Opening Reception: The Work of Natalie Armstrong

The Arts Council is honored to showcase the work of Region 8 artist Natalie Armstrong in a solo exhibition here at The Gallery at 118 Cotton Street in Downtown West Monroe from July 28th through September 11th. The opening reception will be held August 7th from 5pm to 9pm, in conjunction with the Downtown Gallery Crawl! Natalie Armstrong is a self-taught mixed media and collage artist based in North Louisiana, originally from Metairie, LA. Her work explores the layered contradictions of femininity through playful, female-centric compositions that blend nostalgia with subversion, and romance with grit. Armstrong’s earliest creative influence was her spirited grandmother, who taught her to paint on everything from canvas to roof shingles. Her grandmother’s home, filled with the dreamy elegance of Louis Icart prints, the boldness of Betty Boop, and the folk vibrancy of Clementine Hunter, left an indelible mark on Armstrong’s aesthetic. She often recognizes echoes of these styles—especially Icart’s romanticism—in her own work. Like her grandmother, she’s drawn to breaking the rules, embracing experimentation, and staying open to nontraditional surfaces and techniques. To read more about the artist, visit: https://nelaarts.org/arts-community/the-gallery.html *images courtesy of artist Natalie Armstrong & Bayou Life Magazine