masur museum of art | monroe, la

upcoming exhibitions

49TH ANNUAL JURIED COMPETITION
May 12 - July 21, 2012

The Masur Museum of Art's Juried Competition has served as a venue for innovation in contemporary art for nearly half a century and has featured both locally and nationally renowned artists. We are excited to continue this tradition and will be accepting new submissions in early 2012. The date and time of the opening reception as well as the juror will be determined in the near future.

IMPROVISATIONS IN TIME: EUGENE J. MARTIN AND THE MASUR MUSEUM OF ART
August 4 - October 25, 2012

On the surface, Eugene J. Martin’s work appears to be an after-the-fact riff on modernism driven abstraction. His work is related to this tradition, but is something more. Martin was an accomplished Jazz musician and incorporated his experience of rhythmic improvisation also associated with High Modernism or Abstract Expressionism as a means of illustrating the irregular, non-linear, but cyclical manner humans perceive, understand, and experience the world around them. He used biomorphic and quasi-mechanical abstractions to create this link with the physical perceived world, but warped them to reference the slipstream nature of consciousness as well. The improvisational language Martin ascribed to any moment or period of time plays back into how he considered his oeuvre. He conceived of it as fluid and let it be guided directly by variables such as access to art making materials dictated by his financial means, a passing interest in any given media or subject matter, and his mood. He would also muddle the chronology of his work by creating new work to add on to old pieces, dismantle a completed artwork and incorporate it into several works, or do the same with photographs of his art. This totally integrated art practice is what makes Martin stand apart from other artists; his improvisations were rigorous and permeated his entire decision making process.

HUMAN|NATURE
November 9, 2012 - January 31, 2013

This exhibition features the Canadian sculptor Shayne Dark. His work examines the difference between spaces directly created and administered by mankind and those that exist separately or on their margins. Dark’s work exists in both realms with materials such as natural looking wood and theatrical stage paint representing mostly polar opposites. The dialog created by the space his sculpture occupies and the experience of it, coupled with these material incongruities, prompt a thoughtful investigation of Man's existence in nature.