CARDINAL OPENS NEW EXHIBITION EXAMINING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN VISUAL ART AND VINYL MUSIC CULTURE

Salvation by Kara Walker, one of the most significant works in the BMA’s contemporary collection, and And I Can’t Run by Hank Willis Thomas, a recent promised gift to the Museum, start a critical conversation in the Black Box Gallery on slavery’s legacy.

Los Angeles-based artist and 2017 MacArthur Genius Fellow Njideka Akunyili Crosby will debut a suite of new paintings that draw upon her experience of moving from Nigeria to the United States, maintaining ties to her family in Nigeria, and building relationships in America. Layers of paint, fabric, and photographic transfers not only energize the interiors and figures depicted in the artist’s works, but serve as a metaphor for the complex merging of relationships and cultural backgrounds that contribute to Akunyili Crosby’s sense of self.

Fabergé eggs, some of the most exquisite and innovative objects ever created, continue to fascinate with their beauty and complexity. This dazzling exhibition features 70 works of art including the Walters’ two Fabergé Easter eggs, alongside an array of gold and silver vessels, luxurious jewelry, enamels, carved stones, and icons that illuminates the beauty, technical sophistication, and artistry of Russian crafts.

*Reception: Thursday, Feb. 1, 5:30–7:30 p.m.

The third iteration of the Commons Collaboration kicks off with an exciting project from Baltimore-based artist Phaan Howng in collaboration with Blue Water Baltimore. For this project, Howng creates an immersive environment with intense, unnatural colors inspired by toxic waste. Through her partnership with Blue Water Baltimore, Howng will highlight local environmental issues and create a space and suite of programs to raise awareness about Baltimore's waterways.

About the Artist

This intimate exhibition of approximately 11 works by Maryland-based artist Annet Couwenberg reveals the intersection of science, art, technology, and history that makes textiles such a fascinating art form.

This exhibition presents approximately 20 works that illustrate the honored place birds hold within numerous African cultures. Inspired by our recent acquisition of a rare Pende Gitenga mask of the early to mid-20th century, the exhibition considers the role of birds within initiation, healing, and harvest rituals; within home décor and security; and within hunting practices. Long considered wondrous beings that transcend known worlds, birds have enjoyed a strong and steady presence in African life for centuries.

Internationally acclaimed artist and trained architect Tomás Saraceno uses iridescent panels, spider webs, and inflatable orbs in three fascinating sculptures on view. The centerpiece of the exhibition, Entangled Orbits, transforms the East Lobby with clusters of iridescent-paneled modules held in place by strings reminiscent of a spider web. Appearing somewhat like bubbles, these spherical modules evoke the artist’s visionary plans for “cloud cities,” which look to naturally occurring forms for inspiration and might provide environments for future human habitation.

After Fabergé is an exhibition of 5 large-scale digital prints by artist Jonathan Monaghan. A digital animator by training, Monaghan creates finely-crafted, virtual versions of the famous Fabergé Imperial Easter eggs, two of which are in the Walters’ collection. After Fabergé runs concurrently with Fabergé and the Russian Crafts Tradition at the Walters November 12, 2017 – June 24, 2018.

Twisted, knotted, and stretched pantyhose weighted with sand sag onto the floor in Head Back & High: Senga Nengudi, the latest exhibition in the gallery adjacent to the East Lobby. Senga Nengudi (American, b. 1943) chooses familiar, inexpensive materials loaded with symbolic resonances to construct intimate environments. Interacting with the installation and observing the works, performers and audiences are invited to consider how they move through the world and the factors that influence their distinct experiences.

For 40 years, Al Loving experimented with materials and process to expand the definition of modern painting, drawing on everything from free jazz to his family’s quilting tradition. In the 1980s, Loving broke free of the flat image, using heavy rag paper to make three dimensional collages in brilliant colors. Spiral Play features 12 of these collages, some of them monumental in scale. The work is radical, beautiful, and deeply human. In the artist’s words, “I chose the spiral as a symbol of life’s continuity. It became an overall wish for everyone.”

e of the most exceptional collections of Asian art in North America takes center stage on Sunday, October 1, when the Walters Art Museum opens its new installation Arts of Asia. The dramatic display offers a rich exploration of artistic traditions from diverse cultures and regions across India, Nepal, Tibet, China, Korea, Japan, Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia. The stunning array of more than 150 works spanning 2,000 years includes 30 objects that have never been on view.

The inaugural exhibition for the BMA’s new Center for People & Art brings together 37 works from across the BMA’s collection to explore the universal theme of home. Visitors will discover paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, textiles, and works on paper from the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands, as well as four miniature rooms, plus a variety of interactive features presented in three thematic areas:

On view: DEC 9- JAN 13
Opening reception: SAT DEC 9 | 6-8PM | FREE
Gallery talk: SAT JAN 6 | 7PM | FREE

From 1965-2002, painter James Hennessey taught at the MICA, influencing the artistic production of thousands of artists. This career-spanning exhibition focuses on large work produced in Baltimore over the course of more than 50 years.

Come to Creative Alliance to create relief kits with Heart to Heart. This organization distributes much-needed supplies to refugee communities around the world.

Lite fare provided. Musical performance to following service event.

SUN JAN 14 | 11AM | FREE