Baton Rouge Gallery hosted its 17th annual installation of Surreal Salon Soiree.
The soiree is held in celebration of the Surreal Salon exhibition that features over five dozen artworks by pop-surrealist artists hailing from all over the world. The event presents the local artistic community with an opportunity to showcase their abilities through creating elaborate costumes for the night.
Baton Rouge Gallery CEO Jason Andreasen spoke of how rewarding it has been to see Surreal Salon grow over the years.
“This began as a one night only showing of the exhibition that has gone on to become an international showing,” Andreasan said. “We are thrilled to be entering the 17th year of hosting this.”
Over 700 works were submitted to be a part of this year’s exhibition. Editor-in-chief of Juxtapoz Magazine, Evan Pricco, served as the Special Guest Juror and decided which works would be featured.
Cash prizes are awarded to artists and exhibitions that are deemed best in show, with this year’s winner being LSU graduate student Amber Hart. Hart’s winning oil-painting, “Seating for Six”, is her depiction of a dinner table and what she would imagine the experience of hosting a dinner to look and feel like.
Sara Hannon is an artist based in Austin, Texas whose abstract acrylic painting, “We’ve Been Taught To Listen”, was selected to be featured in this year’s exhibition.
“It means a ton to be a part of this event, ” Hannon said. “I love anything that allows people to embrace their creativity and operate in a world other than our daily lives.”
Upon arriving at the soiree, guests could immediately understand what Hannon meant. Attendees arrived dressed as everything from animals and flowers to fictional characters and historical figures. The collective appreciation for artistic expression made it easy to strike up a conversation with a stranger about the amazing turnout.
Socializing was followed by live performances at the Baton Rouge Gallery and an after-party hosted at Radio Bar, located at 3079 Government St, Baton Rouge. The night was a lively, beautiful display of how art brings the world together and gives people a reason to be happy during times of uncertainty.
Baton Rouge Gallery’s knack for using unique programming to connect artists to audiences shines through in Surreal Salon, as well as the gallery’s status as one of the longest-standing artist cooperatives in the country. Artists can apply for membership each summer and are allotted opportunities to showcase their work at the gallery.
Baton Rouge Gallery Exhibitions Director, Kelsey Livingston, hopes that the gallery can continue to start conversations about the richness of the current contemporary art scene.
“There is an abundance of talent here and the party itself is a celebration of that,” Livingston said.
Baton Rouge Gallery is hosting an opening reception for its next exhibition on Wednesday, Feb. 5th. To keep up with Baton Rouge Gallery, you can follow their Instagram: @brgallery.
