February 24, 2025
We all eagerly await our first glance at the highly coveted and collectable Jazz Fest posters each year. Have you seen the magnificent poster for this year’s Jazz Fest painted by one of our most well-known, influential, and recognizable living painters, James Michalopoulos? He has become an iconic figure in New Orleans’ vibrant landscape, renowned for his distinctive artistic style and deep connection to the city. He lives as he paints; rhythmically, with heavy texture, dynamic movement and purpose. His paintings are in prestigious collections world-wide. Michalopoulos was selected to create the artwork for this 54th edition of Jazz Fest. This is his eighth contribution to the world's most collected poster series, more than any other artist. Jazz Fest, the festival against which all others are measured, stands alone in ways that words cannot do justice. Only art can visually convey Jazz Fest’s heart and soul, the diverse musical talent it fosters and showcases, and the rich cultural tapestry it celebrates.
This year, Michalopoulos’ “Here and Now: Tank and the Bangas at Jazz Fest” captures Grammy winning Tank and the Bangas in his signature expressive style. The artwork captures the band’s dynamic energy against a panoramic backdrop of New Orleans, conveying the vibrancy of the city’s musical spirit. The vista extends from the abstraction of an admiring audience surging the stage in a manner reminiscent of Picasso’s 1901 impressionist painting, Le Quatorze Juillet, to the rendering of the Crescent City skyline on the horizon. Tarriona "Tank" Ball and her band, Tank and the Bangas, anchors James’ aerial panorama. The band’s eclectic blend of genres and Tank’s expressive vocalizations embody the musical gumbo served in New Orleans. Their groove is spiced with soul, R&B, funk, hip-hop, jazz and rock seasoned with electronica to bring out the flavor of Tank’s poetic raps. The band’s transfixing stage presence, unbounded energy and creative interplay are on full display. On the left is an expressionistic depiction of a marching band led by a Grand Marshal. Behind the stage are many tents and his signature buildings with the St. Louis Cathedral, the Crescent City Connection, and the Superdome in the background. With thousands of bold strokes, this masterpiece is among his most complex works of art.
Regarding the poster and Tank and the Bangas, Michalopoulos muses, “They are lively. They are unpredictable and they are playful. I add up a bunch of characteristics like that, and then I just do my best to try to make them real. This work is an expression of the band and the festival. For me, as I think about the band out there, I reflect on my memory and my experience, and I'm drawing a lot on my days at Jazz Fest and my experience of the band. It is Jazz Fest by memory. Some of it has a great deal of fidelity, and other parts are a case of mistaken identity. I roll with what's there for me, and in some ways, I want to err on the side of expressiveness. One of the things that excites me most is when people are moved by the music and they get up and dance! I wanted to capture a sense of the excitement of the crowd in front of that stage. When Tank gets going and her band gets going, enlivened by her joy and the music, the crowd jumps in with her in an animated response.”
James Michalopoulos' journey began in 1951, born to a prominent modernist architect father whose visionary designs were instrumental in revitalizing downtown Pittsburgh. As one of six children, he was raised in an artistic household featuring paintings by his uncle, the illustrious abstract expressionist painter William Baziotes. In addition to being surrounded by artistic influences from an early age, Michalopoulos had an interest in science and economics. Following his graduation from Bowdoin College in 1974, he spent his postgraduate years actively engaged in the cooperative movement, effectively managing the Boston Food Coop and later establishing and managing the Cambridge Cooperative, which grew to become America's largest storefront coop.
Upon leaving the coop movement, Michalopoulos commenced a circuitous journey to New Orleans, with an interim stop in Washington, DC. During his travels, he began sketching to occupy his leisure time. This preliminary exploration of art gradually matured into a lifelong devotion. As a plein air painter, Michalopoulos faced challenges in identifying a suitable winter location to pursue his artistic endeavors. In 1979, he was drawn to New Orleans, which was recognized as a bastion of hippie bohemian culture. The city's unique culture of celebration resonated deeply with him. He began sketching local artists, musicians, houses, and streetscapes. Michalopoulos' fascination with the interplay between beauty and decay led him to focus on the city's architecture as his muse. His depictions of shotgun houses and Creole cottages is characterized by thickly layered impasto paint applied with a palette of radiate color and energy, creating a truly three-dimensional quality. Perhaps more than anyone else, Michalopoulos has the unique ability to capture the way New Orleans feels in his paintings.
His artistic and cultural contributions extend beyond painting. James served as Art Director for House of Blues Productions for six years, overseeing NBC's "In Concert" series and the Nice Jazz Festival. His stage sets for the House of Blues have been recognized as among the most influential ever designed for televised music performances. While there, he cultivated a deep interest in musical imagery, with his portraits representing diverse segments of the musical sphere.
In 1995, James Michalopoulos repurposed a 150-year-old cotton gin to establish Celebration Distillation, the first rum distillery in the continental United States since Prohibition. This endeavor led to the creation of the award-winning Old New Orleans Rum. Ask your bartender for a taste!
