Virginia Duson’s ‘Atchafalaya Houseboats’ to open Saturday

One of Crowley’s best artists, Virginia Duson, will be back at The Gallery this month with a new show, “Atchafalaya Houseboats and More.”
Duson, who holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, is a soulful person who is very attuned to the world around her. It is no surprise, therefore, that she found the inspiration for her current show hidden away in the landscape that most Southwest Louisianians take for granted — the Atchafalaya Basin.
The show is comprised of approximately 20 pieces, all acrylic on canvas, that offer a window into an idyllic way of life on the bayou.
According to Duson, “Atchafalaya Houseboats and More” is the result of her wanting to do something that people would find interesting and relevant, and the ongoing debate over management of the basin fits that bill.
The Atchafalaya Basin is the basin of the Atchafalaya River, a 135-mile-long natural distributary of the Mississippi River that empties into the Gulf of Mexico and is the last large remnant of the Mississippi floodplain. It is also the largest bottomland hardwood swamp in the country and home to a huge variety of wildlife.
But for some years now, the basin has been threatened by dredging, pollution, logging for cypress mulch and siltation. It has also been the subject of debate as to private versus public ownership, with those opposed to private ownership citing the restriction of public use and access, the inhibition of the ecotourism industry and decreased support for conservation efforts.
But the subject of Duson’s show is not the basin itself. Instead, the focus is on the people who have made it their home.
Duson initially became interested in basin life after taking a swamp tour when she first moved to Louisiana (she was born and raised in Virginia and moved here after marrying her husband, Howard, the grandson of Crowley co-founder W.W. Duson). She recalls that she and her group quickly formed a bond with the tour guide, who lived in the basin, and that he made a special effort to show them things that were off the beaten path. The guide even invited them to see his own home, a houseboat, and Duson found it fascinating.
Viewers of Duson’s show will no doubt quickly realize that the paintings on display are more than just an average collection of swamp scenes. There are no egrets or alligators. Rather, the paintings depict artifacts of human civilization — the houseboats — that appear to dwell outside the realm of human civilization and that are intended to provide a glimpse into a unique way of life.
Duson describes the basin residents that she has met as quiet and introverted people who love to hunt and fish. She is fascinated by the difference between their lifestyles and her own, and her paintings focus on depicting the happiness and satisfaction that she believes they experience.
According to Duson, even the boats themselves look happy. She imagines that they like the people that take care of them. She believes that houses can tell stories, and she bets that these have a wonderful supply.
“Atchafalaya Houseboats and More” will open with a wine and cheese gala from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Gallery Saturday. The event is free and the public is invited.
The Gallery is located at 222 N. Parkerson Ave. in Crowley. For more information, 783-3747.