BmoreArt’s Picks presents the best weekly art openings, events, and performances happening in Baltimore and surrounding areas. For a more comprehensive perspective, check the BmoreArt Calendar page, which includes ongoing exhibits and performances, and is updated on a daily basis.
To submit your calendar event, email us at [email protected]!
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“Sounding Botany Bay, Sounding Kamay” by Timothy Nohe – Artist Talk
Tuesday, February 16th : 4pm
Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery, UMBC
UMBC Boulevard : Halethorpe 21227
The Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery presents Sounding Botany Bay, Sounding Kamay, an intermedia exhibition by Timothy Nohe, on display from February 8 through March 31. Nohe will present a public lecture on the work in the exhibition Tuesday, February 16 at 4 p.m. in the Library Gallery, an event sponsored by the Dresher Center for Humanities.
Botany Bay/Kamay is one of Australia’s most significant cultural and natural sites. For many thousands of years the land adjacent to Kamay was an important source of food, place of trade, and site of spiritual importance to a number of Aboriginal clans. This location was a significant Botany Bay/Kamay is one of Australia’s most significant cultural and natural sites. This location was a significant point of both physical and cultural conflict: HMS Endeavour, the first ship carrying British explorers and colonists, landed on the southern shores of Kamay — renamed, at this time, Botany Bay — in 1770. Today, Botany Bay is an unusual clash of pristine national park land home to a diverse but delicate marine ecosystem, and heavily industrialized areas including Sydney’s main cargo seaport and the desalinization plant, oil refinery, sewer treatment facility, and miles of industrial pipelines that line the shores.
The intermedia project Sounding Botany Bay, Sounding Kamay presents documentary photographs, audio compositions and video of Botany Bay by artist Timothy Nohe. The rich voices, sounds and sights of the bay are blended into an aural and visual landscape that heightens and contrasts what is, and has been, so that the listener may experience the past and contemporary complexity of Botany Bay, Australia. Change and controversy inexorably swept the bay as Nohe worked to document his observations and discoveries. “In the nine years that I worked on this project, I witnessed and recorded change that astounded me,” he said. “One must contrast the epoch of Aboriginal stewardship of the Bay, with the radical reshaping of the environment after the founding of Modern Australia.” The resulting artwork questions the future of the Bay and also instills reflection of similar shifting landscapes around the globe, near and far.
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Make Tribe : Wooden Spoon Carving
Wednesday, February 17th : 6-8pm
Baltimore Museum of Art
10 Art Museum Drive : Baltimore 21218
Enjoy after-hours access to the Imagining Home exhibition and in-gallery conversations, then experience an expert-led workshop inspired by one of the artworks in the exhibition.
Each workshop provides an opportunity for you to learn a new artisanal skill or handmade craft. All supplies and tools (and refreshments!) are included in your ticket price for a very convivial hands-on experience. Just bring your curious spirit.
Tickets go on sale January 2 at 10 a.m. Space is limited—reserve your ticket today! $55 Members; $60 non-Members. To purchase tickets, visit maketribe.com.
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Baltimore “MASTERS” Art of the Ancestors – Opening Reception
Thursday, February 18th : 6-9pm
The Fredrick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Museum
1417 Thames Street : Baltimore 21231
In honor of Black history month The Fredrick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Museum will be hosting an exhibition entitled Baltimore “MASTERS” Art of the Ancestors, a salute to historical Baltimore African-American visual artists. Baltimore has a rich legacy of visual artists who all have joined the ancestors circle. Their contributions are the very fabric of Baltimore City. Many of these artists acquired national and international acclaim, yet often have mostly gone unrecognized within the art community. Only a few Local galleries have validated their contributions, and most local institutions have yet to acknowledge their contributions.
