Reading

Bmoreart’s Picks: Baltimore Art Openings, Events, and Galleries March 18 – 22

Previous Story
Article Image

Super Silly Superciliousness

Next Story
Article Image

New in Town: New York Art Fairs! by Blair Murphy

Happy Snow Patty’s Day, everyone! Let’s just assume that today’s green beer will suffice for green leaves and that spring is on the way. This week is -SPRING BREAK!- for a number of area institutions, so it may seem a little quiet around town. On Wednesday don’t miss MAP’s new speaker series at the Windup Space featuring Christian Benefiel and Ellen Durkan.

On Friday night, there will be three terrific openings at School 33 – David Brown, Lauren Boilini, and a group show curated by Christine Pfister of Pentimenti Gallery in Philadephia.  Also on Friday, Indirect Effect, an exhibition of work by artists Christian Benefiel and Jennifer Gilman, will open at Area 405. Last but not least, the juried show Art on Paper will open at the Circle Gallery in Annapolis.

Saturday, if you stay in town, head to SophiaJacob to see what former Open Space member Neil Reinalda’s been up to since moving to the West Coast. Then, go to Area 405 for Cinema Series 405: Stephen Nunns / Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Or, if you are so inclined, venture to Arlington, VA to the WPA’s SELECT 2014 Auction and Gala at Artisphere. Open Walls 2 boasts an opening reception on Monday at Metro Gallery!

cropped_YBR5b458b3df2e8

MAP PRESENTS YOUNG BLOOD REVISITED
featuring Christian Benefiel and Ellen Durkan
Wednesday, March 19 at 7 pm

Maryland Art Place (MAP) announces its 2014 speakers series Young Blood Revisited, which brings back former participants of MAP’s annual Young Blood exhibition program to speak about their art practice post their Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) degree. The second event in this series will take place on Wednesday, March 19 at 7pm, and will present Ellen Durkan and Christian Benefiel discussing their art practices post MFA at The Windup Space located at 12 W. North Avenue, Baltimore, MD in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District.

More information here.

……………….

Joan Belmar
Joan Belmar

“Without Boundary” at School 33 Art Center’s Main Gallery
Opening Reception Friday, March 21
Exhibit March 21 – May 31, 2014

School 33 Art Center is pleased to present “Without Boundary,” a group exhibition featuring Kyle Bauer, Joan Belmar, Ben Boothby, Ruth Hiller, Andrea Joki, Alison Stigora and Jay Walker.

The exhibition is on display in the Main Gallery from Friday, March 21 through Saturday, May 31, 2014.  An opening reception takes place Friday, March 21, 2014 from 6pm to 9pm.  School 33 Art Center is a facility managed by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts and is located at 1427 Light Street.  Gallery hours are Wednesday through Friday from noon to 6pm and Saturday from 11am to 4pm.

Curated by Christine Pfister, director and founder of Pentimenti Gallery in Philadelphia, PA, the works included in “Without Boundary” maintain a relationship between abstract and figurative aesthetics.  Each of the seven artists depict elaborate craftsmanship by creating innovative works from unconventional materials including, but not limited to, duct tape, cardboard and glass.  “Without Boundary” sparks critical dialogue concerning the categories of contemporary art practice and challenges audiences to rethink the limitations of such categories.

More info here.

David Brown, Yellow Oval

David Brown’s “Roaming around the Quadrangle” at School 33 Members Gallery

School 33 Art Center welcomes “Roaming Around the Quadrangle,” a solo exhibition of recent works by David Brown.  The exhibition is on display in the Members’ Gallery from Friday, March 21 through Saturday, May 31, 2014.

An opening reception takes place Friday, March 21, 2014 from 6pm to 9pm.  School 33 Art Center is a facility managed by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts and is located at 1427 Light Street.  Gallery hours are Wednesday through Friday from noon to 6pm and Saturday from 11am to 4pm.

In creating his art, Brown is influenced by the immediate force of the shape and color, the “push” of the image.  After the initial impact of the image or shape, he draws the viewer in to see the work up close.  Unlike traditional minimalism, Brown’s work tries to create a more personal and organic, yet minimalist image.  His aim is to create an image that allows the viewer to experience the process.  The audience is encouraged to join Brown in the same personal meditation he feels during the creation of each piece. More info here.

