August 22, 2025
As autumn unfolds in New Orleans, the city comes alive with revitalizing breezes and seasonal festivities. Whether you’re a fan hoping to bask in the excitement of a Saints game at a local watch party, or perhaps you are just looking to do a little retail therapy and have a bite, it’s a vibrant and exciting time to take a stroll down Royal Street to peruse a few art galleries. It’s a great time to see some of our more fanciful and unusual galleries, well beyond the usual paintings of southern landscapes. We found these two galleries to be exceptionally creative!
Osterhold Gallery and Studio
614 Royal St.
Artgallerynola.com
As a lifelong resident of New Orleans, Jared Osterhold has developed his natural artistic abilities into mastery across various artistic fields. His first after-school job during high school was at a Mardi Gras production company where his responsibilities included painting floats and sculpting props. Upon graduating from Brother Martin High School, he received a scholarship to attend Loyola University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Visual Arts.
Since an early age, Osterhold has been generating income through freelance art and design services for various businesses and individuals. In 2000, he diversified his expertise into illustration and graphic design for advertisements, packaging, promotional items and product design. Osterhold has developed and produced various murals, decorative props and costumes for clubs in the French Quarter and local businesses. He has worked for a local sculpture and design company delivering custom sculpted installations to prominent establishments like the Audubon Zoo, The Aquarium of the Americas and Harrah’s Casino. His meticulously designed sculpted props and costumes have appeared on television shows including NCIS New Orleans, Storage Hunters, Bar Rescue and The First 48. He is a master at many techniques including pen and ink, charcoal, pencil, pastels, chalk, and acrylic, watercolor and oil paint. He is skillful at mold making using silicone, rubber, clay, wood and fiberglass to form sculptures.
“What inspires me is being a New Orleans native, growing up with our amazingly unique and celebratory culture, and being involved with Mardi Gras in every aspect my entire life, from riding in parades with my family as a kid, to working for Mardi Gras float builders, since high school. Besides our unique New Orleans flair for life, I'm also inspired by history, philosophy and mythology,” Osterhold mused.
As a professional illustrator, Osterhold has been represented by Wilkinson Studios and has illustrated over twenty titles for Simon and Schuster Publishing in the acclaimed “Olivia” children's book series. Osterhold's illustration credits include various titles for Harper Collins and McGraw Hill publications. He completes paintings of events live on site for wedding receptions, ball and private parties that have become quite popular with over 200 events in the last six years.
In 2017, Osterhold opened the doors to his signature art gallery, Osterhold Gallery and Studio, where his work is exclusively available. Swing by to meet him and to admire his eclectic collection of New Orleans-inspired art including fine art paintings, sculptures, canvas giclees, and signed archival prints from six series of work. He will even make a special commission just for you!
Boxcar Gallery
938 Royal St.
boxcargallery.com
Boxcar Gallery was opened in August of 2024 as a rekindling passion between Cyrus Giroir and his partner, Oslo DiRosaria. Philip Rau was added to the Boxcar team as an honorary co-owner, co-curator, and gallery boss in early 2025. Boxcar Gallery boasts nearly twenty local and national artists. It showcases American folk, outsider art, side-show art, and everything in between from terrifying yet cuddly teddy bears and dark double-exposure film photography to thematic oil paintings. The gallery has recently implemented a “locals only” section which highlights a different eccentric local artist every month. The gallery aims to mix the awe-inspiring, the weird and wonderful, the cute and creepy, all into one big melting pot to taste.
Oslo DiRosaria has been an active self-taught creator and artist in the New Orleans area for more than a decade and has shown both locally and nationally. Starting at local art markets but quickly becoming well known for colorful and sometimes macabre work, DiRosaria moved on to show in galleries around the nation by traveling to various art shows and fairs. DiRosaria has always had a passion for both art and design and has worked in everything from construction and design to interior consulting, even designing and building two custom homes! DiRosaria is the lead curator, but also one of the permanent artists on display at Boxcar Gallery.
DiRosaria revealed, “I started basically being a full-time artist in 2012, and primarily I’ve been working in New Orleans as a full-time artist since then. I have shown in over twenty states and have done a variety of both gallery and traveling shows with my art. In terms of the art that I do, I always wanted to be an artist and always had a disposition towards more of the folk contemporary genre as I am a self-taught artist and I found myself really gravitating toward the circus and sideshow themes. I find that they're the easiest way to make the kind of parodies and statements that I wanted to make because in the realm of sideshow and circus performance, you can create any character and it can either be just seen at face value or you can spend some more time with the character and realize that there's a duality in each one of the pieces. Often, I use my sideshow characters and stuff like that to kind of poke fun at systems in place, whether it's religion or political or socioeconomic, things like that. So that's kind of how I found myself in the genre that I'm currently working in, which is like largely just wood-based, mixed media. Some people say they're shadow boxes or dioramas. I have no idea. They're kind of somewhere in the middle, I guess. I moved from doing two-dimensional art to doing 3D art in the same style because I also really enjoy sculpture so the style that I'm working in now is kind of a marriage between the sculptures that I like to do and the paintings I like to do. So, this is a way for me to be able to exercise a little bit of both worlds in them.”