This will be a rare gathering of visionary and dynamic creators who utilized art to heal, uplift, and empower. Baltimore “MASTERS” Art of the Ancestors will feature the visual artists that historically represent the Baltimore African American art scene. The Exhibition is the first of its kind to recognize this legacy of artists, activists, and entrepreneurs that were the very fabric of the inner city. Over 15 visual artists will be represented in this landmark exhibition including the likes of Thomas Stockett, Larry O. Brown, Sr., William Joyner, Larry Stevens, Robert Torrence, Tom Miller, Bill Strong, Pontella Mason, Leroy “Miki” Jones, Irving Phillips, Sr., Elizabeth Scott, Cary Beth Cryor, Luke Shaw, O’Neill Hammond, Anderson Piagett, Gerald Hawks, James Barefoot, and Hosea Solazaro, to name a few.
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4 Fine Painters – Opening Reception
Thursday, February 18th : 6-9pm
Crystal Moll Gallery
1030 South Charles Street : Baltimore 21230
Our exhibition for February-March will feature works by Jill Basham, Carol Lee Thompson, Tim Kelly and Sam Robinson.
Join us for a Jazz Opening Reception featuring Roland Dorsey.
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Reverse Casacade: The Story of Judy Finelli
Thursday, February 18th : 8pm
The Creative Alliance
3134 Eastern Avenue : Baltimore 21224
Reverse Cascade is geared towards adults, but is appropriate and much loved by those age 8 and up
Through music and object puppetry, Reverse Cascade tells a story about the remarkable life of Judy Finelli, a renowned juggler and circus performer whose life changed completely after she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
After finding the work she loves as a circus performer and one of the country’s best jugglers, Judy Finelli suddenly finds her body betraying her. Although her work and identity begin to slip away with her body, the circus still calls to her, and breathes purpose back into her life. We follow her new life, which she no longer lives in her body but in her dreams, thoughts, and her wheelchair.
We encounter Judy’s journey in a world of circus objects: scarves, clubs, juggling balls and juggling rings are the characters, the environment, and the elements of her world. In this unique form of puppetry, performance objects, worlds, and characters magically transform before your eyes.
Reverse Cascade was created by Baltimore puppeteer Anna Fitzgerald and is performed by puppeteers Emily Hall. Sophie Hinderberger, Sarah Nolen, Jeanine Padgett, Anna Fitzgerald, and Moira Horowitz. For this performance, a live musical score will be provided by Baltimore based multi-instrumentalist ellen cherry.
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Outside the Margins : Artists’ Books from the Betty & Edgar Sweren Collection – Opening Reception
Thursday, February 18th : 5-7pm
Julio Fine Arts Gallery
Loyola University : Baltimore 21210
The Julio Fine Arts Gallery at Loyola University Maryland presents two exhibitions of artists’ books. Artists’ books are not sculpture or printmaking or painting but may incorporate elements of all three. Usually intimate in scale and interactive by nature, artists’ books may or may not include words. They may be unique, created in small editions, or published works.
The first exhibit, Outside the Margins: Artists’ Books from the Collection of Betty and Edgar Sweren is presented in the Julio Fine Arts Gallery. We are fortunate that Edgar and Betty have shared selections from their collection of approximately 900 artist books and book works in this exhibit. The objects exhibited touch upon a wide range of book arts history, each containing unique characteristics. Paul Johnson, Ken Campbell, Ron King, Clare Van Vliet, calligrapher Susan Allix, and Carol Schwartzott are among the artists included in the exhibit.
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American Craft Council Show
Thursday, February 19th – Sunday, February 21st
Baltimore Convention Center
1 West Pratt Street : Baltimore 21201
Join us for three days of festivities celebrating all things handmade! More than 650 top contemporary jewelry, clothing, furniture, and home décor artists from across the country will gather under one roof. It’s your chance to touch, feel, and explore high-quality American craft and meet the makers behind the fabulous work. This is the American Craft Council’s flagship show – a must-attend for craft lovers.
