NEW PHOTOS FROM "SOME BIRDS"

© 2013 sylvaine sancton

So I attended the "Song & Music" literary festival in New Orleans last month and heard, over and over again, the following message: you have to flog your own books relentlessly on the social media because publishers don't do serious promotion any more.
     Okay, message received. Even though I am not well versed at blogging, tweeting, instagramming and in fact do not own anything that remotely resembles a smart phone. But I do have a computer, so here I come, yanked kicking and screaming into the world of techno self-promotion. Actually I am not interested in promoting myself, but I would like people to know about (and maybe even buy) my children's photo book, "Some Birds..."
     I've decided to make a game of it. I'll make regular postings of the funnier or more interesting photos from the book on the Some Birds FB page. I may even open an Instagram account. The whole point of the book, after all, is to charm and inform children (and their parents) with photos of birds doing amusing and fascinating things--spearing fish, trying to read, flocking together, hiding, falling in love. Young readers will learn that, in some ways, birds are a lot like us. This white and black swan, for example, making friends despite their different colors. Lots more photos to come, so stay tuned... And if you like what you see, you can buy "Some Birds" on line at Pelican Publishing, Octavia Books, or Amazon.

NEW PIECES IN THE GUTHRIE CONTEMPORARY GALLERY

Left to right: "L'Origine du Monde," "Man Ray," "Déjeuner sur l'herbe," "Antiquity," "Niagara."

With one foot out of the door as I prepare to leave for my annual summer sojourn in France, I was pleased to place several works in the Guthrie Contemporary Gallery. They include four sculptures and two paintings. Two of the sculptures, "Antiquity" (cherry wood), and "Androgyne" (granite), represent female forms. "Man Ray" (marble) and "Niagara" (stained cypress) are abstract pieces. In addition, the gallery has hung two of my large abstract paintings, "Déjeuner sur l'herbe," and "L'Origine du Monde." Astute students of art history will recognize those titles as belonging to famous works by Manet and Courbet. My paintings in no way resemble those famous canvases but I felt the titles were somehow evocative of the spirit of my pieces. This is what the French call a "clin d'oeil"—a wink. These works will be in the gallery all summer and into the fall.

Guthrie Contemporary Gallery
3815 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA 70115
504-897-2688
www.guthriecontemporary.com

Please visit my website: sylvainesancton.com











3815 Magazine Street, New Orleans 70115.

"SURVIVAL" OPENS AT THE OGDEN

Delighted to have my pecan wood and steel sculpture "Survival" shown at the Odgen Museum of Southern Art as part of the "Sense of Place" exhibition that opened tonight. Thanks to the friends who attended, and especially to Ogden Curator Bradley Sumrall, who believed in the piece enough to give it a pride of place on the 4th floor gallery. I was particularly gratified by Bradley's comment that "It is really a magnificent work, and a welcome addition to the collection."

"SURVIVAL" FEATURED AT THE OGDEN

I am very pleased to have my pecan wood and iron sculpture, entitled "Survival," featured at the Ogden Museum's upcoming exhibition “A Sense of Place II” from April 24 to July 20 2014. Opening reception Thursday April 24, 6 pm – 8 pm. Hope to see some of you there!

"SURVIVAL" GOES TO THE OGDEN

My monumental pecan wood and steel sculpture, "Survival," has been admitted into the permanent collection of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. I am grateful for this honor and pleased to have my work represented in this great institution.

"Survival" has an interesting back story. The 81-inch high wooden column was fashioned from the trunk of a century-old Louisiana pecan tree felled by hurricane Katrina. This noble trunk could have been burned to ashes, ground to sawdust, or wound up in a landfill. Instead, it found its way into my hands and I decided to give it a new life even as my adopted city was rebuilding its own life. The carved surface depicts a series of intersecting waves, evoking the waters that battered and engulfed the city in 2005. The natural veins and striations in the wood trace the growth and evolution of this living organism before it was uprooted and transformed into a tribute to endurance and renewal. Finally, the steel spine suggests the industrial prowess, the engineering know-how, the energy and the creativity of this proud region. I consider "Survival" to be a pean to nature’s force and man’s indomitable spirit, and I am delighted that it has found a permanent place in the Ogden.

My website: sylvainesancton.com
The Ogden website: http://ogdenmuseum.org

MY BARRISTER'S ART SHOW REVIEWED BY GAMBIT

Art critic Eric Bookhardt just published a nice review of my art show in the Gambit:

Theme and Variations: Mixed Media by Sylvaine Sancton, Through March 1, Barrister's Gallery, 2331 St. Claude Ave, 710-4506.

In art lingo, work that fulfills its potential is deemed "fully realized," and this show has many examples. Sylvaine Sancton's abstract paintings and sculptures at Barrister's express a fully realized vision that transcends media. Whether it's paint, wood or travertine, Sancton's sinuous, organic forms are pristine articulations of the transcendent reality that she sees just beyond the ordinary reality we all share. One unusual attribute of this show is how the sculpture "explains" the paintings and vice-versa, making it clear that all reflect the same essential vision, which is just as much a "reality" as any "realistic" art, subjective though it may be. Or as she puts it: "The nature of my work is sensual and emotional. There are only lines, color, and matter... It does not represent reality. It is reality"    
—Eric Bookhardt, Gambit,  2/17/2014

BARRISTER'S OPENING TONIGHT - FEB. 8

Finally finished setting up my show with Barrister's Gallery owner Andy Antippas on Thursday. I think my work looks very much at home in this space. Looking forward to the opening tonight. The sun's out now, so with a little luck the weather will will warm up a bit and gallery visitors will be able to enjoy a glass of wine and mingle in the courtyard. The work is a mixture of drawings, paintings and sculpture (bronze, stone, and wood). I look forward to seeing many of you there. If you can't make the opening, the show runs through March 1.
Barrister's Gallery
2331 St. Claude Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70117
Opening: Feb. 8, 6 - 9 pm