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TRANSFORMATION

Evolving the visual and thematic motifs she explored in Immersion, her enthusiastically received 2012 exhibition at Callan

Contemporary, Adrian Deckbar debuts ten new paintings in TRANSFORMATION. The show’s evocative title alludes to

the myriad levels of metamorphosis comprising these luminous celebrations of air, land, and water: the transformation

of photographic source material into acrylic paintings; the changes in plant life as it cycles from growth to decay; and

the dazzling alterations in the appearance of vegetation and clouds as they reflect and refract on the surface of still

and rippling water. Working from high-resolution images that she and her husband, photographer Mike Smith, take in

the bayous off Lake Maurepas, Deckbar integrates her meticulous photorealist training with a freer, more expressionistic

technique. The resulting compositions afford viewers an experience not only of what these wetlands look like, but how it

feels to journey into the very heart of nature.

Exhibited in more than 50 solo and group exhibitions around the world, Deckbar’s paintings are treasured by private

collectors and figure prominently in museum and corporate collections. A native New Orleanian, she has earned

prestigious grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation. In her work,

viewers intuit a deep respect for the history and materiality of painting. “Brushstrokes are meant to have a voice, a visual

language,” she says. “When I paint, I’m letting the paint speak.”

In many of the new works, Deckbar uses broad horizontal canvases, enveloping the viewer’s peripheral vision in tableaux

that encompass many layers of imagery. “First, there are the objects on the water and the area surrounding the water.

Then there is the water itself, which has a color and a form; there are the reflections on the water; and finally the growth

beneath the water.” Together, these components create a rich roux of visual information that activates the viewer’s

imagination. The scenes are serene and contemplative, but they are not placid. With their shimmering light-rays glancing

off the enchanted, upside-down world implied by the water’s surface, the paintings seem to vibrate with an expectant,

electrified pulse. These are primal, mystical places, we sense, in which anything can happen.

Richard Speer

Front Cover: Surface Reflection, acrylic on canvas, 48" x 60", 2013

EXHIBITION DATES: FEBRUARY 1ST - MARCH 29TH, 2014

RECEPTION: FEBRUARY 1ST 6–9 PM

Transformation, acrylic on canvas, 48" x 60", 2013

Immersion III, acrylic on canvas, 24" x 84", 2013

Vibration, acrylic on canvas, 16" x 61", 2014

518 Julia Street | New Orleans, LA 70130

C O N T E M P O R A R YC A L L A N

518 Julia Street | New Orleans, LA 70130

C A L L A N C O N T E M P O R A R Y. C O M

Vibration (detail), acrylic on canvas, 16" x 61"

ARTWORK © ADRIAN DECKBAR 2014CATALOG © CALLAN CONTEMPORARY 2014PHOTOGRAPHY © MIKE SMITH

504.525.0518

C O N T E M P O R A R YC A L L A N

518 Julia Street | New Orleans, LA 70130

C A L L A N C O N T E M P O R A R Y. C O M