The Baltimore Jewelry Center presents Survey / Surround, a two-person exhibition featuring the work of Ling-lin Ku and Rachel Suzanne Smith, on view at its gallery in Station North from May 9–June 20, 2025. The exhibition opens with a reception on Friday, May 9 from 5 to 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Survey / Surround invites viewers to explore a vibrant interplay between nature and human-made structures, where botanical and insect forms morph, camouflage, and reveal unexpected identities. Whether in natural or manufactured environments the shifting between intrinsic and contextual identities creates a complex duality. When used as a means of self-reflection and chosen expression, individuals explore and deploy a multitude of identities and take on different roles as they adapt to ever-changing situations. Through wall pieces, suspended sculptures, and interactive elements that playfully subvert expectations of subject and scale, artists Rachel Suzanne Smith and Ling-lin Ku create a dynamic hide-and-seek environment that challenges perceptions of self and society.

Founded in June 2014, the Baltimore Jewelry Center is the successor organization to the MICA
Jewelry Center, which had served Baltimore’s metalsmithing and art jewelry community since the
early 90s. Today, the nonprofit is providing a rigorous academic program and robust studio access
program for metal and jewelry artists. “The Baltimore Jewelry Center features one of the few
art-jewelry galleries in the Mid-Atlantic. Our exhibitions program is just one of the ways we share
contemporary and traditional metal arts with Baltimore and the larger DMV community. Our gallery
shows also act as a platform to highlight, promote, and sell the work of local and national artists in the metalsmithing field,” said Shane Prada, Director. “We’re excited to host Survey / Surround
which will offer a uniquely immersive and reflective experience in our gallery space.”