CELEBRATING BARBIER

NOVEMBER 14 - 29, 2018

This August, Baton Rouge lost a legend. This November, we celebrate him.

On exhibit November 14 - 29, 2018, Celebrating Barbier honors the life and art of popular local artist Charles Barbier. Known as much for his colorful style and eye for composition as for his dedication to the arts in the Baton Rouge area, Barbier was a prolific painter, an avid muralist (on both sanctioned and self-commissioned works), and was one of the city’s most beloved artists.

In addition to his career as an artist, Barbier was also a veteran of the Vietnam War, a Purple Heart honoree, a prom king, a basketball player, a father, a mentor, a teacher and more.

Charles Barbier, born in Plaquemine, Louisiana in 1947, passed away unexpectedly on August 2 due to complications from pneumonia.

With this exhibition, BRG called on the Barbier family and a handful of his longtime collaborators to assemble a collection of more than 70 works spanning 54 years of his artmaking practice. The show includes his everything from his first oil painting (completed in 1963, at the age of 16) to ink on paper works just finished in 2017. At the request of the Barbier family, many of the works on display have been made available for purchase.

Join us on November 17 for a special celebration of the exhibition and the man himself, with live music and drinks. This event (6 - 9 p.m.) will be free and open to the public.

The Glassell Gallery (located alongside The Shaw Center in downtown Baton Rouge) will present an in-depth retrospective on Barbier in the Fall of 2019 titled Barbier: In the Raw. Representatives from the gallery will be present during the November 17 opening to collect stories from and contact information for those wishing to assist with the exhibition (by loaning works of Barbier’s for exhibition, by donating to the effort, etc).

About Charles Barbier:

Before receiving instruction (including a BFA from University of New Orleans and MFA from Louisiana State University), Barbier was a self-taught artist for fifteen years. He cited his experience as a veteran of the Vietnam War (1968-69) as a strengthening factor in his development as an artist. In tackling controversial subjects and themes that often reflect a local context, Barbier employed complex compositions with meanings that are open to the interpretation of the viewer. In addition to his work being shown in galleries, Barbier was also a prolific muralist throughout Baton Rouge.

He was a BRG artist member since 1994 until his passing this summer.

For more information on Celebrating Barbier, call BRG at 225.383.1470.