Another fascinating artist we found at Boxcar Gallery is Kate Citrin, a painter presently living in Chicago who aims to live in New Orleans this year! She has been painting since 2002, and has shown at dozens of galleries internationally. Her artwork has earned awards and has been featured in packaging, album art, and television.
Citrin’s portraits are of people who embody empathy, creativity, and bravery. “I see these qualities as work that is essential to our society. I want to recognize people for their work.” She uses classical techniques layered with graffiti or drawings to promote society’s unsung heroes. The result feels like Renaissance painting inspired by street art. In many ways, it is.
“I have been frequenting this gallery space as long as I've been visiting New Orleans, over 8 years,” Citrin asserted. “Boxcar is definitely the best iteration on what has always been my favorite gallery space. I have never stepped foot in that space without finding a spark that creates a body of work. The curator is incredible at finding thought-provoking art. You know, the good weird stuff. It seemed like kismet to be accepted into the fold as a resident artist the same year I decided to move to New Orleans.”
Citrin mused, “I travel a lot. The last time I came back from New Orleans my husband told me I was glowing. I brushed it off and he said, ‘No, this isn't like when you come back from your other trips; the joy is just radiating off you.’ I realized he was right. It was my mother's favorite city too before she passed. She lived in New Orleans before I was born. She always told me that she woke up happy every day she woke up in New Orleans."
“I think it's the whimsy. New Orleans, Boxcar Gallery, there doesn't seem to be anything they can't cram whimsy into. And joy keeps me going when it gets hard. It feeds my art. It feeds me. I find there are two effective motivators. Discipline and joy. When I have the opportunity, I lean into joy and it just gets easier. I try to do that with my art. To connect people who feel disconnected, to tell their stories, to make it clear that we are all connected. That there is so much love for you.”
So, take a stroll down Royal Street on a beautiful autumn afternoon and treat yourself to these and many more wonderful art galleries. You will be delighted by the unique creativity of our many local artists!
Osterhold Gallery and Studio
614 Royal St.
Artgallerynola.com
As a lifelong resident of New Orleans, Jared Osterhold has developed his natural artistic abilities into mastery across various artistic fields. His first after-school job during high school was at a Mardi Gras production company where his responsibilities included painting floats and sculpting props. Upon graduating from Brother Martin High School, he received a scholarship to attend Loyola University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Visual Arts.
Since an early age, Osterhold has been generating income through freelance art and design services for various businesses and individuals. In 2000, he diversified his expertise into illustration and graphic design for advertisements, packaging, promotional items and product design. Osterhold has developed and produced various murals, decorative props and costumes for clubs in the French Quarter and local businesses. He has worked for a local sculpture and design company delivering custom sculpted installations to prominent establishments like the Audubon Zoo, The Aquarium of the Americas and Harrah’s Casino. His meticulously designed sculpted props and costumes have appeared on television shows including NCIS New Orleans, Storage Hunters, Bar Rescue and The First 48. He is a master at many techniques including pen and ink, charcoal, pencil, pastels, chalk, and acrylic, watercolor and oil paint. He is skillful at mold making using silicone, rubber, clay, wood and fiberglass to form sculptures.
“What inspires me is being a New Orleans native, growing up with our amazingly unique and celebratory culture, and being involved with Mardi Gras in every aspect my entire life, from riding in parades with my family as a kid, to working for Mardi Gras float builders, since high school. Besides our unique New Orleans flair for life, I'm also inspired by history, philosophy and mythology,” Osterhold mused.
As a professional illustrator, Osterhold has been represented by Wilkinson Studios and has illustrated over twenty titles for Simon and Schuster Publishing in the acclaimed “Olivia” children's book series. Osterhold's illustration credits include various titles for Harper Collins and McGraw Hill publications. He completes paintings of events live on site for wedding receptions, ball and private parties that have become quite popular with over 200 events in the last six years.
