The Academy Art Museum is pleased to announce three new exhibitions: Spatial Reckoning: Morandi, Picasso and Villon, 2023 Artist in Residence Laura Letinsky, and Amy Boone-McCreesh: Visual Currency. An opening reception for all three exhibitions and an artist talk with Letinksy will be held on Thursday, August 3 at 5:30 pm.

“Our latest slate of exhibitions—thoughtfully conceived and organized by curator Mehves Lelic—showcase diverse forms of creative expression, from the quiet still life paintings of modernist master Giorgio Morandi to the maximalist mixed media works of contemporary artist Amy Boone-McCreesh. At any given time at the Museum, we want our visitors to experience a wide range of artworks across art history, get inspired, and encounter new ideas—the new shows deliver on our goal,” commented Director Sarah Jesse.

“Our Artist-in-Residence Program is now in its fifth year, and it has given us incredible opportunities to bring artists here to the Eastern Shore to produce work at the Museum and engage with our community. Laura Letinsky’s seminal work questions what a photograph is through intricate yet quiet still lifes. This question resonates deeply with many of us due to the ubiquity of images and cameras in today’s world. We are looking forward to our visitors reflecting on this question through Letinsky’s moving work,” notes Curator Mehves Lelic.

“Letinsky will also produce a limited-edition print for our Emerging Collectors Circle members,” Lelic continues. “This group of art appreciators come together throughout the year for studio visits and fair trips, and their dues support free public programming at the Museum. I am excited to see the piece Letinsky will make here in her studio at the Museum!”

Spatial Reckoning: Morandi, Picasso and Villon
August 1 – October 22, 2023

This exhibition charts the myriad ways in which three prolific European artists used space and perspective as gateways to modern abstraction in the 20^th century. Building on—and later breaking canonical rules of—perspective, spatial composition, and ratio, Jacques Villon (French, 1875 – 1963), Giorgio Morandi (Italian, 1890 – 1964), and Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881 – 1973), created works that evoked spirituality and emotion and slowly frayed the knot between reality and artistic representation. The resulting depictions of figures and still lifes helped define these artists as pioneers of a trailblazing aesthetic and inspired new frontiers in art, from Modernism and Cubism to Expressionism.

AAM is grateful to the Cincinnati Art Museum, National Gallery of Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Christian Keesee Art Collection, and Conrad Graeber Fine Art for their generous loans of artwork.

2023 Artist in Residence Laura Letinsky
August 1 – October 22, 2023

Laura Letinsky (Canadian, b. 1962, lives and works in Chicago) is a lens-based artist whose still lifes have transformed the medium in the 20th century. Inserting the aftermath and the human presence into her layered, symbolically-charged still lifes, Letinsky interrogates both the meaning of domestic space and women’s role in it, and the indexical and representational power of photographs. Letinsky is a Guggenheim Fellow, and her work is held in the collections of the Guggenheim Museum; the Getty Museum; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and has been exhibited internationally.

Letinsky will present a masterclass during her residency in August 2023 on how the camera shapes our understanding of the world.

The Artist in Residence program is generously supported by Mary Ann Schindler.

Amy Boone-McCreesh: Visual Currency
July 28 – November 5, 2023

Baltimore-based artist Amy Boone-McCreesh works in sculpture, collage, and mixed media to present colorful, maximalist takes on luxury and access. Critiquing preconceived notions of adornment and decoration, especially as they relate to interior space, and reconstructing imagined interiors in a brightly colored and explosive manner, Boone-McCreesh points to the arbitrariness of taste and opens a door to imagining how else our collective understanding of exclusivity and poshness might manifest. Her brand of luxury speaks the language of abundance and is derived from distinctly unrarefied materials: wall paint, acrylic, paper, and beads are just some examples. The result is a blossoming world of excitement that flaunts the language of high fashion and design of our time.

Boone-McCreesh received her MFA from Towson University in Maryland and shortly thereafter was awarded a two-year Hamiltonian Artist Fellowship in Washington, DC. Her work has been included in exhibitions across the country and she is a two-time recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award.

