Opening reception Saturday for photography, painting exhibit

As part of the citywide PhotoNOLA program, abstract paintings on photographs by Randy Asprodites and photos of New Iberia sugar mills by David Armentor will be on display at the Cole Pratt Gallery at 3800 Magazine Street, beginning with an opening reception Saturday.

From an emailed news release:

Cole Pratt Gallery will show the work of local artists Randy Asprodites and David Armentor for the month of December. In the main gallery, abstract oil and mixed media paintings on both canvas and photographs will represent Asprodites. The rear gallery will house Armentor’s exhibition of photography, “The Sugar Mill Sessions.” Their shows coincide with the citywide photography showcase, PhotoNOLA. Cole Pratt Gallery will hold an opening reception for both artists on Saturday, December 3rd from 6 to 8 pm.

For New Orleans artist Randy Asprodites, painting has long been an exploration of the textural qualities of oil paint. His signature style is marked by the use of enigmatic shapes that float on a soft, highly glazed color field. Asprodites’ compositions are extremely minimal with no concern for three-dimensionality or natural space. His cloudlike backgrounds provide a foundation for the quirky designs that find their way into the picture plane. Asprodites concentrates most on the varied surfaces of his canvases, and in this recent body of work, he has focused on the manipulation of a brighter color palette as well. This recent use of color as a major player in his paintings is a result of the artist’s time with his late mentor, New Orleans artist Ida Kohlmeyer. Asprodites, who began working for Kohlmeyer in 1974, always tried his hardest to produce work that no one could connect with hers, but he sees now that Kohlmeyer’s use of bright color may be seeping in his oeuvre. High-key, saturated colors are also evident in his trompe l’oeil photographic works. The artist’s “Cover” series teases the eye with images of the rags and paper towels that he uses to clean his brushes. Asprodites’ photographic prints appear to be three-dimensional, and the viewer struggles to distinguish real globs of paint from the illusionistic paint in each picture. After some collegiate work at the University of New Orleans, Asprodites earned his M.F.A. from Indiana University in 1978. He has taught studio art at Brother Martin High School in New Orleans for over 30 years.

In our rear space, Cole Pratt Gallery is please to show the documentary photography of New Orleans artist David Armentor in an exhibition called “The Sugar Mill Sessions.” Armentor, who was born and raised in New Iberia, refers to Louisiana’s sugar cane fields and mills as the “passive backdrop” of his childhood. In 2004, he began documenting the mills after hours and during harvest season to capture a contemporary view of the industry as we know it today. Armentor’s project continues with behind-the-scenes pictures of the Cajun Co-op, Louisiana Sugar Cane Co-op and Enterprise mills. His picturesque, modernistic compositions are traditional photographs captured on film and developed in a dark room. Armentor has an amazing talent for portraying a very laborious and industrial environment with atmospheric, theatrical drama. With a B.A. from Louisiana State University, the artist, who works as a digital imaging specialist at Tulane’s School of Architecture, plans to eventually write a book about his experiences with Louisiana’s sugar farmers.