This spring, you can experience what it's like to step inside a James Michalopoulos painting at The Hotel Pompadour on Elysian Fields Avenue. The boutique hotel is built into the renowned painter's studio, and the hallways and rooms are filled with his art. This will be an amazing stay for art lovers. This artist-designed space is a maze of color-drenched rooms, meticulously curated with original paintings and artifacts from his personal collection. Each room will offer a unique perspective on the artist's continually evolving work.
After Hurricane Katrina, he acquired the Old Union Brewery and transformed it into the North Robertson Artist Studios, providing affordable workspaces for over 100 local artists. As the steward of the Michalopoulos Foundation, James supports expressiveness in architecture and affordable housing for emerging artists. Additionally, he remains a dedicated preservationist and philanthropist, advocating for historic neighborhoods and supporting various community charities.
Currently, James divides his time between New Orleans and Burgundy, with the French countryside's Roman-era stone structures and lush fields significantly influencing his work. He remains deeply committed to the city he loves and envisions a bright future for New Orleans as a cultural beacon for the 21st century.
Michalopoulos invites artists to experience his Open Studios, a multi-disciplinary and collaborative self-guided art experience held biannually. This is an opportunity for artists to share ideas and for visitors to explore new works of wonderful New Orleans artists while enjoying food and live music. It’s held at his warehouse turned into an art studio complex and will take place on Mar. 28, from 7 to 10 p.m.
This year, Michalopoulos’ work will be featured in several solo museum exhibitions including The Lauren Rogers Museum and The Shaw Center for the Arts. Locals and visitors alike are excitedly awaiting the Michalopoulos Retrospective, a year-long exhibition that will open at the iconic Cabildo on Jackson Square in Nov. 2025. This retrospective will showcase Michalopoulos’ profound impact on New Orleans and beyond.
Michalopoulos: The Art of Celebration is a PBS documentary featuring the life and legacy of James Michalopoulos. Illustrating his pioneering style, the film captures the evolution and depth of his art, from his iconic architectural paintings and celebrated portraiture to French landscapes and large-scale sculptural works. In the final filming stages, the crew covered him painting this year’s Jazz Fest poster at his studio. Earlier this summer, a film crew followed him to southern France where they captured his painting process in his studio and visited his gallery. The film is set to be released in the fall.
Michalopoulos sees a great future for New Orleans as a cultural light for the 21st century. He says that Louisiana is “The State of Gratitude,” and insists, “We can show the world how to live.” He is as beloved a figure in New Orleans’ as the subjects he paints. His work is synonymous with the city he has captured and revealed with empathy, imagination, grace and perception. Swing by his studio at 617 Bienville St. to enjoy more of his delightful paintings up close and personal and you will see with your own eyes why Michalopoulos is one of our most celebrated artists. His paintings will forever change the way you view New Orleans.
This year, Michalopoulos’ “Here and Now: Tank and the Bangas at Jazz Fest” captures Grammy winning Tank and the Bangas in his signature expressive style. The artwork captures the band’s dynamic energy against a panoramic backdrop of New Orleans, conveying the vibrancy of the city’s musical spirit. The vista extends from the abstraction of an admiring audience surging the stage in a manner reminiscent of Picasso’s 1901 impressionist painting, Le Quatorze Juillet, to the rendering of the Crescent City skyline on the horizon. Tarriona "Tank" Ball and her band, Tank and the Bangas, anchors James’ aerial panorama. The band’s eclectic blend of genres and Tank’s expressive vocalizations embody the musical gumbo served in New Orleans. Their groove is spiced with soul, R&B, funk, hip-hop, jazz and rock seasoned with electronica to bring out the flavor of Tank’s poetic raps. The band’s transfixing stage presence, unbounded energy and creative interplay are on full display. On the left is an expressionistic depiction of a marching band led by a Grand Marshal. Behind the stage are many tents and his signature buildings with the St. Louis Cathedral, the Crescent City Connection, and the Superdome in the background. With thousands of bold strokes, this masterpiece is among his most complex works of art.
Regarding the poster and Tank and the Bangas, Michalopoulos muses, “They are lively. They are unpredictable and they are playful. I add up a bunch of characteristics like that, and then I just do my best to try to make them real. This work is an expression of the band and the festival. For me, as I think about the band out there, I reflect on my memory and my experience, and I'm drawing a lot on my days at Jazz Fest and my experience of the band. It is Jazz Fest by memory. Some of it has a great deal of fidelity, and other parts are a case of mistaken identity. I roll with what's there for me, and in some ways, I want to err on the side of expressiveness. One of the things that excites me most is when people are moved by the music and they get up and dance! I wanted to capture a sense of the excitement of the crowd in front of that stage. When Tank gets going and her band gets going, enlivened by her joy and the music, the crowd jumps in with her in an animated response.”