As the premier art museum on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Academy Art Museum presents high-quality exhibitions and a full range of art classes for visitors of all ages. Past exhibitions have featured artists such as James Turrell, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark Rothko, Pat Steir and Richard Diebenkorn. The permanent collection focuses on works on paper by American and European artists from four centuries including recent acquisitions by Graciela Iturbide and Zanele Muholi. Arts educational programs range from life drawing lessons to digital art instruction, and include lunchtime and cocktail hour concerts, lectures and special art events, as well as a Fall Craft Show celebrating 26 years. AAM also provides arts education to school children from the region and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. To continue the institutional movement of offering free public programming and to give barrier-free access to art, AAM eliminated admission fees in 2023.

Location: 106 South Street, Easton, Maryland
Hours: Tuesday-Wednesday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Thursday-Friday 10:00 am to 7:00 pm, and Saturday-Sunday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Closed Mondays and Federal holidays.
Admission: Free

The Academy Art Museum, in collaboration with Brea Soul, presents Exchange: A Pop-up Art Show. In its second year, Exchange will host ten artisans and creative entrepreneurs from around the region at the museum on Saturday, August 5 from 12-5 pm. The pop-up will include a variety of artworks, industry experts, a food truck, a community photo booth, youth giveaways, and adult beverages. From paintings and photography to fashion design and ceramics, there is plenty of art for the community to browse through and take home. Exchange celebrates artists, and takes on many characteristics associated with the idea of “community” – exchange of ideas, craft, and support!

RSVP for Exchange here.

Featured Artists

Returning as a Fan Favorite, Gentry Pack, (a.k.a G. Pack) is an artist, illustrator, animator, graphic designer and clothing designer for his company, For Glory. From Baltimore, MD, Pack received his BA in Studio Art & Design from the University of Maryland. With a strong influence from the early Venetian, Baroque, and Renaissance periods, G.Pack focuses on combines classical compositions and techniques with modern-day figures, and symbolism deriving from contemporary Black culture.

K.JEAN is a visual artist based in southern Maryland that specializes in drawing, painting, murals, fashion design, and accessories. Her painting style combines multiple art movements, such as abstract, surrealism, mixed-media, and expressionism. She uses unconventional materials and embraces non-binary identities in fashion, extending beyond traditional boundaries. She hopes to inspire others to do the same through her unique vision.

Yusuf Kazmi is a multi-medium artist specializing in cinematography, photography, and visual arts. Yusuf’s passion for visual arts is delivered through CCKASE, the artist’s brand approach to visual storytelling in producing captivating videos and designing unique clothing pieces.

Kait McNeil is an abstract painter from Canada and is now based in Maryland. Her creative process flows strongly through worship music and is inspired by nature, timeless designs, and architecture. McNeil desires to evoke inspiring and uplifting emotions and joy through her artistry with earthy tones, textures, and unique color palettes with soft, moody undertones.

Originally finding his voice through music, Kassim is a Nigerian-American self-taught digital artist from the DMV. Although known for his rap style and performances in the community, he began to teach himself digital art-making techniques using A.I. and code in 2023. Instead of fearing change and the unknown, he embraces it with the goal of pioneering the intersection of tech and hip-hop.

Featured Makers

Black Squirrel Company – Returns as a Fan Favorite! Based out of Washington, DC, Renata Philippe opened the doors of Black Squirrel Company as a creative outlet in 2014. Philippe creates improvisational sewn quilts and functional art (personal & home accessories). After earning a BS in Apparel Design from the University of Delaware, she worked as a commercial retail merchandiser/store planner and communications engineer for organizations including IKEA, Restoration Hardware, and the U.S. FDA.

Hilary Bruns is a ceramist and began taking pottery lessons in New York City in 1979. Her career as a TV news producer became all-consuming, so she returned to clay as a creative medium once retiring in Easton, MD, and discovering the Academy Art Museum in 2004. Burns has received awards and continues to showcase her artwork at local shows and from her home studio.

