An event at an eatery in Taylor, near Oxford, inspired Chef Beth Broussard Rogers of Columbus about six months ago. The Taylor establishment was featuring a local artist in conjunction with a special dining experience.
“I thought, wow, I like this idea,” said Rogers. The experience motivated her to start a monthly Art in the Restaurant series at her family’s downtown Columbus restaurant, J. Broussard’s, on Fifth Street South. This Thursday, Sept. 12, marks the fourth limited seating dinner centered around a display by a local artist, at 7 p.m.
“Coming Into View” is the name of the show by Heather Madison. The title conveys a dual concept — Madison herself, a real estate agent and busy mom, is coming into view with this debut of her work, plus her paintings tend to reveal more to the viewer the longer they are studied.
“Her paintings draw you in immediately with some kind of reference like a line or bold color, and all of a sudden other things start popping out at you,” said well-known sculptor and artist Sharon McConnell Dickerson, who is also Madison’s aunt. “People standing in front of them start seeing different things; the artwork becomes interactive.”
Madison seldom approaches a canvas with preconceived ideas.
“I start painting and keep on until I’m happy with it,” said Madison, who often works by commission. “I’ll do several layers and once I’m done, you can look at them and see different things.”
Rogers said menus for Art in the Restaurant events are often created with the artist’s input. A theme between visual and culinary elements may emerge, or sometimes an artist simply talks to the chef about favorite dishes. Reservations are required. Cost is $45 per person (not including tax or gratuity). Wine pairings are an additional $14 per person.
“Basically I just wanted to try to build more relationships with people in the community, and I feel like this is a good way to do it,” Rogers said. “And it’s great to see our dining room changing each month.”
Madison’s artwork will hang throughout September, but Thursday’s dinner provides an opportunity to meet the artist.
For more information, contact J. Broussard’s at 662-243-1480.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.