BALTIMORE, MD.- The Baltimore Museum of Arts dynamic contemporary wing exhibition program continues with three new exhibitions of rarely shown works by some of the most intriguing artists working today.
Black Box: Anri Sala (September 14, 2014 February 22, 2015) Inspired by art historian Michael Frieds analysis of the art of Anri Sala (Albanian, born 1974) in his book Four Honest Outlaws (2011), this exhibition features Salas 43-minute film 1395 Days Without Red, selected by the art historian and the artist. The film recreates the terror and uncertainty civilians endured during the siege of Sarajevo by interspersing scenes of the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra rehearsing the First Movement of Tchaikovskys Pathetique with those of a musician making her way through what became known as Sniper Alley. The films title references a caution to civilians to avoid wearing bright colors so as to not draw a snipers attention. The exhibition is curated by the artist and Michael Fried, The Johns Hopkins University J. R. Herbert Boone Chair in the Humanities, and organized by Curator of Contemporary Art Kristen Hileman.
On Paper: Alternate Realities (September 21, 2014 April 12, 2015) This exhibition presents 26 prints by a diverse group of artists living and working in America who are engaging in a dialog between high and low art by playfully exaggerating and reimaging the visual language of popular culturereligious stories, myths, and folk talesto consider larger issues of class, gender, and politics. Among the works featured are two complete portfolios by Raymond Pettibon and Trenton Doyle Hancock, as well as newly acquired works by Wangechi Mutu, Amy Cutler, Chitra Ganesh, Toshio Sasaki, Iona Rozeal Brown, and William Villalongo. A long, accordion-bound book by Enrique Chagoya will span the center of the gallery. This exhibition marks the first time all of these works will be on view. The exhibition is curated by Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings & Photographs Ann Shafer.
Front Room: Dario Robleto (November 16, 2014 March 29, 2015) This exhibition features Robletos Setlists for a Setting Sun body of workpoetic sculptures, prints, and cut-paper works that weave together the histories of recorded light and sound by drawing inspiration from nautical history, space exploration, early sound recordings, and family legacies within American popular music. The Front Room exhibition debuts three new works created by Robleto (American, born 1972) at the Headlands Center of the Arts in Sausalito, CA, as part of its new program to commission art from outstanding contemporary artists. Two of the new works were inspired by the BMAs proximity to the Space Telescope Science Institute on the campus of The Johns Hopkins University. This exhibition lends a contemporary component to the BMAs American Wing reopening celebration. The exhibition is curated by Curator of Contemporary Art Kristen Hileman.
Since the contemporary wing reopening in 2012, the BMA has presented a dozen exhibitions of works by emerging and mid-career artists from Baltimore and beyond. These diverse exhibitions are presented in the new Front Room Gallery, Black Box Gallery for light, sound, and moving image works, and On Paper Gallery for light-sensitive contemporary prints, drawings, and photographs.