Shu-Fly 1997 by George Rodrigue 78×78 Acrylic on canvas. Courtesy/SFCC
SFCC News:
- Thirty original paintings from the private collection of Rodrigue’s widow include some of the artist’s most famous Blue Dog canvases, iconic portraits of Cajun personalities, and rarely seen artworks inspired by his lifelong love of New Mexico
SANTA FE – Santa Fe Community College’s (SFCC) Visual Arts Gallery hosts an opening reception for Dream Big! The Art of George Rodrigue, 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5 in The Visual Arts Gallery, 6401 Richards Ave.
The exhibition is drawn exclusively from the private collection of Wendy Rodrigue Magnus, widow of American artist George Rodrigue. The artwork is presented through a collaboration with SFCC School of Arts and Design, SFCC Continuing Education, SFCC Foundation, and the Life & Legacy Foundation. The exhibition continues through Oct. 2.
The prominent painter George Rodrigue (1944-2013) was born and raised in New Iberia, Louisiana. His art studies at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles spawned one of the greatest success stories in American art. In the early 1990s his Blue Dog Series, based on the French-Cajun loup-garou legend, catapulted him to worldwide fame, while his dark Renaissance-like landscapes developed into robust modern masterpieces.
Dream BIG! The Art of George Rodrigue features 30 original works of art including Rodrigue’s dark Louisiana landscapes of the 1970s, portraits of athletes, musicians, and artists, paintings inspired by New Mexico, and giant Blue Dog canvases, some eight-feet square. Highlighting the exhibition is Rodrigue’s pivotal student work, “Pop Goes the As”—a 4×5 foot collage from 1966 created during his time at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles.
The exhibition also marks a rare opportunity to see Loup-garou (1991), the painting Rodrigue considered to be the true beginning of his Blue Dog Series.
Director of Galleries Linda Cassel said, “The college is excited to partner with Wendy and her Life & Legacy Foundation to bring this compelling exhibition of George Rodrigue’s art to share with the community and SFCC’s students.”
Wendy Rodrigue Magnus has also loaned on a long-term basis George Rodrigue’s 8-foot-tall Blue Dog sculpture, “Colors of My Mind,” to remain on view outside in the Campus Courtyard.
Dream Big! is the theme for the exhibition. Dreams are the portal to creativity. They are tied to instinct and desire, and they are the birthplace of ideas. This exhibition seeks to inspire through stories of pursuing one’s dreams, meeting one’s fears, and expressing our art, whatever it may be, with the full wonder of our imagination.
George Rodrigue was influenced by his childhood dreams throughout his life. These paintings explore not only those visions, but also some of their greatest public accomplishments, including worldwide campaigns for major companies like Neiman Marcus and Xerox Corporation, and philanthropic statements in the form of joyous paintings for children’s hospitals.
This SFCC installation is the first exhibition of Rodrigue’s work in New Mexico since his 1987 one-man show hosted by Rosalea Murphy (1912-2000) at the Pink Adobe, the restaurant she founded in 1944 after moving to Santa Fe from New Orleans. Rodrigue and Murphy, also an artist, became close friends, and a recently discovered portrait of her hangs on view in this exhibition for the first time anywhere.
“George first introduced me to Santa Fe in 1993,” recalls Wendy Rodrigue Magnus, “when we traveled through to see his artist friends, including Rosalea Murphy and Douglas Magnus, at the Pink Adobe, and for George to work on his bronzes at Shidoni Foundry. It was in Santa Fe, more than anywhere else, that George found the artist camaraderie he enjoyed, exchanging ideas and sharing excitement for each other’s projects. We visited annually for 20 years. After his death in 2013, it is in Santa Fe that I found life, and love, again. I’m extremely grateful to Santa Fe Community College for this opportunity to share George’s life and art with the enchanting city I now call home.”
In conjunction with the exhibition, special classes with Wendy Rodrigue Magnus are offered by SFCC’s Continuing Education department on Sept. 19 and Sept. 26. Registration is available online through SFCC Continuing Education. The session on Sept. 26, “Blue Dog: An Art Adventure for Families,” includes free admission for all participants under the age of 18. Registration is available at https://sfcc.augusoft.net/. For information send an email to ce@sfcc.edu or call 505.428.1676. To learn more about the Life & Legacy Foundation visit www.legacyarttour.org.
The SFCC Visual Arts Gallery is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except when the college is closed. For more information about the SFCC Visual Arts Gallery, contact Director of Art on Campus Linda Cassel via email at linda.cassel@sfcc.edu or call 505.428.1501.
About SFCC
Santa Fe Community College celebrates its 40th Anniversary as the pathway to success for individuals and the community. SFCC provides affordable, high-quality programs that serve the academic, cultural, and economic needs of the community. The college welcomes over 10,000 students per year in credit, noncredit, workforce training, personal enrichment, and adult programs.
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