IBIS Contemporary Art Gallery to host Hannah Chalew

NEW ORLEANS (press release) – IBIS Contemporary Art Gallery will host the following new exhibitions in January: An Outside Chance — featuring the works by artists Ann Marie Auricchio, Keith Crowley, Lilian Garcia-Roig, and Mark Messersmith – and Dry Cypress Bayou, a solo exhibition of sculptural drawings by New Orleans artist Hannah Chalew, the winner of the 2022 South Arts Southern Prize.

An Outside Chance features these four artists working in the south, creating art that responds to their local environment. Curated around this theme, the exhibition highlights a variety of forms and interpretations related to landscape.

Ann Marie Auricchio’s work occupies an intersectional space between reality and abstraction. Her metaphorical landscapes are a hero’s quest to confront personal traumatic experiences.

Keith Crowley’s works are inspired by his surroundings. His work represents very intimate feelings of the subjects he perceives. His works are haunting, revealing intensely focused reflections of a quiet world.

Lilian Garcia-Roig’s artistic practice is expressed on-site using a wet-on-wet painting technique. This, as she describes, “places an emphasis on the performative nature of her work”. As the observed place changes, so does the work. The painting acts as a recording of light and color variations of a particular place in real-time.

Mark Messersmith’s work centers around his perceptions and concerns for a shrinking environment and the wild animals that inhabit them. His work is a testament to his love of this colorful world.

An Outside Chance runs from Jan. 3 – Feb. 25, 2023 with an opening reception on Jan. 7, from 5-9 p.m. in the Front Gallery of IBIS Contemporary Art Gallery. 

Dry Cypress Bayou is the creation of Hannah Chalew, an educator and environmental activist from New Orleans. Chalew has a significant exhibition record and is the recipient of numerous grants. Most notably, she was awarded the prestigious 2022 South Arts Southern Prize in addition to being chosen as the South Arts Louisiana State Fellow. She received her BA from Brandeis University in 2009 and an MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2016.

Regarding the exhibition, Chalew writes, “Dry Cypress Bayou is the name of a place that no longer exists; it’s among 30 place names that NOAA removed from its maps in 2011 because coastal erosion has disintegrated the land around these former water bodies turning them into open water. This recent body of drawings and sculptural drawings references the changing nature of place in Southern Louisiana. Plants, both living and dead, weave through these drawings and sculptures — bridging past and present with visions of the future ecosystems that might emerge from our culture’s detritus if the status quo remains unchanged.”

The exhibition runs from Jan. 3-28, with an Artist Reception on Jan. 7 from 5-9 p.m. It will be installed in IBIS’ Middle Gallery.

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