NEW ORLEANS, LA.- The Ogden Museum of Southern Art/University of New Orleans unveiled new exhibitions on Whitney White Linen Night—Sat. August 3, 2013—that present an extraordinary array of established and emerging artists of the American South.

Louisiana Contemporary presented by Regions Bank
Louisiana Contemporary presented by Regions Bank 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 living artists work, 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 exhibition juror is Franklin Sirmans, the Terri and Michael Smooke Department Head and Curator of Contemporary Art for the Los Angeles County Museum (LACMA) and artistic director of Prospect.3 New Orleans.

“Louisiana Contemporary presented by Regions Bank gives form to a community of artists that are making the strongest commitment to art of the American South by living and working in Louisiana,” says Ogden Museum Director William Andrews. “This is a great opportunity for this community to have a specific voice, and provides the chance for an acclaimed curator to consider their collective work in relation to what is happening in other art cities in the United States and abroad.”

Seeing Beyond the Ordinary: Joshua Dudley Greer, Laura Noel and Susan Worsham
Organized by Ogden Museum Curator of Photography Richard McCabe, this exhibition features three emerging photographers who are making extraordinary images from everyday, ordinary moments: Joshua Dudley Greer; Laura Noel; and Susan Worsham.

Joshua Dudley Greer: Somewhere Along The Line: The ideas of mobility, prosperity, community and growth—cornerstones of the American Dream—still motivate many to strike out on the road in search of something beyond what our daily lives provide. The sites and people depicted are united by the influence of the road, by a shared history, and by the photographer’s attempts to reconcile the past with the present.

Laura Noel: Smoke Break: The photographs concern the attitudes—defiance, enjoyment and resignation, and contentment—of those who continue to smoke cigarettes in the face of public condemnation. The pull of addiction and self-image is strong—as evidenced in these images.

Susan Worsham: By the Grace of God: This series takes the photographer beyond the backyards and trails of her youth. It deals with the hospitality of strangers, and hits on a feeling she has sometimes when taking portraits: the feeling that she was supposed to meet a particular person, or turn down a certain road.

“Writing on the photography of William Eggleston, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eudora Welty observed, ‘No subject is fuller of implications than the mundane world!’” says McCabe.

“With Seeing Beyond the Ordinary, mundane and banal moments are captured with a quiet intensity by three Southern photographers: Susan Worsham, Laura Noel, and Joshua Dudley Greer,” says McCabe. “These photographers make extraordinarily honest and beautiful images taken from ordinary events within their everyday environs. Their simple visual approach to photography results in a complex study of normalcy. These photographs are meditations on the present and what seems to be lurking under the surface.”

Southern Imagists: Selections from the Permanent Collection of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art
In the late 1960s, a group of artists emerged from the Chicago art scene that eschewed the dominant trends in American art of abstraction and minimalism, opting instead to focus on the image and landscape. Using a bold palette and drawing inspiration from surrealism, pop culture and personal experience, these artists used image as metaphor in an expressionist style. The fantastical imagery, bold palette and strong narrative element of the Chicago Imagists created a style that was easily adapted by artists throughout the country, but perhaps no region as naturally and enthusiastically as the American South, especially in New Orleans. This exhibition includes works by artists ranging from Roger Brown (an Alabama-born original member of the Chicago Imagists) to Amita Bhatt (a contemporary Indian artist living and working in Houston, Texas). Also included are Robert Gordy, Douglas Bourgeois, Robert Warrens, Charles Blank, Justin Forbes, Frederich Trenchard and other artists whose work is included in the permanent collection of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.