Lauren Boilini, Lovin's for Fools

Lauren Boilini’s “Sticky Fingers” at School 33’s Project Space

School 33 Art Center is excited to unveil “Sticky Fingers,” a site-specific installation by Baltimore-based artist Lauren Boilini.  The work is on display in the Project Space from Friday, March 21 through Saturday, May 31, 2014.  An opening reception takes place Friday, March 21, 2014 from 6pm to 9pm.  School 33 Art Center is a facility managed by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts and is located at 1427 Light Street.  Gallery hours are Wednesday through Friday from noon to 6pm and Saturday from 11am to 4pm.

Boilini finds inspiration in physical action, indulging in pleasure and pain, searching for her limit.  “Sticky Fingers” features mural sized paintings dealing with ideas of excess and gluttony.  Viewers of the installation are completely surrounded by the floor to ceiling paintings which also cover the floor.  Through her work, Boilini posits that “We are a hedonistic society, always looking for more until the more we are looking for loses its meaning.”

More info here.

School 33 Art Center is dedicated to providing opportunities for visual and performing artists through solo and group exhibitions, art classes, hands-on workshops, a Studio Artist Program and special events. A program of the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, School 33 Art Center is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council and through private contributions.

…………….

AOP_Postcard_Page_1

Opening Reception of Art on Paper 2014 at the Circle Gallery in Annapolis

80 works were selected from 1040 artists.

MFA will launch its Virtual Gallery for this show during the show dates.
All works will be made available for purchase through the site link:
www.mdfedart.org

Exhibition: March 20 – April 19.

More info here.

 ………………

unnamed

Area 405 is pleased to present Indirect Effect, an exhibition of work by artists Christian Benefiel and Jennifer Gilman.

The exhibit will be on view from Saturday, March 22 until Sunday, April 20, with an opening reception on Friday, March 21 from 7-10PM. An Artist’s Talk will take place on March 22 at 1PM.

As with an oblique angle where two lines coming from different directions share a common endpoint, Indirect Effect brings two artists together whose disparate points of departure ultimately intersect.

Working with sawdust, Jennifer Gilman will create a vast, site-specific drawing across the gallery floor. Whether linear and plan-like, or painterly with brushstrokes, Gilman’s landscapes contemplate means and methods as well as the relationship between artist and work, and as a result, initiate a conversation with the particular space the artist and the work inhabit.

Meanwhile, Christian Benefiel’s graticular timber sculptures, which rely solely on tension, weight and friction for their composition, occupy space in elevation. Like a planet in orbit, a rocky island risen from the sea, or a bird’s nest, his sculptures speak of craft, terrain, architecture and gravity.

Beyond the connection of wood products employed, both artists ponder space in geometric and human terms, where the artistic urge to manipulate a material and respond to a setting creates a metaphorical atmosphere.

A Maryland native, Christian Benefiel is the recent recipient of the Hamiltonian Fellowship, a U.S. Fulbright Post Graduate Research Grant, and a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award. Prior to his current teaching position at Shepherd University, he researched, designed and developed an environmentally sound sculpture foundry for the Finnish Academy of Fine Art in Helsinki.

In addition to fine art, Jennifer Gilman has worked in the fields of architecture and graphic design in both New York City and Los Angeles. In 2011, she was the Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome, Italy. Most recently she exhibited at Woodbury University’s Wedge Gallery in Burbank, California, where she currently teaches, and was a featured artist at the LA Forum with a show entitled Liminal Drift. Jennifer lives and works in Los Angeles.

Gallery hours for the duration of the event will be Fridays, 3:30-7:30PM, Saturdays and undays, are noon-4PM.

InDirect Effect is curated by Stewart Watson and Kim Farmer. More information here.

……………..