Plus, meet the country’s top emerging artists! Stop by our Hip Pop pods dotting the show floor to see their contemporary pieces, ranging from sophisticated elegance to cutting edge. Look for the pink and black Hip Pop logo to locate these fresh finds.
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Seed!
Friday, February 19th : 8pm
The Creative Alliance
3134 Eastern Avenue : Baltimore 21224
Seed! Is a moving interdisciplinary and multi-sensory arts event, connecting Africa, Latin-America, the Caribbean and the USA. Featuring the powerful vocals of Akua Allrich, powerful projections, plus more!
A special presentation for Black History Month, this program highlights and connects African artistic expression throughout the Diaspora, and gives context and insight into the diverse expressions of African descendants. This full-bodied experience of spirit and art through sight, sound, movement, and feeling aims to inspire cultural and artistic exploration and appreciation.
About Akua Allrich: Jazz vocalist Akua Allrich’s style is fluid and ever evolving. Her musical roots run deep into blues, soul, and rhythm and blues with a clear grounding in jazz and pan-African music. She sings in many languages, including Portuguese, French, Spanish, English, Xhosa, and Twi. Given her ability to capture the essence of a broad range of musical genres, Allrich is often likened to legendary artists such as Oscar Brown, Jr., Miriam Makeba, and Nina Simone.
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East Side Works Roll Out
Friday, February 19th : 6-9pm
The Laughing Pint
3531 Gough Street : Baltimore 21224
Please join us for our rollout party! We’ve got fabulous and affordable jewelry, candle holders, guitar straps, clocks, trivets, tea towels and domino sets — all hand crafted in East Baltimore and all made from recycled/ repurposed materials.
We hope you can help us celebrate! If you are unable to make it on the 19th, products will be available on line. More info about that later.
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6th Anniversary Exhibition – Opening Reception
Saturday, February 20th : 1-5pm
Make Studio
3326 Keswick Avenue : Baltimore 21211
Make Studio, a nonprofit that provides creative opportunities for artists with disabilities and other underrepresented groups at the Schwing Art Center in Hampden, presents 6 of One, Half Dozen of the Other. This limited run exhibition in Make Studio’s Showroom Gallery will feature a selection of special projects undertaken by the 30 participating artists in its progressive studio program.
Commemorating Make Studio’s 6th anniversary and in line with its mission of promoting inclusivity, 6 of One, Half Dozen of the Other showcases the colorful, amusing, exploratory, and often intricately personal artworks that emerge from a studio that creates spaces and opportunities for diverse intelligences, perspectives, and voices to be brought together and shared. The original art on view will range from delicate drawings to large mixed media sculptures and wood constructions, and almost everything in-between.
The community at-large is invited to the exhibition opening and birthday celebration on February 20th! This free event will feature music, refreshments, hands-on art-making demos, and a raffle and silent auction supporting the studio program.
Please join us on Saturday, February 20th, 2016, 1-5PM to experience the beauty to be found when difference is celebrated on equal footing, rather than used as a basis to judge or exclude.
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Metal Shop – Happy Hour
Saturday, February 20th : 6-8pm
Baltimore Jewelry Center
10 East North Avenue : Baltimore 21218
Metal Shop will launch the first collection of artists represented in our retail shop in the gallery at the Baltimore Jewelry Center.
February 8 – February 29, 2016, with an opening reception Friday February 12, 6 – 9pm
Happy Hour Saturday February 20, 6 – 8pm, in conjunction with the Baltimore ACC show
The exhibition will showcase select pieces from each of the featured artists. After February, the work will be available to view and purchase by appointment during our open hours. We are excited to represent the following artists:
Erica Bello
Ashley Buchanan
Raissa Bump
Liz Clark
Sarah Holden
Shana Kroiz
Lindsay Locatelli
Tara Locklear
Jera Rose Petal Lodge
Lauren Markley
Sam Mitchell
Emilie Mulcahey
Jenn Parnell
Eric Silva
Rachel Timmins
Sarah West
April Wood
Laura Wood
Myung Urso
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Proximity – Opening Reception
Saturday, February 20th : 6-9:30pm
Area 405
405 East Oliver Street : Baltimore 21201
An exhibition co-curated by Sarah Tanguy and Stewart Watson and featuring the works of seventeen artists chosen from studio visits throughout Area 405’s accompanying Oliver Street Studios.