In 2017, Osterhold opened the doors to his signature art gallery, Osterhold Gallery and Studio, where his work is exclusively available. Swing by to meet him and to admire his eclectic collection of New Orleans-inspired art including fine art paintings, sculptures, canvas giclees, and signed archival prints from six series of work. He will even make a special commission just for you!
Boxcar Gallery
938 Royal St.
boxcargallery.com
Boxcar Gallery was opened in August of 2024 as a rekindling passion between Cyrus Giroir and his partner, Oslo DiRosaria. Philip Rau was added to the Boxcar team as an honorary co-owner, co-curator, and gallery boss in early 2025. Boxcar Gallery boasts nearly twenty local and national artists. It showcases American folk, outsider art, side-show art, and everything in between from terrifying yet cuddly teddy bears and dark double-exposure film photography to thematic oil paintings. The gallery has recently implemented a “locals only” section which highlights a different eccentric local artist every month. The gallery aims to mix the awe-inspiring, the weird and wonderful, the cute and creepy, all into one big melting pot to taste.
Oslo DiRosaria has been an active self-taught creator and artist in the New Orleans area for more than a decade and has shown both locally and nationally. Starting at local art markets but quickly becoming well known for colorful and sometimes macabre work, DiRosaria moved on to show in galleries around the nation by traveling to various art shows and fairs. DiRosaria has always had a passion for both art and design and has worked in everything from construction and design to interior consulting, even designing and building two custom homes! DiRosaria is the lead curator, but also one of the permanent artists on display at Boxcar Gallery.
DiRosaria revealed, “I started basically being a full-time artist in 2012, and primarily I’ve been working in New Orleans as a full-time artist since then. I have shown in over twenty states and have done a variety of both gallery and traveling shows with my art. In terms of the art that I do, I always wanted to be an artist and always had a disposition towards more of the folk contemporary genre as I am a self-taught artist and I found myself really gravitating toward the circus and sideshow themes. I find that they're the easiest way to make the kind of parodies and statements that I wanted to make because in the realm of sideshow and circus performance, you can create any character and it can either be just seen at face value or you can spend some more time with the character and realize that there's a duality in each one of the pieces. Often, I use my sideshow characters and stuff like that to kind of poke fun at systems in place, whether it's religion or political or socioeconomic, things like that. So that's kind of how I found myself in the genre that I'm currently working in, which is like largely just wood-based, mixed media. Some people say they're shadow boxes or dioramas. I have no idea. They're kind of somewhere in the middle, I guess. I moved from doing two-dimensional art to doing 3D art in the same style because I also really enjoy sculpture so the style that I'm working in now is kind of a marriage between the sculptures that I like to do and the paintings I like to do. So, this is a way for me to be able to exercise a little bit of both worlds in them.”
Another fascinating artist we found at Boxcar Gallery is Kate Citrin, a painter presently living in Chicago who aims to live in New Orleans this year! She has been painting since 2002, and has shown at dozens of galleries internationally. Her artwork has earned awards and has been featured in packaging, album art, and television.
Citrin’s portraits are of people who embody empathy, creativity, and bravery. “I see these qualities as work that is essential to our society. I want to recognize people for their work.” She uses classical techniques layered with graffiti or drawings to promote society’s unsung heroes. The result feels like Renaissance painting inspired by street art. In many ways, it is.
“I have been frequenting this gallery space as long as I've been visiting New Orleans, over 8 years,” Citrin asserted. “Boxcar is definitely the best iteration on what has always been my favorite gallery space. I have never stepped foot in that space without finding a spark that creates a body of work. The curator is incredible at finding thought-provoking art. You know, the good weird stuff. It seemed like kismet to be accepted into the fold as a resident artist the same year I decided to move to New Orleans.”
Citrin mused, “I travel a lot. The last time I came back from New Orleans my husband told me I was glowing. I brushed it off and he said, ‘No, this isn't like when you come back from your other trips; the joy is just radiating off you.’ I realized he was right. It was my mother's favorite city too before she passed. She lived in New Orleans before I was born. She always told me that she woke up happy every day she woke up in New Orleans."
“I think it's the whimsy. New Orleans, Boxcar Gallery, there doesn't seem to be anything they can't cram whimsy into. And joy keeps me going when it gets hard. It feeds my art. It feeds me. I find there are two effective motivators. Discipline and joy. When I have the opportunity, I lean into joy and it just gets easier. I try to do that with my art. To connect people who feel disconnected, to tell their stories, to make it clear that we are all connected. That there is so much love for you.”
So, take a stroll down Royal Street on a beautiful autumn afternoon and treat yourself to these and many more wonderful art galleries. You will be delighted by the unique creativity of our many local artists!
