Gallery Visit: Sondheim Finalist Exhibition at the Walters Art Museum

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Don’t forget to stop by and view the Sondheim Finalist Exhibition at the Walters Art Museum! The exhibition is on view until August 17th.  The Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize: 2014 is organized by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts in conjunction with Artscape, America’s largest free arts festival.  Now in its ninth year, the Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize recognizes the achievements of a visual artist living or working in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and Southeastern Pennsylvania. The winner of the $25,000 Sondheim Prize will be announced at a special ceremony and reception at the Walters Art Museum, Saturday, July 12, 2014 at 7 p.m.

Finalists (from top down): Lauren Adams, Kyle Bauer, Stewart Watson, Marley Dawson, Neil Feather,  Kyle Tata and Shannon Collis

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Call for Artists: Baltimore LED Art Board

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Shanklin Media looking for artists to submit unique drawings, paintings, photographs, or sculptures of the numbers one through ten to be used in a countdown animation for the unveiling of the Baltimore LED Art Board.  There will be multiples of each number used, so don’t worry if your number is already taken.  We need these soon (by July 14th at the latest) so get them in right away!  This will be shown during a big moment at Artscape 2014 on Friday July 18th at around 8:45pm in front of the Metro Gallery.  The animation will be accompanied by live music, fire performers, and a pyrotechnic display.

Also, there is an open call to be a featured artist on the LED Art Board, more information and application here: http://ledbaltimore.com/artist-submission-form/

 

Music Monday! Party at the Patterson | Pie!

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Featuring Rodney “Pie Man” Henry & the Cold-Cold Heartbreakers

Friday, July 11th |7:30pm Doors & Outside Fun | 9pm Bands

A celebration of PIE! Get ready for a building wide event, including the Charm City Roller Girls, Pie tasting contest with Baltimore’s own “Pie Man” Rodney Henry, vintage clothes, sweets and treats, local artists, musicians and vendors, and so much more!

MUSIC: The Cold-Cold Heartbreakers, Sean K. Preston, Rodney Henry’s son Waylon James opens!

DON’T MISS: Pie Tasting Contest, Dangerously Delicious Pies, The Charm City Roller Girls, Go-Go’s Retread Threads |Vintage Clothing Bus, Kinver Edge Pinnies | Handcrafted reversible hostess aprons, Lucky Cup Espresso Truck

TICKETS: Advance: $12, $7 members (no ticketing fees online) At the Door: $15, $10 members

For more info visit Creative Alliance.

Public Art Field Trip: Nut and Bolt

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Nut and Bolt by J. Arthur Benson, 1982

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Illustration by Precious Blake

Art Benson lives in Baltimore where he was on the faculty of the Maryland Institute College of Art for three decades, from 1972 to 2002, serving as the head of the undergraduate sculpture department. He recieved this commission in 1981 from James Pettit, the project architect for Ayers Saint (today Ayers Saint Gross), who designed the new addition to the Mount Royal Elementary/Middle School.

The artwork was to be developed as part of an elevated two story pedestrian bridge connecting the new building to the older one. The walkway is clad in metal panels that were painted yellow, white, and red arranged to emphasize the mechanical nature of the bridge. The bridge functions as a visual anchor but also hides structural colomns that turned out to be needed to support the bridge above the plaza area. Two large L brackets, one designed for each side of the elevated passagway, appear to have been fixed in place by four nuts and bolts.

The architect and artist collaborated to produce a work of art that would be fun, colorful, and visually related to a tinker toy. After all, this was a school for young children and Nut and Bolt would be installed near where these students would play every day.

See more of Art Benson’s work at www.arthurbenson.com

Want to know more about Baltimore Public Art? Pick up the book Outdoor Sculpture in Baltimore: A Historical Guide to Public Art in the Monumental City by Cindy Kelly.

Baltimore Gallery Roundup: July 2014

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Openings and activities in and around Baltimore- July 2014

Area 405
Macricrocosm
Reception: July 11, 7-10pm
Exhibition: June 20 – August 15th

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Area 405 is pleased to present Macricrocosm, featuring the artwork of Sondheim Prize 2014 applicants and others.  These works can be perceived as both cosmic and cellular placing the viewer in the position of being either omnipresent or insignificant.  This mixed media exhibition runs through Summer 2014.

Artists: Helen Elliot, Lisa Marie Jakab, Paul Jeanes, Jarah Moesch, Brandon Morse, Julia Pearson, Dan Perkins, Ginevra Shay
Curator: Stewart Watson

Baltimore Threadquarters 
Generative Presence
Reception: July 12, 4-7pm
Exhibition: July 1- August 31

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This exhibition showcases fiber and mixed media installations from two 2014 Sondheim Prize applicants.