Nomen (which means “NAME”) –  Was founded in 2016 out of Tomisin’s (also known as “Tomiboxers”) profound desire to share and explore stories about culture and identity. The brand is a medium to express himself and create art centered on African culture, drawing inspiration from his Nigerian heritage. Being interested in fashion from a young age, Tomisin recognized a streetwear brand as the perfect outlet to amplify his artistic voice. Each Nomen piece and collection is grounded in shedding light on the past as we continue to live and create stories for the future.

Khadija Brand – Pulling from her South Asian roots, Khadija creates wearable, hand-painted art using traditional textile techniques.Giving a classic yet modern twist to textile arts, she started her brand to revive and introduce people to an ancient art form in the U.S. Khadija often collaborates with women artists from her native home country to continue passing this art form on to future generations.  Based in Northern Virginia, her work varies from different textures to different color schemes.

CreTAYtive Customs – Based in Easton, MD, Taylor Wheatly started CreaTAYtive Customs to provide creative solutions for her local community. Specializing in realism and expressionism, Taylor Wheatly’s mission is to grow the brand into an all-purpose creative service.

About Organizer/Event Curator, Brea Soul

Brea Soul is a digital native who has been bringing visibility to arts and culture for over a decade. She received a B.A. in Fine Arts and an M.S. in Strategic Communications from the University of Maryland, College Park. Originally, from Trappe, MD, and now residing in Miami, FL, Brea serves as Perez Art Museum – Miami’s Marketing Manager. Through Soul Studios Gallery, Brea curates artful experiences dedicated to creating opportunities for emerging creatives and among communities with opportunity disparities.

About AAM Summer Series

The Academy Art Museum enlisted local creatives to design and execute summer programs at the museum from June through September. AAM’s Community Programmers include Kerry Folan, Francisco Salazar and Brea Soul.

Programs and Dates:
June 22, July 13, & August 10: Summer Book Club with Shore Lit
August 5: Exchange: A Pop-Up Art Show
September 22: 48-Hour Video Race

About the Academy Art Museum

As the premier art museum on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Academy Art Museum presents high-quality exhibitions and a full range of art classes for visitors of all ages. Past exhibitions have featured artists such as James Turrell, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark Rothko, Pat Steir and Richard Diebenkorn. The permanent collection focuses on works on paper by American and European artists from four centuries including recent acquisitions by Graciela Iturbide and Zanele Muholi. Arts educational programs range from life drawing lessons to digital art instruction, and include lunchtime and cocktail hour concerts, lectures and special art events, as well as a Fall Craft Show celebrating 26 years. AAM also provides arts education to school children from the region and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. To continue the institutional movement of offering free public programming and to give barrier-free access to art, AAM eliminated admission fees in 2023.

Location: 106 South Street, Easton, Maryland
Hours: Tuesday-Wednesday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Thursday-Friday 10:00 am to 7:00 pm, and Saturday-Sunday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Closed Mondays and Federal holidays.
Admission: Free

Something for Everyone!

The public is invited to the Academy Art Museum for an Instructor’s Studio Sale on Saturday June 10, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The instructors are bringing their studio works to you. Enjoy perusing their bins and racks of paintings, pastels, fine art prints, drawings, pottery, photographs and more. Plus art books, supplies and frames. Who knows what hidden gems you might find? All in a festive outdoor market atmosphere. Rain location is in the AAM performing arts room.

Participating instructors include Barrie Barnett, Bernie Dellario, Diane DuBois Mullaly, Mary Pritchard, Sheryl Southwick, Meg Walsh and Stewart White.

While you’re there, it’s a great time to visit the current exhibits inside the museum.

The Academy Art Museum is located in Easton, Maryland at 106 South Street, corner of S. Harrison Street. Convenient on and off-street parking.

The Academy Art Museum (AAM) received a generous grant from Art Bridges Foundation to offer a series of free public programs related to tintype photographs of Native American people by contemporaryDiné artist Will Wilson that are on view in AAM’s latest exhibition In Praise of Shadows.

