BRG Welcomes Artist Members Charles Barbier, Paul Dean, John Harlan Norris & Tom Richard in February
At 7 p.m. on February 1, Baton Rouge Gallery, a BREC facility, will host a “First Wednesday” Opening Reception to introduce the latest works by four of its artist members: Charles Barbier, Paul Dean, John Harlan Norris and Tom Richard.
During their exhibition, which runs January 29 – February 23, gallery visitors will be treated to Charles Barbier’s painterly exploration of deep space, Tom Richard’s playful look back at his own childhood toys, Paul Dean’s colorful experiments with 35 years of record collecting and John Harlan Norris’ use of portraiture as an examination of the roles people play. The exhibition is free and open to the public for its duration, Tuesday – Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. at Baton Rouge Gallery (“BRG”) inside City Park (1515 Dalrymple Drive).
Some of the artists featured will also be on hand for an ARTiculate Gallery Tour on Sunday, February 5 (4 p.m.). Here, the public will have the chance to hear directly from the artists themselves about the inspirations, techniques and processes behind the works featured in the gallery. As a part of BRG's Sundays@4 series, all ARTiculate Gallery Tours are free and open to the public.
Charles Barbier
'Deep Space'
With his 2012 exhibition, “Deep Space,” BRG artist member Charles Barbier shifts his focus away from carnivals and explores his lifelong interest in science fiction movies, extraterrestrials and space. Barbier likens artists to scientists, in that both are forever searching, seeking out the unknown and experimenting in and with untouched territory. In this exhibition, Barbier displays work completed entirely on his own in addition to collaborative works. Of the collaborative process, Barbier says, “I like working in harmony as a team; the happy accidents, the conflicts, the arguments, the break-ups and the apologies, it’s all a lot of fun.”
A BRG artist member since 1994, Barbier was a self-taught artist for fifteen years before receiving instruction and earning his Masters of Fine Art from LSU. He cites his experience as a veteran of the Vietnam War (1968-69) as a strengthening factor in his artistic development. Barbier employs complex compositions that invite interpretation in his tackling of controversial subjects and themes; sometimes done with a dose of humor, always done with hope of exposing new, honest viewpoints to the viewer.
Paul Dean
'Spectra-Sonic'
Paul Dean’s exhibition, “Spectra-Sonic,” is the result of roughly 35 years of obsessive record collection, an eye for color, an infatuation with color theory and an interest in complex results emerging from relatively simple ideas. The collection of laser-cut album cover collages marks a return to some basic themes that have been a part of Dean’s work for as far back as the artist can recall. Among them: records, recycling, jigsaw puzzles and recombinatory experiments. As Dean explains, he strives “for work that is accessible to the general public, life-affirming, mysterious (like life), sincere (rather than ironic) and humorous.”
Paul Dean, a professor of color theory, typography and graphic design history at LSU’s School of Art, has been one of Baton Rouge Gallery’s most easily recognizable artist members since 1993. Since earning degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1980) and North Carolina State University (1986), Dean’s work has been exhibited throughout the country and is included in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institute (Washington, D.C.), the Museum of Modern Art (Manhattan, NY) and the New Orleans Museum of Art. Dean also serves as a freelance graphic designer and performs as a DJ. His weblog, djmisc.com, connects listeners to other DJs and vice versa through links and internet streams.
John Harlan Norris
‘Occupants’
John Harlan Norris’ third exhibition as a Baton Rouge Gallery artist member, “Occupants,” sees the artist explore portraiture, focused not on individuals, but on the many roles that we, as individuals, occupy. Whether speaking of professions or leisurely pursuits, we often assume identities that are both instructive and incomplete. With “Occupants,” Norris examines the possibilities and limitations of these identities by concentrating on ephemera, uniforms and environments to both define the sitters and obscure their individual qualities. As Norris himself puts it, “The portraits in this body of work seek to deemphasize and conceal the sitters’ individual identities in order to create images of figures entirely consumed by their given roles, professions or positions.”
John Harlan Norris has been a gallery artist member since 2009. A painter and musician originally from Kentucky, Norris holds a Master of Fine Arts in Drawing and Design from Louisiana State University and a Bachelor of Art in Studio Art and English form Centre College in Danville, Ky. Since graduating, Norris has taught drawing and design at Louisiana State University, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and Southern University. Since 2008, Norris has served as an Assistant Professor of Art at Arkansas State University. His work has been shown throughout the United States, including 2011 exhibitions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Georgia, Washington as well as having been included in the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey’s 25th International Juried Show (Juror: Joan Young of the Guggenheim Museum). Norris also fronts the popular indie-pop band, Harlan, which received critical acclaim from the likes of USA Today and Spin Magazine and recently released the album “Night Loop” (the band’s first release since 2008.Tom Richard
‘Jokes and Bombs’
With “Jokes and Bombs,” Richard continues his series of mixed media pieces which utilize the many toys from his childhood as initial subjects for his works which are then juxtaposed with other simple objects, pop-culture and existentialist quotes and various painting effects to address concepts of color-coding, inspiration and humor.
Tom Richard, a Houma, Louisiana native currently residing in Monticello, Arkansas, received his Master of Fine Arts from the State University of New York in Albany (1993) before joining BRG in 2007. His work has been exhibited in New York City, San Francisco, New Orleans and Chicago, among other locales. Richard currently serves as Professor of Art at the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
For more information on Baton Rouge Gallery, or this exhibition specifically, visit batonrougegallery.org or call 225.383.1470.
Baton Rouge Gallery, a BREC facility, is supported in part by funds from the Louisiana State Arts Council and the Louisiana Division of the Arts, the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge (through the Decentralized Arts Funding Program) and a grant from the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge through the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Gallery also receives support from the Community Fund for the Arts, WRKF, its Community Members and the late Paula Manship.
