Press Release

NEW ORLEANS - Heriard-Cimino Gallery presents Perchance to Dream, Audra Kohout’s new series of box assemblages. This exhibition will be on view August 6-31, 2011. A reception will be held on Saturday, August 6th from 6 until 9 p.m., in conjunction with Whitney White Linen Night. The public is invited. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 until 5, or by appointment.

Perchance to Dream - Box Assemblages

There is whimsy, poetry, innocence and fantasy within Kohout’s boxes. The assemblages are balanced, wildly creative, and always compelling. Upon first glance, all seems innocent enough - pixies, dolls, animals, fairies and figurines interact within each of their own small theaters, the characters playing out elements of the human psyche. In some of the assemblages though, the milieu appears to be drawn from the Industrial Revolution era. Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein comes to mind, as certain of Kohout’s characters seem to be involved with experiments, creating artificial life. Sometimes these figures take on the role of scientist or inventor - other characters are the subjects of failed or unstable results. There are partially mechanized people, incorporating machinery parts into their bodies, figures transmuting into part animal and bird. Wheels, ropes, pulleys, weights, scales, gears and machinery parts surround the central figures.

In “Under the Linden Tree,” we find two Einstein-like pixies suspended in air by string obviously engaged with each other, in what exactly, we’re not sure, although ultimately there is a provocative element within the scene. Other assemblages are sheer fantasy and delight.

Kohout states that this body of work reflects the associations between the dream world and the real world. She attempts to convey a lucidity between these parallel worlds - what is real and what is not. These anthropomorphic characters explore the complexities of the human psyche.

Audra Kohout has established a large number of collectors throughout the United States. The artist has been awarded numerous grants from the Louisiana Division of the Arts as well as other major foundations. The Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans presented The Ghost of Cornell, where many of Kohout’s box assemblages were exhibited with the works of Joseph Cornell. She was chosen for the Texas National exhibition in Austin, and continues to be invited to present her work in exhibitions throughout the country. Kohout lives and works in New Orleans.