The slate includes three film programs—a selection of Sky Hopinka’s short films, followed by a conversation with the artist; short films by Indigenous American directors and producers; and a lecture by scholar Rebecca Weaver-Hightower that addresses depictions of Native American people in film throughout history. The programs complement and expand on themes that Wilson explores in his work, offering audiences a greater understanding of the racist and genocidal mythologizing at work in non-Native art and film about Native American people, and the settler colonial gaze that Wilson and many Indigenous artists and filmmakers are resisting.

All programs are generously supported by Art Bridges arts patron Alice Walton’s visionary program that subsidizes loans of major artworks and related programming in rural museums. Details about each event follow.

An Evening with Sky Hopinka
Tuesday, June 6, 6 pm
Free
Register Here: https://academyartmuseum.org/an-evening-with-sky-hopinka/

View a selection of short films by renowned experimental filmmaker Sky Hopinka, followed by a post-screening discussion with the artist and Dr. Ryan Conrath, Salisbury University professor and film programmer. Conceived in connection to Diné artist Will Wilson’s portraits of Native American people on view in the exhibition In Praise of Shadows, the program examines representations of Indigenous people and worldviews in art and film.

Sky Hopinkais a 2022 MacArthur Fellow. He received a BA from Portland State University and an MFA from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. He is currently Assistant Professor in the Film and Electronic Arts Program at Bard College. His work has been shown at many film festivals and exhibited at the Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester, Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Hopinka is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and a descendent of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians.

Rebecca Weaver-Hightower: The Settler Colonial Gaze
Thursday, June 8, 6 pm
Free
Register here: https://academyartmuseum.org/rebecca-weaver-hightower-the-settler-colonial-gaze/

Dr. Rebecca Weaver-Hightower offers a thought-provoking talk on the construction of settler colonial ideology and its visual manifestations in cinema, photography, and museum exhibition practice. Offered in connection to Diné artist Will Wilson’s portraits of Native American people on view in the exhibition In Praise of Shadows, the lecture examines representations of Indigenous people and worldviews in art and film over time.

Weaver-Hightower is a professor in the Department of English at Virginia Tech. She recently co-authored Cinematic Settlers: The Settler Colonial World in Film, and she authored both Frontier Fictions: Settler Sagas and Postcolonial Guilt and Empire Islands: Castaways, Cannibals and Fantasies. She is also a co-editor of Archiving Settler Colonialism: Culture, Space and Race and Postcolonial Film: History, Empire, Resistance.

Shorts Program: “Critical Indigenous Cinema”
Thursday, June 15, 6 pm
Free
Register here: https://academyartmuseum.org/critcal-indigenous-cinema/

Join us for a program of short experimental films by contemporary Indigenous producers who use cinema to provide counter-images to settler narratives in visually and conceptually daring ways. Curated by Dr. Ryan Conrath, Salisbury University professor and film programmer, and conceived in connection to Diné artist Will Wilson’s portraits of Native American people on view in the exhibition In Praise of Shadows, the program examines representations of Indigenous people and worldviews in art and film. Following the screening, Conrath and B.L. Strang-Moya, filmmaker and Ocean City Film Festival organizer, will discuss the films and their contributions to contemporary film culture as well as to a rethinking of Native American people’s involvement in cinema more broadly.

About the Academy Art Museum

As the premier art museum on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Academy Art Museum presents high-quality exhibitions and a full range of art classes for visitors of all ages. Past exhibitions have featured artists such as James Turrell, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark Rothko, Pat Steir and Richard Diebenkorn. The permanent collection focuses on works on paper by American and European artists from four centuries including recent acquisitions by Graciela Iturbide and Zanele Muholi. Arts educational programs range from life drawing lessons to digital art instruction, and include lunchtime and cocktail hour concerts, lectures and special art events, as well as a free block-party style Juneteenth Celebration and Fall Craft Show celebrating 26 years. AAM also provides arts education to school children from the region and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. To continue the institutional movement of offering free public programming and to give barrier-free access to art, AAM eliminated admission fees in 2023.

Location: 106 South Street, Easton, Maryland
Hours: Tuesday-Wednesday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Thursday-Friday 10:00 am to 7:00 pm, and Saturday-Sunday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Closed Mondays and Federal holidays.
Admission: Free

The Academy Art Museum is pleased to announce the acquisition of a new sculpture for its permanent collection. Density of Air, by Alyson Shotz will be on view beginning May 16, 2023. Also on Tuesday, May 16 at 5:30 pm, the artist will discuss this sculpture and her other work in an Artist Talk at the Museum.

