"Happy Times, Summer in the City" showcases James Michalopoulos' vibrant vision of the South through his signature undulating style and bold color palette. This exhibition brings together his celebrated architectural paintings of New Orleans, lush Southern landscapes bursting with springtime energy, whimsical portraits of cows grazing in verdant fields, and his dynamic renderings of classic cars that capture the region's distinctive character and joie de vivre.
Michalopoulos began his winding route to New Orleans by way of Washington, DC. While on the road, he began to sketch to fill the free time. A flirtation with art became an affair. Then a marriage. A strictly plein air painter, Michalopoulos was challenged to find a winter locale to continue his work. In 1979, he was drawn to New Orleans as the last bastion of hippie bohemian culture in America. The city and its “Culture of Celebration” held an intense appeal. He began sketching artists and musicians, houses and street corners.
Fascinated with the duality of beauty and decay, the architecture of the city became his muse. His portraits of shotgun houses and Creole cottages, depicted in layer upon layer of thick impasto paint, brimmed with color and energy and captured the essence of his subject. This body of work established him as the most influential living artist in the region today.
The Gallery at Manship Theatre is open to the public during normal business hours, except when private receptions are in progress.
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