Byron Sonnier
I was raised in a Cajun Catholic family in South Louisiana and grew up going to church on a regular basis. I grew up being fascinated by the many icons and symbols used in Catholicism. As I got older and moved away from that environment, I started to notice the symbols and themes used in other religions and some of their commonalities. After moving to Alabama, I became especially interested in the Revival and Holiness movements of the area. That led to my discovery of snake handling and the many controversies and characters involved in that practice. I started to make work based on revival tents, preachers, and snake handlers. While on a trip back home to Louisiana one Fourth of July I noticed that all the fireworks tents looked just like the revival tents I had seen around Alabama. I snapped a bunch of photos and started painting the Black Cat Firework logo which has its origins in China as a symbol of good luck and fortune. I eventually began combining symbols and ideas from different religions, cultures, and personal experiences to create my own narrative. Lately that narrative has rambled slightly off the gravel and into the darker woods of Southern Mythology. Weaving modern messages with quirky and sometimes controversial emblems, these works are meant to be both eye catching and thought provoking.
Reach me here: byronsonnier@gmail.com
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2023 Room 412, Birmingham, Al A Novena For A Heart Set Aflame
2023 Gold Sprint, Huntsville, Al Remnants Of A Slow Fading Dream
2022 Gallery Vox, Tarrant City, Al God Bless America, Exit Now
2021 Temporary Gallery, Birmingham, Al American Legion
2021 Tiny Space, Richmond, Va Never Let Me Down Again
2020 Inner City Arts, Los Angeles, Ca Coast To Coast
2019 Ephemeral Gallery, Baton Rouge, La Group Show
2019 Alabama Contemporary Art Center, Mobile, Al Urban Wild
2019 Manitou Supply, Birmingham, Al New Fashioned Myths
2018 Tiny Space, Richmond, Va Expanded Belief System
2017 Lowe Mill, Huntsville, Al Man Is A Wolf To Man
2016 Sanctum, Birmingham, Al Serpents in Shadows, Carousel of Light
2016 Rojo, Birmingham, Al The Bear and The Ghost
2012 Art Folk Gallery, Birmingham, Al Reading The Rails
2012 Eastern Shore Art Center, Fairhope, Al Visions of Alabama
2012 Art Folk Gallery, Birmingham, Al Reflections of Food in Alabama Art
2012 Birmingham Museum of Art, Graffiti Installation
2011 Kevin Irwin Studios, Birmingham, Al Flameworks
2011 Birmingham Museum of Art, Graffiti Installation
2011 Boutwell Studios, Birmingham, Al Reclamation
2010 Bottletree, Birmingham, Al The Revivalist, solo show
2010 Birmingham Public Library Heads Up Alabama
*collaboration with Janice Kluge
2010 Lite Box Gallery, Birmingham, Al Everything Must Go
2010 Bare Hands Gallery, Birmingham, Al Shine 2010
2010 Lite Box Gallery, Birmingham, Al Glamour Shots
2010 Parkside, Birmingham, Al Six By Six
2010 Boutwell Studios, Homewood, Al Sofa Size Paintings
2010 Bare Hands Gallery, Birmingham, Al Strange Bedfellows
*collaboration with Tracy Martin
2009 Bare Hands Gallery, Birmingham, Al Hello My Name Is…The Graffiti Show
2009 Bottletree, Birmingham, Al Buy Fresh, Buy Local
2009 Rojo, Birmingham, Al Byron Sonnier & Baxter Wahl
2008 Acadiana Center For The Arts, Lafayette, La Southern Open 2008
2008 Bare Hands Gallery, Birmingham, Al Group Show
2008 Rojo, Birmingham, Al Photo Show
2007 Flying Monkey Arts Center, Huntsville, Al Lache Pas la Patate, solo photo show