Concentrating on the figure in a realistic Context, Adrian Deckbar captures the emotional intensity of individuals and couples caught in the theatrical realism of everyday life. Often larger in scale than life-size, Deckbar’s meticulously executed oils and pastels reveal the artist’s mastery of modeling and chiaroscuro as she invites us to construct the dramatic scenarios of her mysterious images.

Growing up in New Orleans, Louisiana, Deckbar demonstrated exceptional artistic talent and pursued her interests with degrees in painting and drawing from Tulane University (MFA ’81), San Francisco State University (MA ’77), and the University of Southwestern Louisiana (BA ’74). After receiving critical acclaim on the West Coast during her graduate years, Deckbar returned to her native New Orleans and began exhibiting in shows throughout the United States. Since 1984 she has been teaching, first on the faculty of Tulane University and currently at New Orleans Art Academy. She continues to receive acclaim as a gifted instructor and renown as a realist painter.

The ‘80s began the cinematic realism by which we have come to recognize Adrian. Often using theatrical lighting and picturing her subjects from bold angles unique to the camera, Deckbar creates a sense of the cinema, as if each scene were from a still from a mesmerizing film exploring the range of human emotion. Using models and selected accoutrements, she arranges scenes which study various aspects of the individual or which probe at nuances in the relationship of couples. Rich texture, velvet black softness and strong sculptural modeling create a sense of the tangible reality of the figures and their settings. The care that is lavished on detail and subtle nuances of shadow and shape draw our admiration for Deckbar’s mastery of drawing and painting the human figure.