NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Ogden Museum of Southern Art announced today the winners of the 2020 edition of Louisiana Contemporary, presented by The Helis Foundation, on view at Ogden Museum September 5, 2020 – February 7, 2021. Louisiana Contemporary is the Museum’s annual juried exhibition, and this year features 55 works by 56 Louisiana artists from a total of 1,388 works submitted by 363 artists.
The 2020 guest juror, René Morales, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Chief Curator at Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), announced the following awards:
The Helis Foundation Art Prize for Best in Show: Wendo Brunoir
Appropriation of a Masterpiece, Spray paint on laser cut wood on birch panel
Don’t Catch You Slippin’ Up, Acrylic and spray paint on laser cut wood mounted to panel
First Place: Nic Brierre Aziz
Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy (White Barbies), Video
Second Place: Luis Cruz Azaceta
CRISIS 3, Acrylic on canvas
Third place: Ann Perich
determination or distrust, Archival pigment print
With support from The Helis Foundation, Ogden Museum honors these four artists who highlight some of the most provocative and compelling works in the exhibition. The four awards come with cash prizes and special recognition at the Museum. Wendo Brunoir, the recipient of the lead award, The Helis Foundation Art Prize, will receive the unrestricted amount of $5,000.
For the 2020 edition, Morales was attuned to artists and artworks that are actively engaging with this particular moment in American history, through different media and stylistic and technical approaches.
“I felt immeasurably honored to have been invited to jury the prestigious Louisiana Contemporary in this year of years,” says Morales. “Beyond purely aesthetic criteria, many of the selected works seem to have deeply absorbed the power and intensity of the current moment, while providing insight into Louisiana’s incredibly rich, multifaceted culture. Through this combination, a lucid picture emerges of how this exceedingly unique context has experienced the tragedies and turmoil that have accompanied the pandemic, and how profoundly and passionately it has internalized the struggle for justice and reform. As a whole, the works embody art’s unique ability to help us understand and process realities that we might otherwise be unable to grasp, much less express and discuss in a constructive manner.”
The full roster of 2020 artists includes:
David Armentor
Nic Brierre Aziz
Jacksun Bein
MaryGrace Bernard
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Wendo Brunoir
Kara Crowley
Theresa Crushshon
Luis Cruz Azaceta
Michael Eble
James Flynn
Josiah Gagosian
Mitchell Gaudet
Mike Hartnett
Jordan Hess
Miles Kinney
David Knox
Abbey Kuhe
Charles Muir Lovell
Andrew Lyman
Rikailah Mathieu
Rose McBurney
Rebecca McGirney
Michael McGrane
Greg Miles
Jacob Mitchell
Karen Ocker
Nicole Ockmond
Stephanie Paine
Brendon Palmer-Angell
Carol Peebles
Keith Perelli
Ann Perich
Matthew Phelan
Herb Roe
Brittan Rosendahl
Dan Rule
Claire Christine Sargenti
Cynthia Scott
Isabella Scott
Noamy Sechooler
Joey Slaughter
Joshua Smith
Gailene St. Amand
Jill Stoll
Drew Stubbs
Trenity Thomas
Sherry Tipton
Antonia Zennaro
Monica Zeringue
Collaborative team: Caitlin, Nelle Edge, Lacy Levin, Savannah Levin, Elias Serhan and Antonia Zennaro
“Since its launch in 2012, Louisiana Contemporary has presented 729 works by 450 artists, and has provided an important platform for experiencing the depth and diversity of work being produced by Louisiana artists,” says William Pittman Andrews, Executive Director of Ogden Museum. “We are continuously inspired by the visions and innovations of the featured artists, whose work engages with formal and conceptual dialogues within contemporary practice, as well as with some of the most pressing social and political issues of our time. We are grateful to The Helis Foundation for their ongoing support for this initiative and to the artists who continue to challenge and compel us in new and exciting ways.”
In addition to René Morales, prior jurors have included David Breslin, Director of Curatorial Initiatives at the Whitney Museum of American Art; Courtney J. Martin, Director of the Yale Center for British Art and former Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the Dia Art Foundation; Shantrelle P. Lewis, an independent curator, author, and documentarian; and Bill Arning, former Director of Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.
