PROSPECTUS

Jonathan Ferrara Gallery is proud to announce that as of January 1st 2024, the gallery name has changed to FERRARA SHOWMAN GALLERY with the ascension of long time gallery director Matthew Weldon Showman to full partner.

Ferrara Showman Gallery is a collective environment of creative visions; a commercial gallery with a public conscience. Co-owned by artist/activist/entrepreneur Jonathan Ferrara and art historian/curator Matthew Weldon Showman, the gallery was founded in 1998 to give young and emerging artists a much-needed voice. Offering a forum for the exchange of creative ideas, the gallery's program features contemporary artists whose aesthetics reflect a sense of purpose, mission, and message and whose studio practices encompass a wide array of mediums from painting and photography to public sculpture, video, and installation art. Since its inception the gallery has focused on cutting edge works by local, national and international artists, most notably: Cuba, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Venezula.

Over its 27 year history the gallery has fostered a national and international reputation for discovering, embracing, and promoting artists. The gallery has established a national reputation for presenting artists and innovative exhibitions in cities across the United States, as well as, Asia, Central and South America, Europe, and the Middle East . . . working with museums and institutions including: 21C Museum Hotels, The Aspen Institute, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Museum of Arts and Design, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, The Smithsonian, and The Whitney Museum of American Art. The gallery is well known for many projects including the annual No Dead Artists International Juried Exhibition of Contemporayr Art, Guns in the Hands of Artists, and its extensive involvement and support of Prospect New Orleans Triennial.

Gallery director Matthew Weldon Showman has been an integral part of the gallery’s success and growth since joining the gallery in 2011. His extensive knowledge of contemporary art has helped position the gallery as one of the premier galleries in the South. His steadfast and boundless dedication to artist development, curatorial programming, community engagement, and education culminate into the gallery's position today. His leadership in the Arts District New Orleans has illuminated the city as an international destination for Contemporary Art and exporting it through the expansion of the gallery’s art fair participation and international presence.  With a keen eye for great talent and exceptional skills in cultivating and advising clients/collections, Showman has become an invaluable asset to the gallery and thus his ascension to full partner is a natural evolution in his role at the gallery. 

As the gallery embarks on a new chapter and a new name, Jonathan Ferrara and Matthew Showman remain committed to continuing to develop new artists, further the careers of the gallery’s established artists, and present new and exciting thought-provoking exhibitions.  The gallery will remain in its current location in the heart of the Arts District New Orleans and will continue to work with artists and clients around the world.