Jillian Mac Fine Art Presents Brazilian Textile Artist Rodrigo Franzão in His First New Orleans Exhibit

April 29, 2023 (New Orleans, LA) - Jillian Mac Fine Art is bringing the rhythmic art of Brazilian textile artist Rodrigo Franzão to New Orleans for Alma da água (the Soul of Water), an exclusive exhibition that opens Saturday, May 13 with an artist's reception from 6-9 p.m. The opening marks the artist's first solo exhibition in the United States.

The opening and reception will take place at the Garden District gallery, located at 3923 Magazine Street, during the Magazine Street Merchant Association's annual Champagne Stroll, a premier springtime shopping event. Franzão's exhibition of more than 20 new works will be on display through June 30.

"Rodrigo's pieces are so unique and have real stopping power. They keep you engaged through the meditative qualities of color and textural movement," said gallery owner Jill McGaughey. "They are simultaneously serene and stimulating, and an absolute joy to live with."

Franzão is a contemporary mixed media artist who works mainly with textile elements, creating three-dimensional abstract geometric shapes out of everyday materials. His colorful abstract works in acrylic resin, latex and eco-friendly vegetable papers are mesmerizing meditations on nature and spirituality.

We human beings are like drops of water longing to reunite with the infinite ocean of our own existence. Our soul is like poetry which, through emotions and experiences, preserves us through the tides of life.

The exhibition The Soul of Water speaks about these two fundamental principles of our nature, Water and Soul, which together architect the beauty of our reality and poetically transport us on an evolutionary journey towards our intangible full contemplation.
- Rodrigo Franzão


Franzão's elaborate, highly rhythmic pieces are created by hand-placing each individual piece of material onto a canvas substrate. A dynamic tension is evident between the tangible evidence of hand-work and the overall effect of the abstraction. One element at a time, his artworks emerge as a shimmering field that is never static, giving a sense of organic life and movement.

With degrees in language and visual arts, and a concentration in psychopedagogy, Franzão seeks to synthesize principles from different mediums. His sculptural works evoke emotions through the interplay of color, light, and texture.

Located at 3923 Magazine Street in New Orleans, Jillian Mac Fine Art is a modern art gallery featuring works by international artists including Françoise Gilot, Rolland Golden, Dean Mitchell, Rodrigo Franzão, Steve Martin, David Leslie Anthony, Géza Brunow and others. With twenty-five years of experience, gallery owner Jill McGaughey has managed several New Orleans art galleries including Duque Art Center on Magazine Street, Bryant Galleries and the Vincent Mann Gallery on Royal Street in the French Quarter. She specializes in working with private collectors who have a passion for living with unique artworks.

SERVICE
"Alma da Água" (Soul of Water) Exhibition
Date: May 13th to June 30th
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Location: Jillian Mac Fine Art, 3923 Magazine St, New Orleans
Website: www.jillianmac.com
E-mail: jill@jillianmac.com
Phone: (504) 399-8199

3923 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA 70115 USA

About Jillian Mac Fine Art
2400 square feet of display space. 25 years of experience. A rotating collection of dozens of different artworks that creates a curated mix of beauty, quality, and lasting value.

In this spacious new location, I am thrilled to present to you an array of quality original artworks by some of the finest artists I've had the honor to represent throughout my career, most notably:

Living legend Françoise Gilot will celebrate her 101st birthday this fall. Her drawings, paintings and unique Monotypes featured here offer an unprecedented collecting opportunity. If you've read her book "Life with Picasso" or any of her subsequent writings, you only become more impressed with this artist's depth, intelligence and talent. A definite "must buy now" for serious collectors.

American master Dean Mitchell continues to shine a light on our deepest humanity with his sought-after portraits of everyday Americans and the landscapes and cities they inhabit. He has won hundreds of awards in his career and was short-listed to paint the official portrait of former President Barak Obama. His masterful drawings, watercolors, oils, and acrylics bear a distinctive style and pack an emotional punch.

It is an honor to present drawings and paintings by Louisiana treasure Rolland Golden, whose work can be found in the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Historic New Orleans Collection, the Ogden Museum Southern Art, and in museums, corporate and private collections throughout the country. Golden's elegance as a painter and his distinctive style of gentle surrealism distinguish him as a great southern American regionalist.

I'm thrilled to introduce the works of Géza Brunow and Rodrigo Franzão, two artists whose unconventional approaches to their mediums have the power to delight, inspire and move us deeply. Geza's intricate, colorful stream-of-consciousness paintings are endlessly fascinating, at once profound and playful. Rodrigo's mesmerizing abstract paper collages are striking in color and texture with the power to animate the space around them with their suggestion of shimmering light and movement.

Acclaimed fashion photographer David Leslie Anthony's work capturing the Sonoran Desert, Salton Sea, and his large-format botanicals are a wonderful balm during these stressful times when we all crave nature. His intimate, painterly approach to his subjects builds on his expertise capturing the most famous faces and figures in the fashion industry. Photography is a very affordable way to begin or add to your collection.

I'm honored to represent multi-media artist Steve Martin, whose pop-art colors and strong shapes have captivated collectors in New Orleans and worldwide for decades. His gestural wire wall art and powder-coated metal sculptures elegantly distill the joy of movement with a touch of whimsy. Commissions are available.

I hope you will take some time to browse these artists' work and contact me if anything interests you - I am, as always, at your service.

The pandemic with all its challenges has deepened our relationships to our home spaces and the artworks we choose to display around us. We need images of beauty and meaning now more than ever before. Supporting living artists not only enriches our own lives, but connects us to a community of like-minded people, without whom life would be far less vibrant.

This release was published on openPR.