Artists: Rania Hassan, Mihaela Savu
Curators: Allison Fomich, Marlo Jacobson, Matt Saindon

Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower Gallery
INSIDE/OUT
Reception:  July 11, 5:30-7:30pm
Exhibition: July 11 – August 30 (Open Fridays 1-7pm and Saturdays 11am-4pm)

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The yin and yang of the artists Vincent Carney and Matt Klos’s works reflect not only the interior versus the exterior, but the pristine versus the derelict– yet their work is so cohesive (as is visible by the hues used by both artists), you may think they shared the same palette.

Artists: Vincent Carney, Matt Klos
Curator: Betsy Stone

Center for the Arts Gallery, Towson University
Artscape 2014: Home:Human = Cage:Cockatoo
Reception: July 12, 2-4pm
Exhibition: July 10 – August 9

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The artists in this year’s Towson University Artscape exhibition define home through different approaches to discomfort.  For David Page, home can be threatening and torturous; for Ben Marcin, it is abandoned memory; for Katherine Sifers, it is postmodern vanitas; for Margaret Rogers, it is fantasy; for Avi Gupta, it is familiar but alienated; and for Mary Beth Muscara, it is fusion.

Artists: David Page, Ben Marcin, Katherine Sifers, Margaret Rogers, Avi Gupta, Mary Beth Muscara
Curator: Cheryl Harper

C. Grimaldis Gallery
SUMMER  ‘14
Reception: Wednesday, July 16, 6pm-8pm
Exhibition: Wednesday, July 16 – Saturday, August 23

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The C. Grimaldis Gallery is pleased to present “SUMMER ’14,” a group exhibition featuring works by selected gallery artists and Sondheim Prize applicants.

Artists: Chul Hyun Ahn, Grace Hartigan, Hidenori Ishii, Dimitra Lazaridou, Eugene Leake, Ben Marcin, Neil Meyerhoff, Raoul Middleman, Bernd Radtke, Zhao Jing & others
Curator: Constantine Grimaldis

Creative Alliance
Glue & Glitter: Skeletons, Flowers,& Jellies- A Retrospective of Tommy Tombo ODea
Reception: Thursday July 10th 6-8pm @ Amalie Rothschild Gallery
Exhibiton: July 5-26th
Gallery hours: Tue-Sat, 11am-7pm

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Self-taught, visionary artist Tommy O’Dea is a third generation longshoreman and until recently a life-long resident of Fells Point. To aid in his recovery from drug addiction, Tombo (as he is known on the waterfront), started making artwork.  Over the next 18 years he created a vibrant series of images crafted out of unique media. Tommy referred to himself as a “glue artist.” He painstakingly layered glues and epoxies, many bought from a marine store, creating richly textured surfaces.  He worked in series, carefully framed the work, and often gave it to his friends and family. Fish skeletons, sunflowers, pineapples and jellyfish were his favorite motifs.  Vibrantly colored with acrylic paint, magic markers and glitter, these pieces remain treasured gifts.

Gallery 788 
Gallery 788’s Fifth Annual Photography Show
Reception: July 3, 7pm
Exhibition: July 3 – July 26

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Gallery 788’s Fifth Annual Photography Show will exhibit of all things photography-related, highlighting some of the best photographers from the region, and beyond.

Artists: Katherine Sifers, Jing Zhao, and others
Curators: Eduardo Rodriguez and Charles Hofsommer

The Gallery at CCBC, Catonsville
Spectrum
Reception: July 11, 6-8pm
Exhibition: July 11 – August 31

Without light, art does not exist.  The visible spectrum of light through the human eye is what allows us to perceive beauty, thus making it an appropriate medium for these artists to express themselves.  Similar to the process artists like Itten, Rothko or even Newton used to explain color theory.  The artwork in this show uses light not as a mere consideration for their work, but as a medium in and of itself.  Their individual sculptures combine to create one environment where the visible spectrum of light and its role in the spaces they create is the main focus.

Artists: Tommy Bobo, Melissa Burley, Laure Drogoul, and Stephen Hendee
Curator: Kevin Cook

The Gallery at CCBC, Dundalk
Imaginary Friends
Reception: Thursday, July 17, 6pm-8pm
Exhibition: Thursday, July 17 – Sunday, August 31

Delving into the abstract fantasy world of imaginary friends, this collection embraces the subtle and strange.  With tiny worlds existing in each palette, patrons can fill in their own blanks, recalling their own imaginary friends and placing them in each abstract environment.  With colorful fantasy, nostalgic innocence is conjured in these delightful works.

