Critical Review

Critical Review

It's important that we agree on the conditions to declare that we have arrived.

This week, Baltimore's creative scene was profiled in Le Figaro, France's oldest newspaper, but the concept of a "Baltimore Renaissance" is false.

The History of Communication Has Always Been a History of Calculated Risk

The cheekily titled If Books Could Kill (on view through August 5, 2025) focuses on toxic materials—mercury, arsenic, and lead—that were used by scribes, illustrators, and printers in a variety of historical contexts.

TikTok's Days May be Numbered, but its Content Lives on in Oil Paint for Posterity

At MOCA Arlington, Marissa Stratton creates a dialogue that feels both familiar and estranging, as if one is scrolling through memories materialized on physical surfaces.

Top Exhibits of 2024: Museums & Galleries

The best Baltimore art exhibitions of 2024 were groundbreaking, culturally relevant, and made me feel more connected to the place and time where I live.

Textures of Us: Devin Allen at Galerie Myrtis Reflects Baltimore Respect, Culture, and Power

Whether you’re a native Baltimorean, or someone who calls Baltimore home like me, you’ll find pieces of yourself everywhere you look in this exhibit. It’s a love song to Baltimore.

December exhibitions that provide hope, insight and inspiration, centered specifically in the past, present and future of Baltimore

As we head towards 2025, it's worth remembering that artists see the future in ways the rest of us don’t, so we have to keep our attention focused on them so we can find new sources of strength and solidarity.

Fairs Find Success with New takes on "Safe" Media Even as Institutions and Collections Celebrate Weirder Acquisitions

Soft Focus, Blurry Paintings Satisfy, Especially at Price Points Reflective of Younger and Emerging Artists

The CADVC Survey of Williams' Multidisciplinary Practice Draws Connections Between Big Ideas and Quotidian Materials

Curated by Lisa D. Freiman, "Levester Williams: all matters aside" is an expansive survey of the Philadelphia-based artist’s works-to-date. The show closes Dec 14th at UMBC's Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture (CADVC).

The Neo-African Abstract Expressionist's Solo Show at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum

Simmons’ process is guided by a contemplative, meditative conversation with the materials as his paintings take shape.

24 Historical Objects Offer Visions of Well-Being Worth Revisiting

Exhibition at the Walters through December 15 explores medieval Europeans' interest in monitoring bodies, curing ailments, and attaining good health.

Rhythms and Strips in Retrospect at Arting Gallery

A Former MICA Professor's Lifetime Love Affair with Drawing and Improvisation

The Artist's Mixed-Media Exhibit at Transformer DC Interrogates America's Expectations of Black Women

In I’m Not Your Superwoman, Pinkston explores the Black-woman-superhero-complex, Black women's labor, and the complicated trope of “resilience,” a word often romanticized, exploited, and conflated.

Opinion Editorial by BMA Union Member Rob Kempton

Increased wages, more paid time off, and better benefits were obtained for unionized colleagues.

Two Exhibitions Deep, Downtown's New Arts Incubator Offers Perspectives on Climate and Environmental Justice

Founded by Leonardo Martinez, a recent DC to Baltimore transplant, the new artist incubator, studio building, and gallery devoted to climate justice is nestled just behind the central branch library on Mulberry Street.

Five exhibits that unleash the power of underrepresented perspectives and materials

Fragile Beauty at Hillwood, Preoccupied at the BMA, Connie Imboden and Mark Kelner at the Katzen, and The Subversive Thread at Academy Art Museum

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