January art offers a glimpse of 2021
Happy New Year. Please. I feel a collective yet hesitant exhale as we leave 2020 behind. “Should old acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne?” actually means, “in case we should forget times gone by.”
There is little chance of forgetting. I’m betting most of us didn’t drink a cup of kindness to the passing of 2020 on New Year’s Eve. It was a hard year that demanded our full attention to almost every aspect of our lives. No looking away. Even though the degree of impact has varied greatly, no one was left unaffected by the events of 2020.
But looking in the rearview mirror is always a good idea to be sure that what we’ve left behind is put in its proper place, and that we don’t forget, lest we repeat that which is within our control. The new year has some tall orders to fill, and I’m optimistic that it will ultimately deliver.
New art movements are often formed by cataclysmic times, and we may be able to glimpse what’s ahead. We are beginning to see how artists and galleries have internalized the forced introspection and reflection to influence their art. Amid the chaos, some of the artists I’ve spoken with have acknowledged a positive effect on their creativity and thought processes. Some artists have narrowed their focus and spent time delving deeper into a technique or subject, or have changed directions completely. Sales and promotion strategies are revamped and exhibit themes are thoughtful and relevant to the times.
So, if we are to be fair, as there is never only good or bad, we can acknowledge the silver lining in a very dark cloud, and thank 2020 for making us stand still, take a hard look at where we are, and formulate a vision of where we want to be moving forward. We can look at this as embarking on a new adventure into an evolving world of art and culture that will both memorialize the past strife and shape the future.
Gallery 333 at Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis introduces artist Annette Uroskie at 11 a.m. today via Zoom. This Meet-the-Artist Zoom launches her virtual exhibit, “All Things Bright and Beautiful” that will run January and February, and can be found on display at uuannapolis.org/gallery-333/.
Annette is a teacher and multi-faceted artist, having worked in Anne Arundel County schools her entire career. She has won awards for both watercolor work and photography. Presently, she is exploring the use of watercolor on Yupo paper. Join the Zoom here: https:// us04web.zoom.us/ s/2537609142?pwd=MHcrTzdCM01Lbll EQjluc01IWlorZz 09# success
Gallery 57 West presents work by studio jeweler Jessica McGrath and illustrator Kathy Dennin-Meagher. Meet these two artists on a Gallery 57 West Facebook Live event at 7 p.m. Thursday, for a demo and to talk with them about their work. Jessica McGrath will demonstrate the ancient
Korean metals technique of KeumBoo, which is the use of gold in liquid form and bi-metal (18k gold laminated to sterling silver) and how she adds high karat gold accents to her work. Kathy Dennin-Meagher will discuss her mixed media piece “Turtle-ly Awesome”, and how it came about even before she knew how to paint. Most of her work has an aquatic or nature theme. She says, “There is something freeing about watercolor that lends itself to the ocean and bay life.”
MFA Circle Gallery’s “Winter Member Show” opens Wednesday, and runs through the end of the month. MFA has over 700 members, and has invited all members residing in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Mexico to enter the 2021 Winter Member Show.
Juror Erin Lehman, director of The Holtzman and Center for the Arts Galleries, Towson University selected a total of 62 original 2D and 3D works from the numerous submissions. The result is an outstanding exhibition of incredible variety in media, content, color, texture and substance, with the common thread of quality of execution. This exhibit is on display in Circle Gallery through Jan. 30, and is also available to be viewed online mdfedart.com/portfolio/209/. Also on the webpage find details and access to the Zoom Virtual Reception and award announcement that will take place at 4 p.m. Jan. 17.
MFA Curve Gallery’s national juried exhibition “Light and Shadow” continues through Jan. 30. From Caravaggio to Monet to Ansel Adams, artists use their talents and tools to capture the detail and many subtleties of play between light and shadow. The Juror, Joseph Di Bella, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Art at the University of Mary Washington, Virginia, selected 64 works that represented these principles. Di Bella begins his juror statement: “Light reveals, discloses, differentiates both in the physical and metaphorical sense. It shapes and characterizes form. There is no shadow without some level of light…”. Read his entire statement about more about him here: mdfedart.com/portfolio/205/. Click the “Head to Curve Gallery” button or click here to view the entire exhibit: mdfedart.com/CurveGallery/index.php/ gallery/index/205.