Artists: Pam Rogers, and others
Curator: Liberty Carter

Gormley Gallery, Notre Dame of Maryland University
Contested Divisions 
Reception: July 11, 6-8 pm
Exhibition: July 7 – July 26

Contested Divisions presents images made from the materials of photography and that employ mixed media to explore the medium’s indexical mode.

Artists: Elizabeth Crisman, Amy Finkelstein, Todd Forsgren, Muriel Hasbun, Kyle Tata, and Ding Ren
Curator: Geoff Delanoy

MAXgallery
Dissolution and Transformation
Opening Reception: June 26 (time TBA)
Closing Reception: July 31 (time TBA)
Exhibition: June 26 – August 2

Creation arises from the dissolving of forms and concepts. The artwork in this exhibition represents the dissolving of contemporary beliefs through a diverse array of subject matter. Dissolution of belief establishes the foundation for Transformation. This exhibit establishes the strong correlation of end to its counterpart, beginning. This forges an alternative way of seeing for the viewer.

Artists: Kini Collins, Jessica Damen, Megin Diamond, Michelle Dickson, Annie Farrar, Cianne Fragione, Pat Dennis Giroux, Artemis Herber, Daniel Herman, LaToya Hobbs, Ruth Pettus, Maxine Taylor, Sandra Wasko-Flood Curators: Jessica Damen, Pat Dennis Giroux, and Maxine Taylor

 

The Windup Space
Logical Magic
Reception: Wednesday, July 16, 7pm-10pm
Exhibition: Wednesday, July 9 – Thursday, July 31

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The Windup Space is pleased to present “Logical Magic,” featuring new paintings by Se Cho.  The subjects of Cho’s work are based on geomorphology, engineering, modeling, and general scientific concepts like accuracy vs. precision, optical illusion, etc.  Cho says of her work: “My paintings are a representation of what I learn and experience in my life, most importantly subjects of my scientific research.”

Artist: Se Jong Cho
Curator: Jason C. Hoylman

Music Monday!

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A throwback to Nina Simone’s song “Baltimore” which was part of her 1978 album also titled as such. The song was composed by Randy Newman and originally appeared on his 1977 album Little Criminals.

 

 

Sondheim Interviews: John Zimmerman

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This is the thirty-first in a series of interviews with each of the Sondheim Award Semifinalists. Finalists have been announced, and will be on exhibit at the Walters Art Museum June 21 to August 17; those not selected as finalists with be exhibited at the Decker, Meyerhoff and Pinkard Galleries at MICA  July 17 to August 3, 2014.

Name: John Zimmerman
Age: 27
Website: www.johnzimmerman.com
Current Location: Waverly- Baltimore, MD
Hometown: Waldorf, MD
School: University of MD, Baltimore County

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What is your day job? How do you manage balancing work with studio time with your life?
I am currently a dog walker as well as a bartender. I try to string together both jobs and work as many hours as a can for a few days, and then have off for a couple days afterwards to decompress and think about my art. On a good day dog walking can serve as both work and time to contemplate life, as well as allow me to take photographs.

How would you describe your work, and your studio practice? I mainly work in photography. For me, the power of photography lies in its ability to flatten real world objects. The viewer interprets the image as a three dimensional space, but the composition is intrinsically rooted in the flat dimension. I try to compose my images, whether they are portraits or landscapes, as a minimal spatial study. Lately I have been working on sculptures and paintings that similarly explore these flattened dimensions.

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What part of artmaking to you like or enjoy the most? The least? Editing photographs can be tedious, but at this point I embrace the meditative qualities of it.

What research do you do for your art practice? Reading a lot helps, as well as taking in and processing the mass of imagery that bombards us everyday.

Do you ever get in creative dry spells, and if so, how do you get out of them? Of course. Whenever I do I find its best to let it run its natural course. I go exercise, and enjoy my life for a few days, or a week, or a month. Eventually a good idea will come my way, and it won’t have the appearance of being forced.

How do you challenge yourself in your work? I think the poster in the office of our guidance counselor’s was on to something when it read “push yourself” or “give it your all” or whatever. I have post-its around that egg me on. Again, like I said before, you don’t want to force yourself to be creative. That said we all need motivation, and post-its criticizing me seem to work. I also find it is good practice to be as meticulous and overly critical of a final product.

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