georgia O’Keeffe and Contemporary Art (co-curator, 2018). Prior to joining Crystal Bridges, Haynes spent nearly a decade at The Studio Museum in Harlem. As a specialist in African-American contemporary art, Haynes curated dozens of exhibitions at the Studio Museum and contemporary art institutions in New York. Haynes serves on the board of the Association of Art Museum Curators and on the visiting committee for the Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College. Haynes was a 2018 Center for Curatorial Leadership fellow and a recipient of a 2020 ArtTable New Leadership Award. In 2023, President Joe Biden appointed Haynes to the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, on which she currently serves.
It would be a naive to assume that every artist in each state creates work that reflects their state or that artists have one consistent commonality based on location. Artists are not only influenced by their surroundings, but also by their individual life experiences and artistic leanings and interests. So, when asked to be the juror for the 2024 edition of Louisiana Contemporary, presented by The Helis Foundation, I was not sure what I would see, but was excited to see a variety of works that created a strong sample of artists living and working in Louisiana today – and I wasn’t disappointed. This year’s entrants for Louisiana Contemporary, presented by The Helis Foundation, submitted works in an array of media, depicting a wide range of topics. In the over 1100 submissions by 367 artists, there was a strong contingent of works depicting animals and the natural world. Clearly the fantastic landscape of Louisiana has an impact on some who live there. There was also a good amount of portraiture, both self-portraiture and images of others. And with regards to sculpture, artists are using all types of materials and processes to create unique and layered works. What struck me most about all the submissions was the range of ages and artistic backgrounds of the makers. There were entries from undergrad students, entries from MFA students, entries from people who have been working as artists for decades and entries from those who have come to art making later in life. Some entrants have submitted works to this exhibition for many years and for some this was their first attempt to be in this exhibition. Clearly the creative urge in Louisiana is strong and isn’t restricted to one group of people. During the selection process, I wasn’t looking for works that all had the same theme or proved some thesis I developed. My process was a bit more intuitive. The final selections represent the works I was drawn to, as great examples of work being made by a variety of makers living and working in Louisiana in 2024.
