The Baton Rouge Gallery’s new exhibit gives locals the opportunity to set their sights on contemporary art from talented artists who have their roots in southern Louisiana.
“We are an artist-cooperative gallery, which is a fancy way of saying that the artists who are members of the gallery get to determine the artistic direction of the gallery,” said Jason Andreasen, executive director.
New exhibits are put together at the gallery each month from the works of the artist members that complement and highlight talent, Andreasen said.
The diversity of the pieces being featured makes the December exhibition stand out, Andreasen said.
“There is a black and white landscape photographer, an artist who works in textiles and quilts, an artist who created a woodcarving and there is an artist who works in colored pencil,” he said.
Jenny Authement, Mary Lee Eggart, Elizabeth Cherry Owen and Eleanor Owen Kerr are the four artists being spotlighted this month.
Authement’s wooden relief intricately depicts a biblical parable from the Book of Matthew and is the only sculpture featured this month.
“It is really something that had to have taken a lot of time, and it is really kind of a departure for the artist,” Andreasen said. “I’ve been with the gallery four years now, and this is the first time I have ever seen [Authement] do anything with a woodcarving. The detail and the size of the piece are really something Batture” by Kerr, will also be shown.
“We want to show as much quality work as we can, especially from our artist members,” Andreasen said. “We want to highlight the high level of quality and excellence that is going on here in Baton