by Thomas Rush

Good Children Gallery
4037 St. Claude Ave
Through June 9
Saturday and Sunday 12-6 p.m.
Admission: Free

    Good Children Gallery– the first art collective formed in the now bourgeoning St. Claude Art District –  is what you need to know in regard to the hypothetical posed previously.  It’s these crazy, young pent-up kids with their ideas and their colors and their hormones that seem to be causing all of the hullabaloo.  They’ve got too much energy and they don’t know what to do with it so they end up just expressing it and spreading their good things into other people’s lives without even asking.
    Good Children does not abide by the standard operating procedures of gallery management.  Instead they pitch in, each member responsible for his/her own fair share.  They cover the costs and split the spoils much the same.  After each member has gotten their respective month with the space to do what they please, the team gangs up on the gallery and comes at it full-force with a collaboration from all angles.
    The artists are gallery owners, managers, curators, and artists smelted into one.  It’s not an unheard-of idea; it is, however, less commonly practiced.  And as such, it has the desired result of veering outside of the lines and picking up where other galleries leave off.
    The artists involved so far have been able to feature their own work, and now that they’ve been given some of that freedom they plan on sharing it; flying artists in from elsewhere, often with only the art that can be fit into a suitcase, leaving the perfect opportunity to require the artist to build-make-paint-sculpt their piece after having arrived.  This creates the definitive one-of-a-kind art that fits the space, people, atmosphere, and idea of Good Children Gallery.

Things to know: on the second Saturday of every month the St. Claude Art District has their gallery openings.

The Studio at Colton School

    One of the largest gallery spaces in the city of New Orleans is still largely unknown in some circles.  The Studio at Colton School, located at 2300 St. Claude Avenue and sponsored by the Creative Alliance of New Orleans (CANO), is made up of 100,000 square feet of an old middle school.  One of the most unique venues for viewing and making art, it is home to over “100 artists, musicians and performers designers, architects, writers, film and video makers, dancers, photographers, Mardi Gras Indians and other bearers of the region’s cultural legacy” who are able to work and play there for free, yes, for free, due to the generosity and foresight of CANO.  With 100 artists, 50 classrooms, and an 1100 seat auditorium that is used for concerts and larger events, you are going to want to go to there; whether for your viewing pleasure, to plan your wedding that’s coming up, or just to relive those glory days of your yesteryears.  More info at www.studioatcolton.org or call 822-8182.

June Gallery Listings  
 

Avenue Art
902 Harrison Ave., 483-8901
Eye catching artwork by local artists: Shannon Marie Loup, Martin Welch, Robert Cook, Janet Boyd, Marcie Davis, Clementine Hunters, Photography by Ronny Cardwell and Robert Post.

Callan Fine Art
240 Chartres St., 524-0025
19th and early 20th century art with works by Eugene de Blaas, Louis Valtat, and other artists of the Barbizon, Impressionist, and Post-Impressionist schools.

Contemporary Arts Center
900 Camp St., 528-3805
The Art of Now Various films, concerts and plays.  Contemporary paintings and revolving exhibits. 
Twenty-five Jazz Fests by Michael P. Smith.  Photographs recording the last two and a half decades of Jazz Fest, April 17 through July 12.
Previously on Piety is a series of installations that are other-worldly, reminiscent of Alice In Wonderland.

Gallery Bienvenue
518 Julia St., 525-0518
www.gallerybienvenu.com
Recent work by Raine Bedsole consisting of mixed media, sculpture, and paintings, all of which will be on display from May 2 through June 30.

Galerie Dalray
713 Royal Street
504.681.0880
www.galeriedalray.com
Original artwork by numerous different artists on display

Jonathan Ferrara Gallery
400a Julia St., 522-5471
www.jonathanferraragallery.com
Cost of War / Price of Freedom a solo exhibition by Dan Tague, consists of archival prints on giclee, several pieces with graphite overlay.

Lyon and Lyon Fine Art
819 Royal St., 588-9985
www.lyonandlyonfineart.com
Featuring a new artist, Jane Nodine.

New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA)
1 Collins C. Diboll Circle, City Park
www.noma.org
The Art of Caring
A Look at Life through Photography
May 16 - October 11
Evening in Paris
NOMA Celebrates the City of Light with Posters and Photographs from the Permanent Collection
Through June 28
Author and Subject: Murasaki Shikibu and The Tale of Genji
Through June 29

New Orleans Public Library, Alvar Branch
913 Alvar Street
Exhibiting artwork by local artists including paintings by Raven Creature, photography by Ze daLuz, paintings and collages by Bellavia, and quilts by internationally known textile artist Cecilia Pedescleaux.

Perrin Benham Gallery
1914 Magazine Street
504.565.7699
Including artwork by Gerry White and Riece Walton
Upstaires @ Winkys
2038 Magazine St.,568-1020
Recycled house wares, lighting, the greenist Tee-shirt in town, fused glass rings, and more eco art by UP, Unique Products.