MONA Portsmouth

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MONA Portsmouth

MONA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is committed to bringing the latest trends in contemporary art to New Hampshire

01/19/2024

It has been our privilege to serve the coastal community and beyond. Many thanks to all of our artists, supporters, and friends.

12/29/2023

Tomorrow, Saturday December 30th, is the final day to view our current exhibition; George Rodrigue: Painting for Myself 💙

Wendy Rodrigue Magnus Life & Legacy Foundation and Art Tour Avery Insurance

12/23/2023

Exactly one week left of our current exhibit George Rodrigue: Painting for Myself, the final day of this show is December 30th 💙

"Tee Teddie" 1995/2013

At 4x3 feet, Tee Teddie is anything but tee. The painting, begun in 1995 and completed in 2013, first hung in Cafe Tee George, Rodrigue's Lafayette, Louisiana restaurant that burned in 1997. Tee Teddie was the only painting to escape the flames, while interpretations of Elvis, the Blue Dog, and Cajun folklife remain lost forever.

"I painted Tee Teddie to accompany Elvis and his Hound Dog on opposite walls of the restaurant's bandstand, recalled Rodrigue. "Cafe Tee George's theme was early memorabilia, including cowboy comic book covers, old time metal signs, and personal items such as my barber chair and 25-year crawfish collection. All was lost or severely damaged except Tee Teddie, which sustained only smoke damage, darkening its colors." As a child, Rodrigue was known as "Baby George" or "Tee George" because his father was George Sr. By high school; however, his friends called him "Big Rod" and he lost the 'tee' reference until his restaurant opened in 1995, some thirty years later. Tee Teddie combines these ideas with Elvis Presley's "Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear," in the form of a huge painted Blue Dog-like bear, and Rodrigue's endearing childhood reference to small.

Although it sustained little damage in the fire, Tee Teddie seemed unfinished to Rodrigue for years, more a symbol of a lost idea, something that escaped the flames but not his psyche.

"I thought of the painting for some reason recently and decided after all this time to restore it like it was. Once I started, I realized how good it is, and I kept working, repainting it completely in my colors and style of today." -G.R. 2013

Wendy Rodrigue Magnus Life & Legacy Foundation and Art Tour Avery Insurance

12/18/2023

George Rodrigue posters & catalogs still available 🎉💙

$25 each or purchase the poster/catalog bundle for $40, shipping available, instructions how to purchase below ⚡️

To pick up: make a $25 donation on our website to purchase a catalog or a poster, or make a $40 donation on our website to purchase the bundle and come pick up your order from our museum (135 Congress Street in Portsmouth)

To have it shipped: make a $35 donation on our website to purchase either a catalog or a poster, or make a $55 donation on our website to purchase the bundle and email your shipping address to [email protected]. If you are purchasing only one of the items please specify which when you email us your shipping address.

Donations can be made on our website: https://www.monaportsmouth.org/

Avery Insurance Wendy Rodrigue Magnus Life & Legacy Foundation and Art Tour

12/14/2023

“Don’t Slow Me Down” (unfinished) – 2013

Rodrigue left this painting on his easel in Carmel, California, in progress before his last trip to a Houston, Texas hospital on October 30th, 2013. Ever optimistic, he titled it “Don’t Slow Me Down,” after Aesop’s Fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare.”

Today, December 14th, 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of Rodrigue’s death.

We are so grateful for George Rodrigue and his impactful spirit. His triumphant journey through art is ongoing and it is an honor to have joined that journey. Thank you Wendy Rodrigue Magnus and Life & Legacy Foundation and Art Tour for keeping George’s legacy alive and sharing his inspiration with the world. 💙

Thank you Avery Insurance for making this exhibition possible & bringing George Rodrigue to the Seacoast.

“When Wendy suggested that she lend these works from their homes in Carmel and New Orleans for the exhibition at MONA, I realized we had hit on something very special. This museum — very open, contemporary, and somewhat edgy, was the perfect venue to showcase those works that Rodrigue painted to complement his very similar environments. I hope the works filling these galleries allow visitors a glance into the artist’s heart, revealing his passion, and providing a better understanding of the importance of an artist creating for himself.”
-Dana Holland-Beickert
Curator

Wendy created a video about this piece, “Don’t Slow Me Down” available to watch on her website legacyarttour.org along with other videos and information about George and this exhibit.

