JONATHAN FERRARA GALLERY proudly presents the 27th Annual NO DEAD ARTISTS International Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Art. For the 2023 installment of the exhibition, the gallery will display artworks by fifteen artists from and/or working across the United States, as well as: China, Germany, Greece, Italy, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Slovakia. The exhibition will be on view from 30 August through 14 October with an opening reception on 2 September (5-9 PM) in conjunction with the Arts District New Orleans’s (ADNO) First Saturday Gallery Openings. An additional reception will be held on Saturday, 7 October (5-9PM) in conjunction with the city-wide event Art for Arts’ Sake.

The NO DEAD ARTISTS exhibition was founded by Jonathan Ferrara in 1995 to give a voice to emerging artists. The exhibition’s name is derived from the old adage that artists never achieve success until they are dead. NO DEAD ARTISTS turns that notion on its head and often gives emerging artists their first break in the art world. In the 90’s, the exhibition was open to New Orleans-based artists and subsequently grew to include artists of Louisiana, then becoming a national juried exhibition in 2010. And in 2014, the exhibition went international. Now in its 27th iteration, the exhibition has been a springboard for numerous artists; leading to national press coverage, recognition, gallery representation, art fair exhibition, and acquisitions by museums and other prominent collections. Each year the gallery invites a panel of renowned arts professionals and collectors to select the newest creative talents from around the world.

The panel of jurors for the 27th Annual NO DEAD ARTISTS reflects a somewhat different model than years past. For 2023, the JFG team has invited three previous participants in past years of the exhibition who remain represented artists of the gallery today.

KRISTIN MOORE  | | |  @kristinmooreart

NDA 2019 Finalist - A native Texan, Moore holds an MFA from Otis College of Art & Design in Los Angeles and BA in Art from St. Edward’s University in Austin. Kristin’s paintings can be found in collections across North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Solo exhibitions include Jonathan Ferrara Gallery in New Orleans, Commerce Gallery in Lockhart, St. Edward’s University in Austin, and Bolsky Gallery in Los Angeles. Select group exhibitions include the Tyler Museum of Art in Tyler, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery in New Orleans, Lorin Gallery in Los Angeles, and Talon Gallery in Portland. Kristin currently lives and works in Dallas, TX.

REWA  | | |  @artbyrewa

NDA 2018 Finalist - REWA was born and raised between Nigeria and England and received a BSc. in Physiology and Pharmacology from University College London (UCL). She previously worked as the Head of Corporate Development and Investor Relations for a Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed company. Prior to this, she was the Specialty Insurance Executive for Old Mutual West Africa and a Management Consultant at Accenture (UK). Never having received formal art training, she is self-taught and developed her innate talent from a very early age. Growing up, her father encouraged her creative drive, his expansive art collection from West Africa, providing further impetus for her development. Her formal training as a physiologist / pharmacologist at UCL also prepared her for what has become an exciting journey; she learned to observe in greater detail and to seek deeper meaning. 

TRENITY THOMAS  | | |  @trenityjthomas

NDA 2020 Finalist - Thomas is a self-taught photographer who has also experimented with painting and sketching since grade school. As a photographer, he has worked in a myriad of genres including fashion, lifestyle, editorial, conceptual, sports, portraiture, and nightlife photography. As a photographer, Trenity uses his camera to capture the life and composition of still life around him. His photographs have a warmth to them that pulls the viewer into the scene as if they were present - a feature that has become characteristic of his photographic style. 

KATIE CHANCE – Austin, Texas

GINGER WILLIAMS COOK – Jackson, Mississippi

BECCA FUHRMAN – Seattle, Washington

DIANA GEORGIE – Los Angeles, California

SAMUELLE GREEN – Honesdale, Pennsylvania

ISYS HENNIGAR – Columbus, South Carolina

SKIP HILL – Tulsa, Oklahoma

THRASYVOULOS KALAITZIDIS – Baton Rouge, Louisiana

ANDREW LEVENTIS – Charlotte, North Carolina

RYAN LEWIS – Kalamazoo, Michigan

ROBERT MINERVINI – Florence, Italy / Oakland, California

JACOB MITCHELL – New Orleans, Louisiana

WOWSER NG – London, United Kingdom

REGULAR CONCRETE – Bratislava, Slovakia

WENCKE UHL – Bonn, Germany

Comprised of painting, photography, video, sculpture, ceramics, collage, printmaking, and installation, NO DEAD ARTISTS continues to exhibit a great diversity in media with a cohesive cross-section of the pulse of contemporary art. Presenting forty artworks by fifteen artists, this diverse symposium varies even more greatly in subject and purpose. Exhibition highlights include a wall-mounted paper sculpture by Samuelle Green, whimsical ceramics by Isys Hennigar, and four video works by Ryan Lewis. One of the most prevalent themes in the show is the approach to the figurative, with varying perspectives in the work of: Katie Chance, Ginger Williams Cook, Becca Fuhrman, Skip Hill, Wowser Ng, and Wencke Uhl; each with their own distinct and arresting approaches to rendering the human body. Another common theme of the show is an examination of the mundane and esoteric through the: “word portraits” of Diana Georgie, interactive installations by Thrasyvoulos Kalaitzidis, a photorealist painting by Andrew Leventis, the naturalistic paintings of Robert Minervini, photography by Jacob Mitchell, and sculptures from Regular Concrete.

For the grand prize of the exhibition, one of the selected jury winning artists will be awarded a solo exhibition at JFG in 2024. Previous recipient awardees include: Jenny Day (2017, Santa Fe, NM), Trenity Thomas (2020, New Orleans,LA ), Michael Tole (2021, Tempe, AZ), and Brandon V. Lewis (2022, Baton Rouge, LA). Not only have past finalists received solo shows at the gallery but some have also successfully continued on to exhibit at art fairs in New York, Miami, Basel (Switzerland), Leipzig (Germany), San Francisco, Houston, Seattle, and other traveling exhibitions and museums worldwide. These artists and the NO DEAD ARTISTS exhibition have garnered great interest from curators, museums, and press and have also been acquired by many prominent public and private collections. . . Stay tuned for the announcement of the 2023 winner at the close of the Exhibition.

For more information, press or sales inquiries please contact Gallery Director Matthew Weldon Showman at 504.343.6827 or matthew@jonathanferraragallery.com. Please join the conversation with JFG on Facebook (@JonathanFerraraGallery), Twitter (@JFerraraGallery), and Instagram (@JonathanFerraraGallery) via the hashtags: #NoDeadArtists, #NDA2023, #JonathanFerraraGallery, and #ArtsDistrictNewOrleans.