Density of Air explores the unique make-up and movement of air by reimagining it in the form of thousands of small stainless-steel disks. Curator Mehves Lelic remarks: “The mixture of gases that make up air and their expansion and compression are often invisible to the human eye, which leaves much to our imagination. Shotz’s disks become poetic molecules in this imaginary world as they reinterpret the unique way gases behave by clustering, distorting, and curving delicately, and thus forming an immense tapestry that links the physical and the sublime. Standing before it is a wondrous, immersive experience for the viewer.”

The artist has long been influenced by science, and many of her works mold unlikely forms out of glass, metal, and other inorganic materials. Speaking of the influence of the natural world on her work, Shotz states, “There are things that I see happen when I’m working with a material that tells me something about gravity, space, force. I’m interested in showing that idea through the artwork.”

The sculpture guides visitors between the two floors of the Museum and acts as an unmissable point of interest between the gallery spaces on the first floor and the studio classrooms above. The work’s large scale and various vantage points from which it can be viewed enable a captivating experience for the viewer.

Shotz is a critically acclaimed artist whose works can be found in the collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, National Gallery of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, The High Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Phillips Collection, The DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Storm King Art Center, and now, the Academy Art Museum. She was a MacDowell Fellow in 2021, an Arts Institute Research Fellow at Stanford University in 2014- 2015, a Sterling Visiting Scholar, Stanford University, 2012, she received a Pollock Krasner Award in 1999 and 2010, the Saint Gaudens Memorial Fellowship in 2007, and was the 2005-2006 Happy and Bob Doran Artist in Residence at Yale University Art Gallery. In 2004 she received a grant from the New York Foundation for the Arts.

The acquisition of Density of Air was made possible through a bequest by Helaine White, and the generous support of Pam and Jim Harris, Elizabeth Hormel, Bette S. Kenzie, Christine and Don Martin, Catherine McCoy, R. Scott and Courtney Clark Pastrick, MaryLou and Joseph Peters, Mary Ann Schindler In Memory of Martin Hughes, Ann and Tom Scully, Seip Family Foundation, and Nancy L. Trippe.

As the premier art museum on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Academy Art Museum presents high-quality exhibitions and a full range of art classes for visitors of all ages. Past exhibitions have featured artists such as James Turrell, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark Rothko, Pat Steir and Richard Diebenkorn. The permanent collection focuses on works on paper by American and European artists from four centuries including recent acquisitions by Graciela Iturbide and Zanele Muholi. Arts educational programs range from life drawing lessons to digital art instruction, and include lunchtime and cocktail hour concerts, lectures and special art events, as well as a Fall Craft Show celebrating 26 years. AAM also provides arts education to school children from the region and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. To continue the institutional movement of offering free public programming and to give barrier-free access to art, AAM eliminated admission fees in 2023.

Location: 106 South Street, Easton, Maryland
Hours: Tuesday-Wednesday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Thursday-Friday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, and Saturday-Sunday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Closed Mondays and Federal holidays.
Admission: Free

In Praise of Shadows: Modern and Contemporary Dialogues with Jun’ichiro Tanizaki
April 20 – July 16, 2023

LaToya Hobbs: Woodcuts
April 22 – July 23, 2023

Open House: Saturday, April 22

The Academy Art Museum is pleased to announce its upcoming exhibitions In Praise of Shadows: Modern and Contemporary Dialogues with Jun’ichiro Tanizaki and LaToya Hobbs: Woodcuts. There will be an open house for both exhibitions on Saturday, April 22, 2023. During the open house at 2 pm, LaToya Hobbs will give a presentation of her work.

In conjunction with the exhibition In Praise of Shadows, a short film program, Poetry of Shadows will be offered for free on Friday, April 28 at 6 pm.

