A few weeks ago, I posted about free admittance to various museums this month and how it was a great way to avoid the oppressive heat. There are still a few days left to enjoy the freebies, and if you do, I recommend working the New Orleans Museum of Art into your schedule so that you can catch two exhibitions that will appeal to the design-minded among you.
Robert Polidori: Recollections (on view through Jan. 8, 2023) offers a peek into the largest private collection of the photographer’s work. According to NOMA’s website, “Polidori was born in Montréal but spent his teenage years living in New Orleans while his father worked as an engineer at the nearby Michoud NASA plant.” Polidori’s large format, color images of interiors (such as the Palace of Versailles), architecture and urban landscapes around the world are powerfully presented on an impressively large scale in the museum’s galleries. His use of large format cameras and film enable viewers to appreciate even the most minute elements of the images in crisp detail.
Katherine Choy: Radical Potter in 1950s New Orleans (on view through April 23, 2023) is a retrospective of the artist’s work and the first in New Orleans since 1959. Born in Hong Kong and educated in the United States, Choy became director of ceramics at Newcomb College in 1954, at age 24. Her expressive, experimental works and brief, yet impactful career are detailed in the collection of her ceramics on display and a detailed look at her life woven into this thoughtful exhibition.
Both shows will leave you in awe of the artists and eager to see and learn more about them and their inspiring work.
If you’d like to discuss decorative arts, photography or brainstorm additional activities that help New Orleanians beat the heat and stay out of the rain, email melanie@myneworleans.com.
