Sep 29, 2023: Painted entirely in Carmel, California, Bodies premiered in 2005 at Rodrigue Studio, New Orleans, where George Rodrigue himself installed it throughout his Royal Street gallery. Bodies commanded its own room at the New Orleans Museum of Art during the museum’s 2008 Rodrigue retrospective exhibition.
Today, the series is an integral part of George Rodrigue’s artistic oeuvre. Technically, the artworks in Bodies serve as a demonstration of his command of drawing and design. They express another dimension of George’s life and legacy, separate from his better known Blue Dog and Cajun Series. In a sense, Bodies is a collaboration in that the series emanates from our feelings, from our love. More importantly, however, these artworks are born out of George Rodrigue’s dedication to creating sincere and highly personal paintings.
Although the work is public, its creation was, until now, very private. He refused to explain the series and preferred that the art speak for itself. “I didn’t make them for others, Wendy,” said George, while the couple stood surrounded by Bodies in NOMA, “I made them for us.”
See and learn more HERE.
Filmed by Douglas Magnus at the Museum of New Art in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Exhibition continues through January 2, 2024 and then moves to the Bayou Teche Museum in George Rodrigue’s hometown of New Iberia, Louisiana.