In Praise of Shadows: Modern and Contemporary Dialogues with Jun’ichiro Tanizaki

In Praise of Shadows  presents a selection of works on paper by acclaimed 20th century and contemporary artists in dialogue with the Japanese author Jun’ichiro Tanizaki, who wrote a seminal essay of the same title in 1933. Tanizaki’s subtle but powerful observations on how darkness can exude beauty and sumptuousness conjure a visual world that subverts the historical archetyping of light as ethereal, good and angelic, and dark as brooding and somewhat devilish. Bringing together works by Belkis Ayon, Kate Breakey, Kottie Gaydos, Louise Nevelson, Kiuko Saito, Hito Steyerl, Dox Thrash, and others, the exhibition provides an in-depth look at the various uses of darkness in art from the early 20th century until the present day.

“In Praise of Shadows by Jun’ichiro Tanizaki, is one of those essays that can truly transform one’s worldview, understanding of history, and appreciation of beauty. It has been a wonderful journey to seek the work of artists whose works subvert mainstream interpretations of darkness, and convey much-needed nuance in the shadows, paralleling Tanizaki’s observations on how the lack of light can indeed bring out staggering visions. Whether it is the literal mechanics of light and shadow that produce Will Wilson’s portraits, or Kottie Gaydos’ ceramic sculptural installation that will develop over the course of the exhibition, the artists in the exhibition all interpret darkness in innovative ways,” notes Curator Mehves Lelic.

Seventeen tintype photographs by contemporary Diné artist Will Wilson are on loan to the Museum from Art Bridges, arts patron Alice Walton’s visionary program that subsidizes loans of major artworks to rural museums. The works are part of Wilson’s Critical Indigenous Photographic Exchange series, in which he partners with Native people to make their portrait. By using a historic nineteenth century photographic process, collaborating with his subjects on how they are depicted, and then gifting them the original work, Wilson offers his sitters agency, in turn, subverting damaging romanticized and stereotypical depictions of Indigenous people.

Wilson received his MFA from the University of New Mexico. He has been honored with the Eiteljorg Native American Fine Art Fellowship, Joan Mitchell Foundation Award for Sculpture, Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant for Photography and he was the Doran Artist in Residence at the Yale University Art Gallery. Wilson has held visiting professorships at the Institute of American Indian Arts, Oberlin College, and the University of Arizona. His work is exhibited and collected internationally, and he is Head of Photography at Santa Fe Community College.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Art Bridges to expose local audiences to the thought-provoking ideas behind Will Wilson’s portraits of Native people and the issues of representation he subverts through his collaborative approach. Our work at the Academy Art Museum, like Art Bridges, is driven by the conviction that everyone should have access to the highest quality cultural experiences. With the ongoing support of Art Bridges, we can deliver on that vision,” states Director Sarah Jesse.

To provide barrier-free access to art, the Museum recently eliminated its admission fee. These exhibitions and all related programming are offered to the public at no charge.

Short Film Program: Poetry of Shadows
Friday, April 28, 6 pm
Free

Inspired by the exhibition In Praise of Shadows, AAM presents a program of short experimental films showcasing cinema’s poetry of shadows on Friday, April 28 at 6 pm. Films will be projected in their original format, including 16mm film, and introduced by Ryan Conrath, programmer and Associate Professor of Film at Salisbury University, in conversation with AAM Curator Mehves Lelic. Films include: Black Girl as a Landscape (Sondra Perry, 2010, 10 min.); Immer Zu (Janie Geiser, 1997, 8.5 min.); Image (Shadow) (Nobuhiro Aihara, 1987, 8.5 min.); Arnulf Rainer (Peter Kubelka, 1960, 7 min.); and Black Hole Space Debt (Stephen Wardell, 2022, 14 min.)

LaToya Hobbs: Woodcuts
Artist Talk: Saturday, April 22, 2 pm

Arkansas-born, Baltimore-based painter and printmaker LaToya Hobbs uses figuration to depict the Black female body and challenge the stereotypical perceptions of it through a nuanced, layered look. Themes of family, beauty, adornment, cultural identity, and sisterhood take center stage in the work, as Hobbs’ thoughtful compositions on a singular printmaking surface create deep, multi-faceted worlds.