The exhibition will include new and recent exisiting works by Amy Boone McCreesh, Antonio McAfee, Benjamin Piwowar, Breon Gilleran, David Page, David Ubias, Jackie Milad, James Vose, Joshua Wade Smith, Kyle Tata, Laura White, Liz Donadio, Margaret Rogers, Mary Anne Arntzen, Paul Jeanes, Steven Pearson, Zoe Friedman.
The cumulative biographies and exhibition records of this group of artists is astounding. They are Trawick Prize winners, Sondheim Prize Finalists & Semifinalists, many have having exhibited at The Walters Art Museum, The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Evergreen Museum, and too many exhibition spaces and university galleries to count.
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|’sindikit| presents projects by Joyce Scott and Allana Clarke
Saturday, Feb 20 : 6-8 pm at Area 405 Second Floor
Exhibition runs February 20 – March 26
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“Free Man” Solo Exhibition by Charles Mason III
Saturday, February 20th : 6-9pm
Maryland Art Place
218 West Saratoga Street : Baltimore 21201
Charles Mason III has created a body of work that is engaging and non-traditional. Free Man refers to the notion that equality exists for all and that freedom is bestowed upon each and every one of us at the starting point of life. Charles’ work shatters that lie with the statement, “They Said I Was Free”. He uses text and imagery to communicate his feelings about the denial of true freedom because of the color of his skin. His work, influenced by Dread Scott, Hank Willis Thomas, and Glenn Ligon, is structured around social injustice, oppression of black bodies, corruption of the black image, his identity as a black man, and so much more. Charles creates a self-evaluation that he believes is required for his work to touch the consciousness of the viewer and try, at the very least, to create awareness through art.
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Annual Resident Open House with Rye Rye
Saturday, February 20th : 6pm, music 8pm
The Creative Alliance
3134 Eastern Avenue : Baltimore 21224
We swing the doors to the building wide open for a FREE PARTY to celebrate our Resident Artist program! Explore open studios, 2 exhibitions, and enjoy a performance by Rye Rye and MORE!
RESIDENT ARTISTS OPEN STUDIOS | 6-8pm
Amy Sherald, Christopher Kojzar, Tyler Hildebrand, Cameron Shojaei, Amanda J. Fiore, Kate MacKinnon, Tiffany C. Lange, & Paul Rucker.
EXHIBITIONS ON VIEW | All Night
Resident Reunion Group Exhibition
On view: February 6 – March 19, 2016
Featuring Resident Artist Alumni from 2003 – 2016 Zoë Charlton, Donald Cook, Rick Delaney, Janeann Dill, Amanda J. Fiore, Jeffrey Gangwisch, Sam Allerton Green, Michelle Hagewood, Tyler Hildebrand, Erica Hansen, Megan Hildebrandt, Toym Imao, Christopher Kojzar, Tiffany C. Lange, Magnolia Laurie, Francisco Loza, Kate MacKinnon, Christina Marsh, Jackie Milad, John Moran, Mara Neimanis, Michael Owen, Katie Pumphrey, Paul Rucker, Christine Sajecki, Amy Sherald, Shodekeh, Cameron Shojaei, Christine Stewart, Pamela Sunstrum, Alessandra Torres, and René Treviño.
a cat. a codpiece. a crime.
On view: February 6 – 20, 2016
A collaborative exhibition by current resident artists Amy Sherald, Christopher Kojzar, Tyler Hildebrand, Cameron Shojaei, Amanda J. Fiore, Kate MacKinnon, Tiffany C. Lange, and Paul Rucker.
