Fall Arts 2011: Gallery

This year's Fall Arts Preview is full of "Must-See" works of art in Baltimore as selected by various people. Included here are extra images of the art that did not appear in print, as well as a few extra "Must-See" selections.

Must-see art according to: Peter Bruun

Founder, Art On Purpose

William Henry Johnson Collection
James E. Lewis Museum of Art, Morgan State University
In the James E. Lewis Museum of Art (one of the most under-known cultural treasures and art collections in Baltimore), look for works by William H. Johnson: the museum has an extraordinary 20 works by this top 20th century African-American artist in its collection, including an exuberant little tempera called Jitterbug which may or may not be on public display. But don't be shy about asking museum staff to pull out and give you a peek at this or other works by this American Master.

Joshua Johnson
Mrs. Thomas Everette (Rebecca Myring) and Her Children
Maryland Historical Society
And speaking of African-American Masters with the name "Johnson," another gem well-worth seeing is Mrs. Thomas Everette (Rebecca Myring) and Her Children at the Maryland Historical Society by Joshua Johnson, a late 18th and early 19th century painter from Baltimore. Intimate and rigorously structured without a wasted brushstroke, Johnson demonstrates in this work why he is included in the pantheon of great American portraitists.

Sam Christian Holmes
Freedom's Gate
Reginald F. Lewis Museum
And to round out, a contemporary artist who has given the better part of the past year to co-directing Black Male Identity, a project with the goal of illuminating positive images and art reflecting authentic black male identity, and who has modestly put his own track record as an artist aside in service of this important community project. But you can see his art at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, where his Freedom's Gate is part of the museum's permanent collection.

Three diverse examples of black male artistic achievement, all found within Baltimore City, a city perhaps better known for the Cone Collection comprised of primarily white Europeans, or the Walters Art Museum with it's primarily European and Asian collections, and a city with a more than 50% African-American population with plenty to be proud of in its visually artistic African-American heritage and contemporary cultural life.

Must-see art according to: Noah Charney

Best-selling author and art historian

Striding Lion from the Antioch Mosaics
Baltimore Museum of Art
This 5th century AD mosaic floor from a Roman villa in Antioch features a lion that actually looks like a lion. The naturalism of the image, its movement, the representation of the mane, and the shading of the musculature are astonishing for even late Roman art. This is all the more impressive because mosaic, the building of an image using pieces of stone and glass, does not lend itself to naturalism. Imagine having this beauty on your living room floor.

Must-see art according to: Leslie King-Hammond

Director, Center for Race and Culture, Maryland Institute College of Art

The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture
830 E. Pratt Street
This is an incredible design by architect Gary Bowden and The Freelon Group. The building and its exhibitions are an exceptional testament to the historical and contemporary range and legacy of the American experience from the perspective of African descendants in Maryland.

Marquee Lounge / Creative Alliance at the Patterson
3134 Eastern Avenue
This is an amazing one-stop experience in all the arts. The newly opened Marquee Lounge is the gateway to a special series of experiences that include exhibitions, theatre, music, art making for all ages, and parties that celebrate the arts with passion, innovation, and the love of community.

Clipper Mill Park
1760 Union Avenue
This is a wonderful addition and discovery for the Baltimore region. Located between Druid Hill Park, Hampden, and Woodberry, it is a hub for the visual arts, foodies, and new homeowners. It is worth the experience just to walk through this new "village" and be wowed by the creativity of new homes and reinvented architecture infused with artist studios, galleries, and Woodberry Kitchen's delicious organic menu.

Must-see art according to: Jo Smail

Artist

I have a penchant for the small and maybe not the most talked about. There is a painting by Alma Thomas, "Evening Glow," which I visit each time I go to the BMA. I think it's the only one they have. It is fairly small, a collection of brushstrokes in bright colors, depicting a garden. I love it's seeming straight forwardness and simplicity. Also, a small painting by Richard Tuttle, "Harmony." The frame is awkward. Red and orange, made of separate parts, tests what or how our conventional views of what a painting is. And a little Mattise landscape 1918 "The Maintenon Viaduct." I love the way the tree in the center of the canvas seems to echo the curves of the "Blue Nude." The whole little painting is voluptuous and sexy. We are so privileged to have the Cone collection. Once I flew from London to Paris just to see a particular Matisse. Now I can just walk across the road.

Loch Raven Boulevard | Selected by Gary Kachadourian