Hobbs holds a BA in Painting from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and an MFA in Printmaking from Purdue University. Her exhibition record includes numerous national and international venues, including the National Art Gallery of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia; the SCAD Museum of Art; the Albright Knox Museum; and the Sophia Wanamaker Gallery in San Jose, Costa Rica, among others. Her work is housed in private and public collections such as the Harvard Art Museum, the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, the National Art Gallery of Namibia, the Getty Research Institute, and the Baltimore Museum of Art. Hobbs’s accomplishments include the 2020 Janet and Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize, a nomination for the 2022 Queen Sonja Print Award, and a 2022 IFPDA Artist Grant. Hobbs is also a professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art and a founding member of Black Women of Print (BWoP).

Curator Mehves Lelic comments, “LaToya Hobbs’ work is an incredibly moving celebration of Black femininity. She is a virtuosic printmaker who can tell layered stories of beauty, joy, and shared history through her portraits, which serve as a living legacy. Her subjects come alive in her large-scale portraits through layers of patterns, textures, and aura. Woodcut is the oldest form of printmaking, and Hobbs’ visual language presents an exciting, contemporary and masterful revitalization. We are very much looking forward to sharing her work with our audience.”

As the premier art museum on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Academy Art Museum presents high-quality exhibitions and a full range of art classes for visitors of all ages. Past exhibitions have featured artists such as James Turrell, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark Rothko, Pat Steir and Richard Diebenkorn. The permanent collection focuses on works on paper by American and European artists from four centuries including recent acquisitions by Graciela Iturbide and Zanele Muholi. Arts educational programs range from life drawing lessons to digital art instruction, and include lunchtime and cocktail hour concerts, lectures and special art events, as well as a Fall Craft Show celebrating 26 years. AAM also provides arts education to school children from the region and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. To continue the institutional movement of offering free public programming and to give barrier-free access to art, AAM eliminated admission fees in 2023.

The Academy Art Museum is pleased to announce its current exhibition, Fractured Modernities: Contemporary Art from Turkey. This exhibition includes works by Didem Erbas, Merve Unsal, Erdem Varol, and Zeynep Kayan.

Curator Mehves Lelic states, “The exhibition aims to take a closer look at the thoughtful and nuanced works that are being made by young contemporary artists from Turkey today. These artists are all responding to the present climate in Turkey through their respective and unique visual languages. It has been a privilege to include their work in this exhibition, which cumulatively presents a take on what modernity might look like in a country with a complex cultural and sociopolitical history.”

This exhibition explores the present moment in Turkey’s cultural history through the work of artists Didem Erbas, Merve Unsal, Erdem Varol, and Zeynep Kayan. The unique crossroads between empire and republic, heritage and modernity, and containment and globalization have forged complex webs in the fabric of the Turkish society that are present in each artist’s work, as the nation grapples with its identity and the social and cultural forces that make it so pluralistic. A dominant thread that brings the artists’ work together is a connection to this multicultural past, its manifestations in the present, and a critique of Turkey’s simplistic reputation as a bridge between the East and the West.

The influence of persistent political and economic upheaval is present in the way each artist explores the relationship between the built and natural landscapes and the people who live in them. From Erdem Varol’s grainy, high-contrast photographs taken from anywhere between a plane in high altitude to under a parked car, to Didem Erbas’ rich, fluid oil paintings documenting the exploitation of the country’s natural resources, the works in the exhibition marry movement and color with the heaviness of the nation’s past, especially in the wake of a catastrophic earthquake that shook Turkey and Syria.

About the Academy Art Museum

As the premier art museum on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Academy Art Museum presents high-quality exhibitions and a full range of art classes for visitors of all ages. Past exhibitions have featured artists such as James Turrell, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark Rothko, Pat Steir and Richard Diebenkorn. The permanent collection focuses on works on paper by American and European artists from four centuries including recent acquisitions by Graciela Iturbide and Zanele Muholi. Arts educational programs range from life drawing lessons to digital art instruction, and include lunchtime and cocktail hour concerts, lectures and special art events, as well as a Fall Craft Show celebrating 25 years. AAM also provides arts education to school children from the region and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. To continue the institutional movement of offering free public programming and to give barrier-free access to art, AAM eliminated admission fees in 2023.

