Press Release

NEW ORLEANS---Heriard-Cimino Gallery presents Mallamé, an exciting new suite of paintings by George Dunbar. A reception to meet the artist will be held on Saturday, November 5, 2011 from 6 to 8 p.m. The public is invited. The exhibition will be on view from November 5-30, 2011. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 to 5, or by appointment.

George Dunbar is an acclaimed artist whose work can be seen in the Prospect.2 Biennial in New Orleans as well as in a solo exhibition at Heriard-Cimino Gallery.

George Dunbar played a pivotal role in introducing contemporary art outside New York in the 1950’s. His long and distinguished career is recognized with many exhibitions, including large-scale retrospectives. Dunbar’s elegant clay-based paintings incised with gold, palladium and metal leaf are instantly recognizable and uniquely his own.

In this recent body of work, abstracted forms seem to float on Dunbar’s color clay surfaces. The inspiration behind these dramatic forms evolved from the environmental influences upon the marshes and bayous surrounding the artist’s home and studio. Dunbar’s new free-formed shapes were inspired by these huge clumps of grass and earth emerging from the water, manifesting an original and unfamiliar physicality into the landscape. In Dunbar’s hands, these abstracted coarse masses become compellingly irresistible, through the artist’s vision as well as his sculptural and aesthetic decisions.

Also included in the exhibition are a series of cast bronze sculptures, all with different metal patinas. These sculptures directly reference the Mallarmé paintings.

George Dunbar was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, educated at Tyler School of Art, Temple University in Philadelphia, and later in Paris. The artist’s work has been exhibited in the U.S. and abroad. His paintings and sculptures can be found in the New Orleans Museum of Art, The British Museum, as well as the Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and others, in addition to large public and private collections throughout the country.