George Rodrigue: Painting for Myself is on view for 3 more weeks, the final day of this show is January 2, 2024.

12/10/2023

Greenfields - 2013 from our current exhibition George Rodrigue: Painting for Myself on view through January 2, 2024 💙

This pivotal late work is a statement on Rodrigue's career as he pares down his landscape to the essentials. The trees and river are not obvious, and yet perhaps they are, as Rodrigue streamlines his forty-five years of Louisiana landscapes into an abstract field of color.

Rodrigue also chose the frame that blends an old style with a modern perspective like his landscape reflection. He found the teak molding, part of a demolished East Indian Temple, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He then painted these running dogs, which surround the painting's fixed dogs, a bright, contemporary yellow, finishing the frame with a high-shine automotive sealer.

Wendy Rodrigue Magnus Life & Legacy Foundation and Art Tour Avery Insurance

12/09/2023

Rodrigue painted this imposing work as the focal point within the living room of his and Wendy's home in Carmel Valley, California. The canvas, custom-stretched for Rodrigue at his direction, is identical to the shape of the large stone fireplace on which the canvas hung.

Untitled (Green Dog/Blue Dog) - 2003

Wendy Rodrigue Magnus Life & Legacy Foundation and Art Tour Avery Insurance

12/08/2023

In this painting as with the odd-shaped Green Dog/Blue Dog also within this exhibition, Rodrigue first chose the canvas' size and shape before conceiving a unique design, strong in its abstraction. Painted at Wendy's request for the couple's Carmel, California home, Rodrigue found influence in the modern structure's cathedral ceiling, sparking references to the stained glass windows of Gothic churches in France.

For Rodrigue, as he worked within a canvas' boundaries, shapes and colors were king. Because of this abstract approach, he never tired of his subjects. "I'm an abstract artist," he said, "who happens to paint things people recognize. I've painted this way ever since my earliest Oak Trees."

Untitled (I Look Different Close Up) - 2003

Wendy Rodrigue Magnus Life & Legacy Foundation and Art Tour Avery Insurance

12/05/2023

George Rodrigue was a passionate philanthropist, especially when it came to children. In the last decade of his life, he and Wendy visited with students worldwide, sharing their enthusiasm for the arts in education.

During school visits, Rodrigue painted while his wife told his story. For these hour-long sessions, he painted quickly, using large brushes and acrylic paint straight from the tube. In the works pictured here, he silkscreened the head of the dog first onto chrome paper, and then he painted over the work while enjoying the comments and laughter of the children.

"I didn't have the opportunity to study and emulate great artists. I drew things I liked, and the first original painting I saw was my own. Sixty years later, I still paint the way I felt as a child. I emphasize to students how important it is to retain that innocence and that it's okay to create art in this way." -G.R.

Untitled (Demo piece for children) - 2011

Wendy Rodrigue Magnus Life & Legacy Foundation and Art Tour Avery Insurance

12/02/2023

💫 Exactly one month left of our current exhibition, George Rodrigue: Painting for Myself 💫

The final day to view this dynamic showcase is Tuesday January 2nd, 2024 💙

The collection unveiled in this exhibit features an extraordinary assortment of paintings, sculptures, works on metal, and neon pieces, representing the true essence of George Rodrigue's artistic journey.

Rodrigue crafted these artworks without any external influence, whether agents, galleries, or collectors. Many of these pieces remained exclusively within the personal collection of George and Wendy Rodrigue, adorning their homes in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Carmel, California. Rodrigue’s masterpieces, often large in scale and occasionally uniquely shaped, were intentionally designed to harmonize with specific spaces and evoke distinct emotions within their private environments.

This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of Avery Insurance.

Wendy Rodrigue Magnus Life & Legacy Foundation and Art Tour

12/01/2023

We will be open until 7:30 tonight for Art 'Round Town 🌃

Address

135 Congress Street, NH 03801
Portsmouth, NH
03801

Telephone

+16034501011

Website

https://www.monaportsmouth.org/

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