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Selfies: Over 50 Years of Raoul Middleman’s Self Portraits

Selfies: Over 50 Years of Raoul Middleman’s Self Portraits

Friday, January 30–Sunday, March 15
Fox Building: Meyerhoff Gallery, 1303 W. Mount Royal Ave.

Reception: Friday, February 6, 5–7 pm

Selfies: Over 50 Ye ars of Raoul Middleman’s Self Portraits showcases hundreds of self portraits by Baltimorebased artist and longtime MICA painting faculty member Raoul Middleman. In this solo show, visitors will glimpse an intimate view of the artist from his own perspective through self portraits created throughout his more than 50-year career.

“Startled by the jolt of introspection, self portraiture is all about the discovery of the multiplicity of one’s being, shifting through the masks of time,” Middleman said.

A prolific painter, Middleman has created nearly 10,000 paintings during his career, with nearly one-tenth self portraits. For the artist, the act of creating the self portrait is reflective and part of his overall process for developing narratives in his paintings. Perhaps best known for his allegorical paintings, Middleman’s generous use of paint and garish color captures the frenetic energy of the stories he depicts.

Selfies follows a non-chronological path of Middleman’s self portraits, allowing for formal and content-based connections to be made across decades to provide a deeper understanding of his practice. Paintings in the exhibition range from quick sketches in oil to masterful, larger-than-life-sized narratives and often include imagery like fiddles, mirrors, and puppets.

“Middleman is part of the rich history of painters capturing themselves in paint, and through his self portraits we see someone who is exploring himself, unafraid to be ugly or vulnerable,” said curator and alumna Caitlin Tucker-Melvin ’14 (Curatorial Practice). “Middleman is a master storyteller who uses his paintings to reflect on Baltimore and the world he sees around him.”

Middleman is represented by C. Grimaldis Gallery in Baltimore, and his work has been shown and collected internationally. Notably his works are in the collections at the metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Baltimore Museum of Art; Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore; and New York Public Library.

Middleman began teaching painting at MICA in 1961 and currently teaches Narrative painting classes at the College. He was the Painting Department chair from 1974 to 1978. MICA’s exhibitions are supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Business and Economic Development.

Image credit: Raoul Middleman, Self Portrait, oil on canvas, 2013.

Event Contact

Brenda McElveen
410-225-2300

Event Details

Repeats weekly Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and Saturday -- until Sunday March 15, 2015.
Repeats weekly Sunday -- until Sunday March 15, 2015.
Free

Location

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