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts is pleased to announce that this month marks the grand re-opening of their galleries with a campus-wide exhibition, “Art of Activism” which will run from Jan. 8 to Feb. 27. Maryland Hall, in partnership with the Banneker Douglass Museum and Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture, invited Maryland-based Black artists whose work encapsulates activism and social justice to apply for a building-wide exhibition.
The artists were also commissioned to repurpose large Black Lives Matter banners, using them as a platform to discuss social oppression and systemic patterns on inclusion and diversity through visual or performance art. For now, the gallery hours are Wednesdays and Fridays, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Be sure to check their web page for safety details and updates: marylandhall.org/galleries/exhibitionscalendar/art-of-activism/
Jo Fleming Contemporary Art continues the “Art for Gifting” exhibit of small works through January 16. Opportunities for giving gifts present themselves year-round, and affordable, original art is a memorable gift. Artists featured are Vicky Ali, Martin Ali, Kimi Nyland Balageas, Patrice Drago, Gail Higgenbotham, Georganna Lenssen, Angela Petruncio, Sheryl Southwick, Sigrid Trumpy and Cindy Winnick. Opening Feb. 1 will be an exhibit of paintings by Georganna Lenssen, Sally Rhudy and Jo Fleming and Glass sculpture by Tim McFadden.
The Arts Council of Anne Arundel County BWI Exhibit, “Achromatic & Monochromatic” gave artists an open subject matter while they experimented with using either of these color themes to influence their art. This exhibit will be on display until Mar. 15, and is located between Concourse C&D in departures (pre-security). Visit acaac.org/ bwiexhibit-29achromatic-monochromatic/ to view the online gallery of artwork.
The council’s What’s Up? Media exhibit, “Empowering Women,” aims to honor the Centennial of Women gaining the right to vote. This exhibit has been extended and is on display for viewing at 201 Defense Highway in Annapolis in the reception area of the second floor until Feb. 1. View the exhibit online at acaac.org/whats-up-mediaexhibit-11-empowering-women/. Visit the “The Arts Council of Anne Arundel County Virtual Art Gallery Series” here to learn more about the AAC artists who have been featured so far: acaac.org/artscouncil-ofanne-arundel-county-virtual-artgallery-featuring-aac-artists-each-week/
McBride Gallery is extending its “Small Gems Show” through the month of January. A small gem is an artwork that is less than 14 inches x 14 inches. Many of the galleries top artists are participating, including Lois Engberg, Ed Hatch, Terry Miller, Victor Nizovtsev, and Paula Waterman. Often, beautiful works of art come in small packages! McBride Gallery offers tips for hanging small gems: “For a grouping with many small paintings, the color tone of the frames will help to unify the group. If some frames are different/darker, try to arrange them together in the center with extra space between them and the next grouping of art in lighter tone frames.
Too much of any one color can make a grouping blend together. Work toward a grouping design so the threads of color flow from one painting to the next, while letting each work of art be a ‘star’ and also a good ‘neighbor’ to the paintings around it.” Great advice!
Benfield Gallery welcomes in 2021 with the “Changing Colors” show, open now and running through mid-February. This show is a diverse selection of wonderful new works by local painters in oil, watercolor and mixed media including Melissa Gryder, Andée Tullier, Nancy McCarra, Kathy Daywalt, Lyn Laviana, Carolyn Councell, Sarah Wardell, Judy Fox, William Jaeger, Nina Ellsworth, Merla Tootle, Valerie Fears, Joni Guhne and more. The exhibit is available for viewing at Benfield Gallery in person and online at www.benfieldgallery.com. This is a hopeful show of beautiful colors and transformation.
The Mitchell Gallery at St. John’s College will be dark this month, in preparation for a new exhibition in February. We are all looking forward to their upcoming season of exhibitions, which always promises to be visually rewarding and richly educational.