Andrew LaMar Hopkins (American/New Orleans, b. 1977) , "Louisiana Gentleman's Chamber", 2013, acrylic on canvas board, signed and dated lower right, inscribed with artist, title and date, artist business card, exhibition label with artist and title and handwritten note en verso, 11 in. x 14 in., framed. Note: Andrew LaMar Hopkins has been the subject of numerous articles and accolades over the last eighteen months, including in The New York Times, Artforum, Architectural Digest and The Wall Street Journal. The artist’s first New York solo exhibition took place at the Venus Over Manhattan gallery in October of 2020, and the art world has taken note. A self-taught artist, Hopkin’s inspirations are his own Creole heritage and his passion for antiques. The early 1800s he captures is both an imaginative fantasy and a history carefully researched and meticulously depicted. His subjects include the cities of New Orleans, Savannah and Mobile with distinctive antebellum architecture providing a framework for minute details and both free Creoles of color and white Creoles. Drawing on his knowledge as an antiquarian, Hopkin’s interiors contain accurate historical depictions of period appropriate furniture, decorative objects and costume combined with underlying complex concepts of race, class and southern American history. As noted by Alison M. Gingeras: “Hopkins layers this fastidious devotion to authentic historical representation with a frank acknowledgement of how Creole culture upset the binary distinctions inherent to racial hierarchies of the early 19th century.”In the work offered here of a “Louisiana Gentleman’s Chamber,” the gentleman plays a supporting role to the chamber itself. A Louisiana armoire with brass ball feet and beehive legs dominates the right side of the composition, while a dressing table with baluster-turned legs and quintessential 19th century Louisiana portrait in the style of Jean Joseph Vaudechamp or Jacques Amans balances the left. In the center, the painted blue mantle with red brick interior holds a pair of matching argand lamps and lighthouse clock beneath a giltwood overmantel mirror. The eponymous gentleman, enjoying a libation at a gueridon table, is almost obscured by his surroundings and depicted on a mysteriously smaller scale, despite his proximity to the foreground. As in all of Hopkins’ work, the lines, textures and unique perspective combine to encourage visual exploration of the rich interior tableaux and to provoke thought on the complexity of identity in Creole cultures. With his newfound and well-deserved international acclaim, Hopkins acts as an ambassador of sorts to Louisiana and its intriguingly multifaceted and intersectional history.Ref.: Coleman, Charity. “Andrew LaMar Hopkins.” Artforum. Jan/Feb 2021. www.artforum.com. Accessed May 24, 2021. Crow, Kelly. “Rising Art Star Brings Fresh Lens to ‘Forgotten’ Life of 19th Century Creoles.” The Wall Street Journal. Oct. 7, 2020. www.wsj.com. Accessed May 24, 2021. Gingeras, Alison M. “Introductory Essay.” Créolité: Andrew LaMar Hopkins. Venus Over Manhattan. Oct. 7, 2020. www.venusovermanhattan.com. Accessed May 24, 2021; Pochoda, Elizabeth. “A Painter Resurrects Louisiana’s Vanished Creole Culture.” The New York Times. Jan. 16, 2020. www.nytimes.com. Accessed May 24, 2021.

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