Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser and the Louisiana State Museum, along with the Louisiana State Museum Foundation and the Michalopoulos Gallery, are pleased to announce the opening of Michalopoulos: Mystical Expressionism, an exhibition of more than 70 paintings by renowned artist James Michalopoulos.
The exhibit will open in conjunction with the Louisiana Museum Foundation’s Founders Ball at the historic Cabildo in Jackson Square on Friday, November 21, at 6:30 p.m.
Michalopoulos’ bold, dynamic style – marked by undulating buildings and exuberant texture – has been described as “mystical expressionism,” a term reflecting the deep intuitive flow guiding his practice. “At a certain point in a piece I am taken; I am being lived by the painting,” Michalopoulos explains. “Instead of me mediating the painting, making the painting, the painting is making me and we are partners. I'm a fellow traveler, not an observer manipulating a result.”
The exhibition also underscores Michalopoulos’ longtime commitment to documenting and preserving the vernacular architecture of New Orleans. He describes the city as “a place of great celebration and spiritual focus. When I walk around, I can feel the lives, the pilgrimages of centuries. Living here, you sense these essences. They are present everywhere.”
The exhibition will be on view November 21, 2025 – November 13, 2026, at the Cabildo, 701 Chartres St. in New Orleans.
For more information visit louisianastatemuseum.org