MUSIC | 8pm
RYE RYE dominates the dance floor with a hardcore club style that incorporates Baltimore club, electro, and hip hop – all delivered with her unique voice. Recently, she has been creating new work with a powerful sound and an equally danceable vibe. For the Open House, Rye Rye is sure to set the Patterson on fire.
Recently, she has been creating new work with a powerful sound and an equally danceable vibe. For the Open House, Rye Rye is sure to set the Patterson on fire.
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Dirtier Words Baltimore – Opening Reception
Saturday, February 20th : 7-10pm
Guest Spot @ The Reinstitute
1715 North Calvert Street : Baltimore 21202
Guest Spot @ THE REINSTITUTE, is please to present Dirtier Words — Baltimore a group exhibition featuring the works of Robert Attanasio, Marta Buda, Karen Mainenti, Joe Nanashe, Michael Scoggins, and Allison Wade. Dirtier Words — Baltimore is a remix of VICTORI+MO and Catinca Tabacaru Gallery’s exhibition, Dirty Words. The exhibition will open on Saturday, February 20, 2016 and will be on view through Saturday March 26, 2016. The Opening Reception will take place on Saturday, February 20, 2016 from 7pm-10pm. The exhibit Dirtier Words — Baltimore is dedicated to the remembrance of Robert Attanasio.
“This exhibition explores the aggression and sexuality ingrained in modern vernacular and inherent within American culture. We are repeatedly confronted by double entendres, and have become increasingly reliant on context and source in order to absorb true meaning. This content, often fraught with messages of fear, submission, superiority or surrender, hold various truths depending on their intention and ultimately fall on the perceptions — or lack thereof — of the audience.” — Press release Dirty Words, VICTORI+MO CONTEMPORARY
Dirtier Words — Baltimore is emblematic of a wild and adventurous strain associated with the taboo of common parlance. The re-exhibition embodies the attempt to marry theory, politics, sexuality, pleasure, experimentation, and humor. The works debunk all humanist mythology about the grandeur of proper etiquette. The relational examination of text and non-text based vulgarity in Art History and Pop Cultureis the central focus of the collection of works. Linguistically speaking, the eccentric, dialectical style reinforces an ironic sensibility, combined with inquiry that is provocative, humorous, and intellectually exhilarating…just like common profanity. FUCK.
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Consumption: Food As Paradox – Artist Talk
Sunday, February 21st : 2-4pm
Galerie Myrtis
2224 North Charles Street : Baltimore 21218
Consumption: Food as Paradox examines how food is inextricably linked to the social, political and economic aspects of life—class, culture, race, religion, gender and health. A baker’s dozen of contemporary artists, working in paint, collage, porcelain and printmaking, explore food and its connection to the world around them.
Food is enjoyable and accompanies a lifetime of celebrations. Sharing the tastes of our individual homes and homelands can be a way to cross divides between classifications of people—relating to others over a foodway can lead to greater cultural understanding and empathy. But that can also be displaced by tremendous anxiety. Passing down traditional recipes can morph from intergenerational connections to memories of slaves who worked in the kitchen and the continuation of the domestic sphere forced on women. Images of watermelon and berries evoke racial tropes. Adorable animals in TV dinners remind us of the flesh that we consume, but obscure with words like ‘meat,’ ‘beef’ and ‘pork.’ And piles of this meat reveal gluttonous men who treat women with a similar desire for consumption.
Food can be made holy, blasphemous or banal based on the religion, class and race that it is tied to. How can we know what arbiters of taste and health we can trust? Foods are alternately villainized and sainted—their status constantly in flux, depending upon a variety of mysterious government agencies and corporations. We are a nation obsessed with dieting but plagued by illnesses resulting from the ways food affects our bodies. The artists of Consumption investigate these concerns, propose questions to ask, actions to take and, occasionally, offer a view of a future that is healthier in body and cross-cultural relations.
