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."
Read the entire article on MyNewOrleans.com.