Over the last season, we have been letting you know about the upcoming Surreal Salon 18 juried exhibition, with guest juror SWOON, that was going to culminate in an exhibition at the Baton Rouge Gallery in Louisiana in January 2026. The picks have been made, the show is about to go on, and as someone who judged the event last year, it is one of our favorite events of the year. There is also the Surreal Salon Soiree on January 24, 2026, but more on that later.
And today we have a preview of SWOON's selects for the 18th edition of the Surreal Salon - the annual international exhibition celebrating the pop-surrealist/lowbrow movement. The exhibition, held in partnership with the LSU School of Art, features 64 artists from 18 U.S. states and 3 different nations, each hand-picked via a blind jurying process.
The exhibition, which is open to all, free of charge - features painting, photography, ceramics, textiles, mixed media, and more. More than $2,000 in cash prizes will be awarded in conjunction with the exhibition and the artist whose work is selected as Best in Show is also be profiled in an online editorial by Juxtapoz. The exhibition is open January 2 - 25, 2026.
FULL LIST OF SURREAL SALON 18 ARTISTS
Aaron Lade
Colorado Springs, CO
Alex V. Cook
Baton Rouge, LA
Allison Frederiksen
Los Angeles, CA
Amy Kollar Anderson
Dayton, OH
Amye Wake
Arlington, TX
Arlette Stella
Palm Desert, CA
Bradley Vander Veen
Santa Rosa Beach, CA
Cara Kearns
Baton Rouge, LA
Carol Schrader
Santa Fe, NM
Carson Williams
Metaire, LA
Cassandra Kim
Richmond, VA
Chiara Jacobsen-Sarter
Santa Rosa, CA
Dan Christopher Moras
Houston, TX
David Molesky
Wilson, NC
Dennis Ahearn
Santa Rosa, CA
Deon Blackwell
Temple Terrace, FL
Drew DiPasquale
Portsmouth, NH
Ebony Lewis
Grand Praire, TX
Francie Hill
New Orleans, LA
Gabrielle Dinger
Baton Rouge, LA
Garrett Richardson
New Orleans, LA
Grace Aldrich
Bonner Springs, KS
Graciela Goncalves Da Silva
Los Angeles, CA
Gregory Euclide
St. Peter, MN
Jacob Reese
Ramat Hasharon, Tel Aviv, IS
Jaime Bird
New Orleans, LA
Jennifer Carwile
Baton Rouge, LA
John Diephouse
Lansing, MI
Jori Phillips (Jori Jori)
Grass Valley, CA
Joseph Holsapple
Woodway, TX
Joshua Duncan & Sarah Megan Jenkins
Madisonville, LA
Joshua Porterfield
Somerville, MA
Josiah Gagosian
New Orleans, LA
Julie Mardin
New York, NY
Kate Harlowe Jones
Woodstock, NY
Komikka Patton
Charlotte, NC
Kristin Meyers
Miami, FL
Kwaku Osei
Durham, NC
Lana Bernard Toniolo
Ventress, LA
Lauren Fleniken
Saint Jo, TX
Lizz Freeman
New Orleans, LA
Michael McGlennon
North York, OH
Miles Kinney
Baton Rouge, LA
Molly Shea
Gulfport, MS
Muscle Memory
Las Cruces, NM
Nalani Williams
Los Angeles, CA
Paige DeVries
New Orleans, LA
Peyton Pickenpaugh
New Orleans, LA
Renée River Meschi
Gig Harbor, WA
Richard Vallon
Metaire, LA
Richard P. Stevens
Tallahassee, FL
Ryan Keith
Delta, B.C.
Ryan O'Malley
Corpus Christi, TX
Sam Rathbun
Naples, NY
Sara Hannon
Austin, TX
Sean Clark
New Orleans, LA
Seongmin Yoo
Davis, CA
Sophia Van Dyke
Petaluma, CA
Stephen Ferris
Calgary, Alberta, Ontario
Taryn Riley
Palmetto, FL
Wes Ladner
Birmingham, AL
Wren Woodward Sarrow
Studio City, CA