James Michalopoulos' journey began in 1951, born to a prominent modernist architect father whose visionary designs were instrumental in revitalizing downtown Pittsburgh. As one of six children, he was raised in an artistic household featuring paintings by his uncle, the illustrious abstract expressionist painter William Baziotes. In addition to being surrounded by artistic influences from an early age, Michalopoulos had an interest in science and economics. Following his graduation from Bowdoin College in 1974, he spent his postgraduate years actively engaged in the cooperative movement, effectively managing the Boston Food Coop and later establishing and managing the Cambridge Cooperative, which grew to become America's largest storefront coop.
Upon leaving the coop movement, Michalopoulos commenced a circuitous journey to New Orleans, with an interim stop in Washington, DC. During his travels, he began sketching to occupy his leisure time. This preliminary exploration of art gradually matured into a lifelong devotion. As a plein air painter, Michalopoulos faced challenges in identifying a suitable winter location to pursue his artistic endeavors. In 1979, he was drawn to New Orleans, which was recognized as a bastion of hippie bohemian culture. The city's unique culture of celebration resonated deeply with him. He began sketching local artists, musicians, houses, and streetscapes. Michalopoulos' fascination with the interplay between beauty and decay led him to focus on the city's architecture as his muse. His depictions of shotgun houses and Creole cottages is characterized by thickly layered impasto paint applied with a palette of radiate color and energy, creating a truly three-dimensional quality. Perhaps more than anyone else, Michalopoulos has the unique ability to capture the way New Orleans feels in his paintings.
His artistic and cultural contributions extend beyond painting. James served as Art Director for House of Blues Productions for six years, overseeing NBC's "In Concert" series and the Nice Jazz Festival. His stage sets for the House of Blues have been recognized as among the most influential ever designed for televised music performances. While there, he cultivated a deep interest in musical imagery, with his portraits representing diverse segments of the musical sphere.
In 1995, James Michalopoulos repurposed a 150-year-old cotton gin to establish Celebration Distillation, the first rum distillery in the continental United States since Prohibition. This endeavor led to the creation of the award-winning Old New Orleans Rum. Ask your bartender for a taste!
This spring, you can experience what it's like to step inside a James Michalopoulos painting at The Hotel Pompadour on Elysian Fields Avenue. The boutique hotel is built into the renowned painter's studio, and the hallways and rooms are filled with his art. This will be an amazing stay for art lovers. This artist-designed space is a maze of color-drenched rooms, meticulously curated with original paintings and artifacts from his personal collection. Each room will offer a unique perspective on the artist's continually evolving work.
After Hurricane Katrina, he acquired the Old Union Brewery and transformed it into the North Robertson Artist Studios, providing affordable workspaces for over 100 local artists. As the steward of the Michalopoulos Foundation, James supports expressiveness in architecture and affordable housing for emerging artists. Additionally, he remains a dedicated preservationist and philanthropist, advocating for historic neighborhoods and supporting various community charities.
Currently, James divides his time between New Orleans and Burgundy, with the French countryside's Roman-era stone structures and lush fields significantly influencing his work. He remains deeply committed to the city he loves and envisions a bright future for New Orleans as a cultural beacon for the 21st century.
Michalopoulos invites artists to experience his Open Studios, a multi-disciplinary and collaborative self-guided art experience held biannually. This is an opportunity for artists to share ideas and for visitors to explore new works of wonderful New Orleans artists while enjoying food and live music. It’s held at his warehouse turned into an art studio complex and will take place on Mar. 28, from 7 to 10 p.m.
This year, Michalopoulos’ work will be featured in several solo museum exhibitions including The Lauren Rogers Museum and The Shaw Center for the Arts. Locals and visitors alike are excitedly awaiting the Michalopoulos Retrospective, a year-long exhibition that will open at the iconic Cabildo on Jackson Square in Nov. 2025. This retrospective will showcase Michalopoulos’ profound impact on New Orleans and beyond.
Michalopoulos: The Art of Celebration is a PBS documentary featuring the life and legacy of James Michalopoulos. Illustrating his pioneering style, the film captures the evolution and depth of his art, from his iconic architectural paintings and celebrated portraiture to French landscapes and large-scale sculptural works. In the final filming stages, the crew covered him painting this year’s Jazz Fest poster at his studio. Earlier this summer, a film crew followed him to southern France where they captured his painting process in his studio and visited his gallery. The film is set to be released in the fall.
Michalopoulos sees a great future for New Orleans as a cultural light for the 21st century. He says that Louisiana is “The State of Gratitude,” and insists, “We can show the world how to live.” He is as beloved a figure in New Orleans’ as the subjects he paints. His work is synonymous with the city he has captured and revealed with empathy, imagination, grace and perception. Swing by his studio at 617 Bienville St. to enjoy more of his delightful paintings up close and personal and you will see with your own eyes why Michalopoulos is one of our most celebrated artists. His paintings will forever change the way you view New Orleans.
