A major aspect of the gallery mission is to identify and promote outstanding talent, presenting emerging artists alongside the masters. In keeping with that mission, August 4 – September 29, Octavia Art Gallery will present Living With Pop.

Well into the 21st Century, artists continue to be influenced by popular culture, advertising, etc. Living with Pop will present a broad overview of the Pop Art movement from the 1960’s to today, featuring current emerging artists from New Orleans alongside well-established master Pop artists. Important works by Haring, Lichtenstein, Wesselmann, Dine, Katz, Rauschenberg, Cutrone and of course, Andy Warhol will be a part of the exhibit. New Orleans artists that will be included in the show are Sarah Ashley Longshore, Jeffrey Pitt, James Henderson, Ken Kenan, and Wayne Amedee.

By housing this exhibition, Octavia Art Gallery would like to accentuate the correlation between the talent that we have in New Orleans and the talent that existed in the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s Pop movement. Because the tradition only continues to move forward and evolve, the show will be a contemporary look on Pop Art. For example, the genre of Pop Art was inspired and driven by American consumerism and the limitless consumption of American society, as seen in Andy Warhol’s works. You see the same Warhol-esque qualities in many works by contemporary artist, Sarah Ashley Longshore. There is a satirical message in the shameless self-indulgence and consumption of American society. Another comparison between the emerging artists and the modern masters would be Jeffery Pitt’s art, whose work is one long continuous line, much like Keith Haring’s paintings. There is a direct visual connection in their work. Pitt also incorporates social commentaries, like coastal wetlands erosion or the oil industry’s environmental approach.

The emerging artists included in Living with Pop, speak about society in a different fashion, just as did the modern masters. The exhibition is uplifting and energetic, and the gallery is excited to be bringing an exclusive Pop Art exhibition to New Orleans.