NEWS
By Sloane Brown | September 13, 2009
At the opening night party for the "Sublime Structure" exhibit at C. Grimaldis Gallery, featured artist Lu Zhang's creative hand wasn't just apparent in her paintings on the wall. The 26-year-old artist and model designer for Development Design Group makes a statement with her personal style, too. "My style is all over the place. I like to put my own spin on things but not really stand out too much. ... I think it's a combination of going to art school and now [working] in the corporate environment for an architectural firm.
NEWS
By Tim Smith | September 3, 2009
"The Universe and the Side of My Body," a huge study in red oil on wood by Kim Manfredi, is not just an eye-catcher in the new show at C. Grimaldis Gallery. It's deeply provocative. A couple of sagging globs of paint on the upper portion of the four, 96-inch-square panels seem to be on the verge of shifting downward, threatening to invade two circular images formed by the perforation of tiny holes with a drill. Those orbs simultaneously suggest microscopic cells and planets adrift in a blood-dense sky. The piece is representative of the intriguing premise of "Sublime Structure," an exhibit that features several Maryland Institute College of Art alumni.
NEWS
By Tim Swift | December 7, 2008
THEATER 'One-Man Star Wars Trilogy': Being able to recite Star Wars dialogue verbatim is a common affliction of the nerd population. But Canadian actor Charles Ross takes the practice into hyperdrive. In Baltimore for a two-week run, Ross' off-Broadway hit re-creates all the characters, sound effects and even John Williams' score with nothing but some lights and elbow pads. Opens 8 p.m. Tuesday at Center Stage. For more: centerstage.org DVD Heath Ledger: in 'The Dark Knight': Despite what the fanboys say, this Batman flick is not the best movie ever made.
NEWS
By Glenn McNatt | March 15, 2008
Imagine 99 identical Barbie dolls in green Army fatigues and boots arrayed in parade rank before a crimson backdrop. It's an image of militaristic, monolithic power that pretty much sums up artist Mina Cheon's decidedly dim view of totalitarian rule. Cheon (pronounced CHUN) is a Korean-American artist who teaches at the Maryland Institute College of Art. In previous exhibitions, she's explored the tensions between her native South Korea and its communist neighbor to the north in a variety of media, including video, interactive multimedia installation and complicated, three-dimensional string sculptures.
NEWS
By JENNIFER CHOI | January 17, 2008
`Off the Map' The lowdown -- Catch a performance of Off The Map, a quirky comedy that revolves around the main character's reminiscences about her unusual childhood, at Fell's Point Corner Theatre. If you go -- The production runs tomorrow through Feb. 17. The theater is at 251 S. Ann St. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $15-$17. Call 410-466-8341 or go to fpct.org. Handel show The lowdown -- Hear some harpsichord and Handel on Saturday at the Unitarian Universalist Chalice Concert Series' presentation of "Handel en Italia."
NEWS
By Glenn McNatt | December 19, 2007
What do Josephine Baker, Amelie Matisse and Lili Marlene have in common? Aside from their aura of European sophistication and glamour, they're all featured subjects in New Paintings, a lively exhibition of recent work by Baltimore master Grace Hartigan at C. Grimaldis Gallery. Over the years, Hartigan has repeatedly returned for inspiration to famous women from history, legend and the history of art. She was a leading member of the New York School of Abstract-Expressionist painters during the 1950s, and her subsequent work remains an inventive mix of delightful human forms and pure abstraction.
NEWS
By Glenn McNatt | September 27, 2007
Documenting a subculture rarely seen by Westerners, local photographer Betty Rosen has returned from her recent trip to Thailand with more than 100 striking portraits of transgendered exotic dancers. Rosen's empathy and compassion for her subjects whom she met at a nightclub in the southeastern city of Phuket is clear in the large-scale ink-jet photographs on view at C. Grimaldis Gallery. But as a spectator, Rosenberg did not participate in the way of life her pictures describe. Consequently, they do not have quite the moral authority of, say, Nan Goldin's impassioned visual diaries of New York's East Village scene during the 1970s, or Larry Clark's spaced-out narratives of dysfunctional Midwestern youth.
NEWS
June 14, 2007
Drum and dance The lowdown -- Enjoy a showcase of some of Maryland's traditional dancers and musicians. Nations across the world will be represented by performers, including Ahmad Borhani, a leader of the Iranian music scene; Baile McKnight, African drum master; and Nilimma Devi, Indian Kuchipudi dancer and choreographer. Maryland legend and celebrated Piedmont Blues Harmonica player Phil Wiggins will headline the show. If you go -- The event is 7:30 tonight at the Creative Alliance at the Patterson, 3134 Eastern Ave. Tickets are $5. Call 410-276-1651 or go to creativealli ance.
NEWS
By Glenn McNatt | May 20, 2007
Fuzzy magazine illustrations of nesting birds and Alaskan sled dogs might not seem like promising subjects for ambitious art, but Lorna Bieber's mural-scale black-and-white photographs at C. Grimaldis Gallery endow these banal images with a mysterious aura of arrested meaning. Bieber, who started her career as a painter, is interested in a classic minimalist strategy: How much can you take out of a picture and still have an image that signifies something? In a painting, the ultimate expression of minimalism is an all-white or all-black canvas (or any other monochrome hue, for that matter)
NEWS
By SAM SESSA | March 29, 2007
More than 30 works by Maryland Institute College of Art professor Raoul Middleman will be on display at the C. Grimaldis Gallery starting today. The exhibit, Pop to Plein-Air, features oil paintings and works on paper. One of the more notable pieces is Midnight Snack, which dates to the 1960s. Pop to Plein-Air opens today and runs through April 28 at the C. Grimaldis Gallery, 523 N. Charles St. There is an opening reception 6 p.m.-8 p.m. today. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays.