James Michalopoulos: Heart of the Matter

The multi-faceted James Michalopoulos, who brings his art to the R.W. Norton Art Gallery in Heart of the Matter: The Celebration of the Essential in Everyday Life this fall, is a painter, sculptor, distiller, art director, preservationist, and philanthropist. Born James Mitchell in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he changed his named back to the original Greek of his  immigrant father, a prominent architect, but followed the career path of his uncle, Abstract Expressionist William Baziotes. Like many artists who found a spiritual home in Louisiana, Michalopoulos often fuses jazz with his art and has been named official artist to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival six times. He also states, “There is a great deal of interest for me in the intersection of human activity and nature.” Michalopoulos’s brightly colored oil paintings frequently feature “exaggerated viewpoints and skewed perspectives” with the palette knives he so often uses providing texture in slabs of color. As he says, “My style is an abstraction of the figurative; I like color, volumetric shape, and graphic lines.” 

The exhibition opens on October 25 with a reception, 5 pm–7 pm. rwnaf.org.