Gallery sights in The South
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Brooks Museum of Art
At the park's western fringe, this well-regarded art museum has an excellent permanent collection encompassing everything from Renaissance sculpture to Impressionists (eg Renoir) to abstract expressionists (eg Robert Motherwell).
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Berta’s & Mina’s Antiquities
This cluttered gallery, with paintings seemingly tumbling out onto the sidewalk, specializes in regional folk art, especially the works of the late Nilo Lanzas, whose daughter operates the shop. Lanzas began painting at 63 and produced an impressive body of work, most of it of an outsider art/religious bent, up until his death. Museums and serious collectors have snatched up many of Lanzas’ paintings already, but there are dozens of nice pieces, all very eye-catching and worthy of homes. Lanzas’ work is, in fact, very easy to like. His daughter, Mina, also paints and her works show alongside her father’s and a few other artists from the city and its surrounds.
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A Gallery for Fine Photography
This impressive gallery usually has prints such as William Henry Jackson’s early-20th-century views of New Orleans and EJ Bellocq’s rare images of Storyville prostitutes, made from the photographers’ original glass plates. The gallery also regularly features Herman Leonard’s shots of Duke Ellington and other jazz legends, as well as the occasional Cartier-Bresson enlargement (available at second-mortgage prices).
reviewed
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Perrin Benham Gallery
Typifying the neighborhood's exciting sensibilities, this small gallery features some locally renowned painters, but really makes its mark with stellar works by lesser known artists. A case in point is the Brazilian painter Mauro Tambeiro, who the gallery has introduced to North America. Tambeiro's lush technique and warm, jazzy images are a soothing tonic against the desolation so much in vogue in contemporary New Orleans art.
reviewed
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Michalopoulos Gallery
Michalopoulos has become one of New Orleans’ most popular painters in recent years, in part on the strength of his best-selling Jazz Fest posters. His shop showcases his colorful and expressive architectural studies and paintings that look like van Gogh meets the Vieux Carré. The gallery holds frequent openings on Friday night. Check out the website or call ahead for hours and to check on specific events.
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Rossie’s Custom Framing
In the tiny little town of Donaldsonville, don’t miss Rossie’s Custom Framing, where the works of acclaimed folk artist Alvin Batiste are displayed and sold. His colorful interpretations of life in his hometown will take your breath away. Some afternoons he sets up his easel in the shop’s window, watching the street life passing by.
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Kurt E Schon Ltd Gallery
For moneyed art collectors, and the rest of us who just like to look at great artwork, Kurt E Schon is an immense gallery and storehouse that purveys fine paintings from the 19th century. The gallery is like a small museum showcasing the works of the lesser-known contemporaries of the master impressionists; most of the works on display are pieces of remarkable beauty.
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Animazing Gallery
You won't find local art here. This national dealer specializes in very cool works by legendary illustrators and animators. Chuck Jones' cells from classic Loony Toon cartoons, rare and personal art pieces by Dr Seuss, and the finished doodlings of Simpsons creator Matt Groening are but a few examples of what you're likely to encounter here.
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KKProjects
KKProjects has taken six abandoned homes and, with the input of the local community, turned them into studios/galleries/structures/works of art in their own right. Examples include a house floored and roofed with sod and turf that looks like a hobbit hole in the middle of the ghetto, community gardens and greenhouses.
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Newcomb Art Gallery
Part of Tulane University and flanked by beautiful Tiffany stained-glass triptychs, the Newcomb Art Gallery is a great spot to soak up some art; just outside is a pretty green where students sunbathe, toss Frisbees and generally recede into the happiest rhythms of American higher ed.
reviewed
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Barrister’s Gallery
A little ways beyond the Lower Garden District, this gallery has some edge to it. It has represented the works of Julie Crozat, who gained some notice for her lurid and visually stunning ‘Deadly Sins’ series. The gallery also specializes in works by African American and Haitian artists.
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Lemieux Galleries
Gulf Coast art is the emphasis in this nationally recognized gallery, and it’s a good place to get a handle on the breadth of the regional arts scene. Paintings here include Kate Samworth’s sardonic grotesqueries and Jon Langford’s depictions of local musicians.
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George Schmidt Gallery
New Orleans artist George Schmidt, a member of The New Leviathin Oriental FoxTrot Orchestra, describes himself as a ‘historical’ painter. Indeed, his canvasses evoke the city’s past, awash in a warm, romantic light. His Mardi Gras paintings are worth a look.
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Rodrigue Studio
Cajun artist George Rodrigue’s gallery is the place to go to see examples of his unbelievably popular ‘Blue Dog’ paintings. He just keeps painting and painting that darn dog. Look for topical works, in which the dog quietly comments on post-Katrina issues.
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Gibbes Museum of Art
Houses a decent collection of American and Southern works; the most interesting way to visit is in conjunction with a two-hour walking tour that combines the museum with various artistically significant city sights.
reviewed
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Jepson Center for the Arts
Now over five years old but still looking pretty darn space-age by Savannah's standards, the JCA focuses on 20th- and 21st-century art. Its contents are modest in size but intriguing. There's also a neat interactive area for kids. The $20 multivenue ticket allows discounted admission to two affiliated museums, the Telfair and the Owens-Thomas House.
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Harouni Gallery
Artist David Harouni is a native of Iran who has lived and worked in New Orleans for several decades. He creates works of absorbing depth by painting and scraping multiple layers of medium; the finished product has a surreal eerie beauty.
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Mississippi Museum of Art
This is the one fantastic attraction in Jackson. The collection of Mississippi art – a permanent exhibit dubbed 'The Mississippi Story' – is nothing less than superb. A new downtown green space called the Art Garden, with a symphony stage and live music, was underway at the time of writing.
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Heriard-Cimino Gallery
Established contemporary artists from across the USA are represented in this elegant space. The emphasis is on abstract and figurative paintings, but you might also encounter photography and sculpture here.
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Cole Pratt Gallery
Contemporary Southern artists are showcased in this fine-art gallery. Paintings here might include Lea Barton’s earthy abstractions or Gustave Blanche’s warmly rendered still-lifes.
reviewed
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High Museum of Art
Atlanta's modern High Museum was the first museum in the world to ever exhibit art lent from Paris' Louvre and is a destination as much for its architecture as its world-class exhibits. The striking whitewashed multi-level building houses a permanent collection of eye-catching late-19th-century furniture and countless European and American collections, contemporary pieces and Georgian folk art.
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Frist Center for the Visual Arts
Hosts traveling exhibitions of everything from American folk art to Picasso in the grand, refurbished post office building.
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Birmingham Museum of Art
Collects work from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Don't miss the work of Rodin, Botero and Dalí in the sculpture garden.
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Bergeron Studio & Gallery
This gallery has a superb collection of historic photographs by key artists who worked in New Orleans over the past century, from Pops Whitesell to Michael P Smith.
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Acadiana Center for the Arts
This arts center in the heart of downtown maintains three chic galleries and hosts dynamic theater, lectures and special events.
reviewed