“Backyard Bouquet” Mixed media on panel.
Photo credit: Heather McClelland

May 1-30, 2024

FIRST WEDNESDAY OPENING: May 1, FROM 6 - 9PM

ARTICULATE ARTIST TALK: SUNDAY, may 5, AT 4PM.

NORMAL GALLERY HOURS: TUE - SUN, 12PM - 6PM

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Linda Jeffers, known for compelling constructions, sculptures and assemblages which depict current events, pop culture and personal events, lives and works in Baton Rouge.

Jeffers’ has been a practicing artist for 30+ years and has initiated several art programs in East Baton Rouge. Her early years were spent working with Adelaide Brent, a renowned artist and mentor. Presently, Jeffers is searching for still more novel approaches to express her psychodramas.

“Cool Blue Morning Shadows” Mixed media on panel. Photo Credit: Heather McClelland

“Born a curious biophile from early childhood, I roamed my huge backyard populated with intriguing trees, plants, and flowers. One place I was told never to go was a large canal at the very back of our yard. It was there the snakes were plentiful and I could find my beloved mysterious ditch thistles. Mystified by their complexity, I’d disassemble them to figure out how they were made. Enthralled by mimosa trees, I’d watch their fringed curtain of blossoms and blue-green leaves laid out symmetrically ripple in the wind.
This child became the woman with the same love and reverence of nature, who today presents a series of multi-media collage paintings celebrating mimosa trees, thistles, and zinnias I have grown. Under close scrutiny, I can understand their structure and cycles. For example, in my nursery, I now have three orphaned, abandoned mimosas. Their new lime green, transparent leaves pose prayerfully hinting at a future self. In these kaleidoscopic paintings, I return as a colorist, compositionalist, and painter, utilizing a multitude of media to create richly embellished, layered compositions dependent upon the use of self-designed prints, and mylar stencils, blue x-ray film, acrylic inks, acrylic paint and the use of colored paper as paint. The resultant layering reflects the densely congested growth In South Louisiana and presents the painting with a history.
Thematically I express deep reverence for the life cycles of backyard flora. and explore the resultant energy between these opposites: positive vs. negative, transparency vs. opaqueness, fragility vs. tenacity, shadow vs. light, and death vs. regeneration.” - Jeffers

This exhibition is presented alongside the latest works from Anita Cooke, Nonney Oddlokken, and John Isiah Walton. All works from these artists are on view, free of charge, during regular gallery hours (12 - 6 p.m., Tue - Sun) from May 1 - 30, 2024.