Artists bringing touch of New Orleans to Cape

New Orleans art promoter and dealer John Buckner is hoping to bring a touch of the Crescent City to the River City when he opens a gallery in Cape Girardeau.

Eustis Studios will host a grand opening at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at 1606 Independence St., Suite 3A, where guests can enjoy a New Orleans-style lunch and cocktails.

Buckner said Cape Girardeau's location on the Mississippi River and its French heritage, like that of New Orleans, made it a logical location for him and artist Karen Cauvin Eustis to expand their business.

"I want to help promote and grow art in Cape Girardeau," said Buckner, who has worked in the art world for 17 years in different capacities.

The studio's main gallery will display the works of Eustis, also from New Orleans. Eustis is an award-winning figurative sculptor whose favorite medium is bronze depictions of female nudes.

"I love the human form," said Eustis, who said she uses live models when working at her New Orleans studio.

Eustis was a mortgage banker before burning out in the 1980s and turning to her childhood love of art.

"I loved what I did," Eustis said about banking, "but it was consuming me, and it didn't bring me joy like what I do now."

After leaving the mortgage business in 1987, Eustis went to architecture school for a couple of years, where she gained appreciation for the concept of three-dimensional visuals. Eustis cut her teeth in the art world by taking some glass blowing classes, then began studying sculpting at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Art. Within two years she had won the school's sculpting award and has been working professionally as a sculptor since 1992.

"It was sort of birthing me into more free thinking," Eustis said.

"The Guardian" by New Orleans artist Karen Cauvin Eustis sits outside Eustis Studios in Cape Girardeau. The studio at 1606 Independence St. will have a grand opening ceremony Wednesday. (Laura Simon)

She studied and worked with people who were "more abstract thinkers. Even those of us who do more of a realistic approach to our art, it's still more of an abstract thinking than crunching numbers."

Those driving by the Independence Street gallery recently have likely noticed two of Eustis' works on and in front of the building, including a sculpture called "The Guardian."

Buckner said Eustis Studios expects to open two more Mississippi River studios -- in St. Louis and Memphis, Tenn. -- within the next 12 months.

Buckner said Eustis Studios will be more than just a place to view and purchase fine art. The business will offer a variety of fine custom framing services, including on-site consulting with clients and designers. They'll make house calls if necessary, he said.

"We can actually play with the frame samples on the wall and with the matting," he said. "They can make it match their decor."

Buckner said the business offers gold and platinum leafing, water gilding and frame repair, among other services.

While many of Eustis' creations sell for thousands of dollars, there will be items in the studio at a much lower prices, Buckner said. He added that there will also be a smaller side gallery featuring the work of other artists, giving patrons a variety of items to choose from.

The Eustis staff, which will run the daily operations at the gallery, will also be able to help with the installation of art.

"Hope" by New Orleans artist Karen Cauvin Eustis sits inside Eustis Studios in Cape Girardeau.

"If they want plumbing for a water fountain to go with any of Karen's artwork, if they want it lit up, or if they want it put on a concrete pedestal," Buckner said, Eustis can accommodate the request. Eustis also does restoration of artwork.