Callan Contemporary

The galleries have really grown in the warehouse district with distinctive art. I liked Callan Contemporary Gallery because the gallery owner has a lot of knowledge about art and gallery operations. This is a gallery that probably does not cater to the casual tourist who wants to come home with a trinket. This is a gallery more for collectors and it is very encouraging to see this in Nola. While the current offerings were not to my taste, I appreciated the show. The owner was unpretentious and helpful so that makes it a nice place to browse.

Visting galleries in New Orleans runs the gamut. There are resale shops that call themselves galleries, there are the less than refined, off the beaten path event galleries which can hit and miss, and then there are the traditional, ample spaced, nicely lit, and just done right - and that's Gallery Bienvenu.Julia St is littered with galleries and most fall in queue with the caliber of Bienvenue which is why it has the "gallery row" warehouse thing going on.Most - if not all - of Bienvenue's shows run for 60 days, premiering the first Saturday of whatever month. The artists stable goes broad with their content being cohesive and tight, and a little pricey. Being in Bienvenue you do not feel like you are in New Orleans, more like New York or San Francisco, which is not a good or a bad thing. It just feels clean and modern.Include Bienvenue in your gallery visits in the city, and you won't be disappointed.