Every art lover in New Orleans knows that the first Saturday of every month are the “gallery openings,” or what the downtown galleries in the New Orleans Arts District call the “Art Walk.”
The Book of Wisdom: Title Page by Mary Lee Eggart
It’s a seen-and-be-seen atmosphere as art lovers, socialites, and hipsters head out en masse to visit local art galleries, drink a little white wine, and schmooze with gallery owners and friends. This Sunday is no different, but this weekend is also a celebration of Denise Berthiaume’s Le Mieux Galleries at 332 Julia Street.
Owner Berthiaume, who originally opened her gallery on Algiers Point in 1983, has presented southern artists’ work to art lovers and collectors. OffBeat has a distinct connection to LeMieux; our first “Fess” poster (in 1996, and now sold out) was based n a work by LeMieux gallery artist Leslie Staub.
Berthiaume also featured the work of musician/artist Jon Langford who was exhibiting his paintings at LeMieux in our Jazz Fest 2009 issue. Langford had already painted an image of Snooks Eaglin that was part of his show; sadly, another New Orleans’ musical icon Eddie Bo passed away suddenly on March 18. We had already planned to feature the Snooks image on our cover; when Bo died, we asked him to create an accompanying image of Eddie Bo, and both original images were shown at LeMieux Galleries.
The 30th anniversary show at LeMieux (which means “the better,” or “cream of the crop”) is a group show and is entitled “Wisdom: a Book Art Exhibition” and features work from artists Shirley Rabe-Masinter, Mary Lee Eggart, Sean O’Meallie, and many more. The exhibit opens Saturday June 1 and ends on July 27, with the opening reception this Saturday from 6 p.m. to 8.p.m. during the monthly Art Walk.
