By james art 
The Baton Rouge Gallery hosted its 17th annual installation of Sureral Salon Soiree.
Soiree is held in honor of the Surreal Salon exhibition, which includes over five dozen works of art from pop-souvenistic artists, originally from all over the world. The event presents to the local art community the opportunity to show its abilities by creating complex costumes for the night.
The CEO of the Batton Rouge gallery Jason Andreassen talks about how rewarding it is to see the surreal lounge over the years.
“It started as a night just a display of the exhibition, which has become an international display,” Andresan said. “We are glad to enter the 17th year of hosting this.”
More than 700 works were presented as part of this year’s exhibition. Editor -in -chief of JUXTAPOZ, Evan Pricco, serves as a special juror and decides which works will be presented.
Cash awards are awarded to artists and exhibitions that are considered the best in the show, with this year’s winner being Mexican surrealist Edgar Cano-Lopez. The winning picture of Cano-Lopez, “Life is Beautiful”, has a kaleidoscopic color palette and characters related to culture and location.
Sarah Hanon is an artist based in Austin, Texas, whose abstract acrylic painting “We are taught to listen”, was chosen to be presented in this year’s exhibition.
“It means tone to be part of this event,” Hanon said. “I love everything that allows people to perceive their creativity and to work in a world other than our daily lives.”
After arriving in Soare, the guests could immediately understand what Hanon meant. The attendees arrived dressed as everything from animals and flowers to fictional characters and historical figures. The collective gratitude for the artistic expression facilitated conversation with an unknown to the incredible turnout.
Socialization was followed by live performances at the Baton Rouge Gallery and after a party hosted a radio bar located on 3079 government St, Baton Rouge. The night was a lively, beautiful display of how art brings together the world and gives people a reason to be happy during uncertainty.
Baton Rouge’s Knack Gallery for the use of unique programming to connect artists to the audience shines in the surreal salon, as well as the status of the gallery as one of the longest-serving artists in the country. Artists can apply for membership every summer and are given opportunities to show their work in the gallery.
The director of the exhibitions of the Baton Rouge gallery, Kelsi Livingston, hopes that the gallery can continue to talk about the wealth of the current contemporary art scene.
“There are plenty of talents here and the party itself is a holiday of it,” Livingston said.
The Baton Rouge Gallery hosts an opening admission for its next exhibition on Wednesday, February 5th. To keep up with the Baton Rouge gallery, you can follow their Instagram: @brgallery.