AMMO Opening Party

You know what's awesome? In the midst of a global financial crisis, in the aftermath of a momentous natural disaster, in the middle of possibly one of the worst times to go into business in the city of New Orleans, a Louisiana country girl turned gallery director extraordinaire along with her new found love, a New York-based travel photographer, decided to open AMMO: a gallery in the French Quarter dedicated to presenting Contemporary (or as they like to call it "New American") art.

Mia Kaplan (pictured on left) and Cedric Angeles (on right) were welcomed to the neighborhood opening night by fellow art lovers, dedicated collectors, and even the New Orleans Police Department (Mia is wearing a set of Mardi Gras beads that were given as a token of appreciation to officers who came to New Orleans to assist the NOPD post-Katrina). Christopher Deris (center) was the first artist to be exhibited. His show, titled "Cowboys, Zombies, and Prosthetc Eyes" features precisely rendered illustrations of eyes that possess the supernatural ability to identify the divine, impose beauty on things, convert everything to simple black and white, or tell the difference between truth and fiction. A combination of these with his hand-carved "Surrogate Speakers", and his delicately drawn storybook paintings of "Cowboys and Zombies" made for an imaginative and well-done show.

Many thanks to Matt Greenbaum, all of the lovely collectors who attended our show, Taylor Lassiegne for the opening night photos, Anthony Presley "the Magic Man" for being the best banker on this side of the Mason -Dixon line, and to everyone who made the opening night of AMMO a brilliant success.