1613968_615939331792878_148670966_n-635x500

Neal Reinalda at SophiaJacob
March 22 – April 5, 2014
Opening reception Saturday, March 22, 7-10pm
sophiajacob is pleased to host an immersive installation by Neal Reinalda. Drawing comparisons between the anonymous desolate gallery and the empty expanse of a desert or beach, Neal’s project seeks to further transform the room into an experiential space. The viewer encounters a solitary set with infinite potential for personal separation into the dramatic.
Neal Reinalda is an artist and musician based in Los Angeles, CA. He produces music under the moniker The People’s Higher Order of Royal Kinship (PHORK). He was a co-founding member of artist collective Open Space in Baltimore, MD and is currently a co-director of the John and Marion Frye Collection in Los Angeles, CA.
……………..
1794785_10153778153165596_341252609_n

WPA’s SELECT 2014 Auction and Gala on Saturday, March 22 from 7-11 at Artisphere

SELECT 2014 features works available for purchase chosen by 8 of the region’s top and emerging curators as well as selections by WPA’s Board of Directors. Featuring works by established and emerging artists from DC, Baltimore, Richmond and beyond, WPA’s selection of exciting art works offer something for collectors both seasoned and aspiring. The works are presented as an exhibition for three weeks prior to auction and a full-color, perfect bound catalog with curator essays accompanies the show.

* Exhibition on view from February 27 – March 21, 2014: WED-FRI: 4-11pm; SAT: Noon-11pm; SUN: Noon-5pm; MON-TUES: Closed

* Purchase Gala tickets here:http://auction.wpadc.org/purchase-tickets/

……………..

embrace

Cinema Series 405: Stephen Nunns / Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

Saturday, March 22 from 6-11 pm

Stephen Nunns, author, playwright, theatre director, actor and Director of the MFA Program in Theatre Arts at Towson University, takes us to India with 1995′s Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (aka The Brave Hearted Will Take Away the Bride or DDLJ).

This romatic, comedic and musical debut by writer and director Aditya Chopra is a Bollywood extravaganza. A worldwide blockbuster, it was one of two Hindi films on the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list. DDLJ is  twelfth on the British Film Institute‘s list of top Indian films of all time and is considered a “must watch” for Bollywood fans, and also for those seeking an introduction to Bollywood.

$15: Reservations with payment required

More info here.

………………….

owb2_projectpagelogo_notext_919_336_s_c1_c_c_y

Join us on Monday, March 24th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM at the Metro Gallery for our official launch celebration. This event is free and open to the public. More info here.

Open Walls is back! Station North Arts & Entertainment, Inc. is pleased to announce Open Walls Baltimore 2, an international festival of site-specific street art, performance and installations in the Station North Arts & Entertainment District. Building on the success of 2012′s inaugural Open Walls, more than 15 outstanding artists from Baltimore, New York, Europe and South America, selected by curator Gaia, will create large-scale painted murals and installations throughout Station North between March and June 2014. In addition to murals, OWB2 will include Play the Plaza, a residency by the Urban Playground Group, a British Performance-Parkour team, who will animate Penn Station plaza with free performances and workshops.

Related Stories
Baltimore news updates from independent & regional media

Applications open for BMA JJC Residency, a Harborplace obituary, John Waters wins ACE Award, Jacob Kainen documentary, Dalila Scruggs named Augusta Savage Curator of African American Art at SAAM, Junius Wilson carves a backyard masterpiece, William H. Johnson exhibition at SAAM, Kreeger Museum 30th

The best weekly art openings, events, and calls for entry happening in Baltimore and surrounding areas.

Maryland Muse at the Goldstein Treasury Building, Makini performance at UMBC CIRCA, Marjuan Canady screens her film at Motor House, 'Black Art in the Absence of Light' documentary screening at The Driskell Center, Through Our Eyes exhibition opening and reception at The Walters, and more!

Baltimore news updates from independent & regional media

Performance art at the BMA, GBCA honors Kevin Brown, Women's History Month events at the Portrait Gallery, the Rubys return, Joyce J. Scott is a "must see" exhibition, Jinji Chocolate, ...

The best weekly art openings, events, and calls for entry happening in Baltimore and surrounding areas.

This Week: Levester Williams in conversation with Sheila Gaskins and Savannah Knoop at UMBC CADVC, Creatives in the Garden at Stem&Vine, Bill Schmidt, Annette Sauermann, and Madeleine Dietz at C. Grimaldis Gallery, Ornamenta, and more!