Last year was a big one for Baton Rouge Gallery’s annual Surreal Salon.
As 225 notes in a feature from the current issue, the 2014 exhibition of pop surrealism and lowbrow works landed Juxtapoz Magazine co-founder Greg Escalante as the juror for the event, which features the work of artists from across the country. After his stay, Escalante wrote an editorial on the show, further propelling the event’s popularity to new levels.
“Last year was really the year where people from around the world started to recognize that this show was doing something substantive,” the gallery’s executive director Jason Andreasen says.
This year’s edition is upping the ante. Andreasen says more than 520 works were sent in from around the country for the exhibit, which is currently on display through Jan. 29. This year’s judge, Shag, has had nine art books published and solo exhibitions across the globe.
For Surreal Salon, Shag picked 58 pieces from 58 artists representing 25 states. The works include paintings, prints and technology-driven items. Apart from the exhibit, there is the soiree, scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 24, where costumed attendees come out in their most eye-popping attire to browse the art.
“Every year, it’s not just our effort,” Andreasen says. “It’s the costumes that everybody comes out in. In one night, the show goes from 50-something works of art to a couple hundred.” Read the full feature.