Location: 106 South Street, Easton, Maryland
Hours: Tuesday-Wednesday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Thursday-Friday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, and Saturday-Sunday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Closed Mondays and Federal holidays.
Admission: Free

Currently on view at the Academy Art Museum: Mary Cassatt: Labor and Leisure, Labor and Leisure in the Permanent Collection, Earth Abides: Selections from the Permanent Collection, and Hoesy Corona: Terrestrial Caravan.

Betty Huang, President of the Working Artists Forum, was very pleased, on behalf of WAF, to present a check to Sarah Jesse, Director at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, in the amount of $1,000.

Working Artist Forum is an active art organization with a membership of over 100 professional artists that has enjoyed a relationship with the Academy Art Museum for many years and meets monthly there.

WAF has requested a specific distribution of the donation in order to encourage and support the arts in the community.  $200 is earmarked as a WAF award for an entry in the Museum’s Annual Members Exhibition entitled “Best of Eastern Shore Scene,” and $300 to support artists-in-need that wish to take classes at the Academy. Lastly, $500 is to be used to support children-in-need to attend the Academy’s summer camp program.

An important part of the mission of WAF is to sponsor numerous art exhibit opportunities for its members, both locally and beyond, throughout the year, including the well-known and well-attended Local Color exhibit held at Christ Church in downtown Easton during the week of Plein Air Easton in July.

Through the support and purchase of paintings by artists who have been juried into the Local Color art show, WAF has been actively promoting and encouraging the arts with its contributions of art supply DickBlick.com gift cards to 33 school art departments of local schools each year.

For more information on WAF, visit WorkingArtistsForum.com

Think of a mix between Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Elton John and you’ve got Josh Christina.

If you’re a fan of piano driven rock n’ roll, Josh Christina will restore your confidence in the ability of young musicians to carry on the great tradition of rock’s pioneers. Josh Christina writes his own music, refurbishes the classics, and plays a mean piano.  Also, if you get a chance to see Josh and his band live, he creates some great excitement with his audience. His show appeals to all generations as it’s a mix of everything from Jerry Lee Lewis to Elton John with some originals woven in. Josh Christina is a rock n roll revivalist whose music provides a bridge across generational lines by going backward to move into the future.

In 2015, Josh’s talents caught the attention of Nashville-based producer Kent Wells (Dolly Parton), who immediately got to work with Christina on his sophomore effort. The piano aficionado can be heard on his two Nashville recorded albums, “Good Old Love” and “I’m 21″. Both produced by Kent Wells. His single, “Kayla Ann”, charted on the Music Row chart in Nashville and #1 on a couple of Independent charts.

The infectious sound of Josh Christina hit the international airwaves when he performed live on Ireland’s Late, Late Show in September of 2016. Not only did it place Josh Christina Music upon the world stage, but also introduced this amazing style and sound to a new generation of music fans, followers and believers.

His album, “Instincts” was recorded at the historic Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Memphis. The album was co produced by two time Grammy award winner Jon Carroll (Starland Vocal band).His most recent single, “Weekend Night in America” landed on the college charts.

“In 20th century 1955, it took several young men to create and define Rock ‘n’ Roll. 65 years later and it only takes one young man who embodies all the pioneers to introduce it to the 21st century. That man is Josh Christina.”

— Daryl Davis (Pianist/Band Leader for Chuck Berry)

“Josh plays piano like Jerry Lee Lewis and Elton John, sings like Elvis Presley and looks like Buddy Holly”
— Jon Carroll – Two Time Grammy Award Winner

Josh Christina Band will perform at the Academy Art Museum on Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 7pm. This concert is presented in partnership with WHCP Cambridge Community Radio. Tickets are limited. Before the performance, join AAM for a reception and learn more about WHCP’s exciting public radio growth plans into Talbot County and more!

Purchase Tickets Here: https://academyartmuseum.org/josh-christina/