Photos from The Contemporary Response at Galerie Myrtis

Left image: Annibale Carracci (attributed), Portrait of a Black Servant, (Fragment of larger portrait),

Oil on Canvas, 24 x 12 in., ca. 1580s. Courtesy: Leeds, private collection.

Right image: Jamea Richmond-Edwards

Giving a seasoned artist an assignment is always a gamble. Most will rebel against a new directive, or simply ignore it. However, in the best case scenario, an accomplished practitioner will integrate the challenge into their current practice, and enrich their output significantly based on all kinds of visual research. This seems to be the case in the new exhibit at Galerie Myrtis.

In The Contemporary Response, eight contemporary African-American artists were asked to create a new, original work based on one of the works included in ‘Revealing the African Presence in Renaissance Europe,’ currently on view at The Walters. The results abound from mixed media assemblages to more traditional oil paintings, with a particular emphasis on the human figure, although not exclusively. – Cara Ober

Revealing the African Presence in Renaissance Europe: The Contemporary Response

September 27, 2012 – January 19, 2013

Galerie Myrtis, Baltimore, MD

Jeffrey Kent

Amy Sherald

Nathaniel Donnett

Jamea Richmond-Edwards

Programs accompanying the exhibit include a series of Tea with Myrtis art salons and free family activities. Upcoming events: 10/27/2012: Discussion and Book Signing with Kevin Lowther, Author and Historian. more info. 11/04/2012: Artists’ Talk – Revealing the African Presence in Renaissance Europe: The Contemporary Response 11/11/2012: Joaneath Spicer, Ph.D., Curator of Renaissance and Baroque Art, Walters Art Museum. more info. Eight artists influenced by works featured in the Walters Art Museums’ exhibition ‘Revealing the African Presence in Renaissance Europe’ collate modern culture to interpret the role of Africans serving as diplomats, merchants, slaves, and rulers through an aesthetic rooted in black cultural history. A rare partnering between an art gallery and museum results in two provocative exhibitions which investigate the role of Africans in Renaissance Europe, Galerie Myrtis in conjunction with the Walters Art Museum host ‘Revealing the African Presence in Renaissance Europe: The Contemporary Response’. Artists: Maya Freelon Asante, Jeffrey Kent and Amy Sherald of Baltimore, Maryland; and Jules Arthur, Brooklyn, New York; Nathaniel Donnett, Houston, Texas; Jamea Richmond-Edwards and Victor Ekpuk, Washington, D.C.; and Mario Andres Robinson, Keyport, New Jersey. Chief Curator: Myrtis Bedolla, Founding Director, Galerie Myrtis; Co-Curator: Amy Morton, Owner, Morton Fine Art, and Exhibition Advisor: Joaneath Spicer, Ph.D., Curator of Renaissance and Baroque Art, Walters Art Museum