The paintings on Creative Alliance?s walls talk to each other.
The works, varying from gritty landscapes to pop art, convey a “range of voices that show what?s going on in Baltimore?s painting scene today,” said Jed Dodds, artistic director at Creative Alliance. “I turned the gallery over to [curator] Jordan [Faye Block] because I have a great respect for her taste and eye.”
Block selected 14 artists for Believe It: 14 Painters because they are the best artists she?s seen, she said.
Connections between the diverse paintings drive the exhibit, which goes beyond the aesthetics to focus on the depth and wealth of content, Block said.
“There are ties [among the paintings] where you wouldn?t normally see ties. I believe in educating the clientele because it?s not just about a pretty picture hanging on the wall,” she said.
No two artists in Believe It are alike, Block said. Their materials range from acrylics, oils and inks to resin, rubber and gouache.
The exhibit?s title reflects Block?s confidence in the painters? abilities, she said.
“Their careers are going to be phenomenal,” she said.
As Block believes in the artists, the artists have faith in Baltimore.
“They aren?t fresh out of MFA [programs] but they stuck around here because they found a place that resonates with them,” she said. “Baltimore has a thriving art community that understands what artists are trying to do.”
Exhibiting artist Kate Mackinnon came to Charm City?s “scattered yet intimate and loosely organized” art scene from Boston in 2000 to study at Maryland Institute College of Art.
For Believe It, Mackinnon intentionally limited her color choices to gray and magenta. “I wanted to see, when I reduced the color palette, if I would have the same effect,” she said. “People always tell me my work is highly seductive and they want to touch [my paintings].”
Mackinnon usually works on paintings horizontally, building layers of paint by pouring and spreading glazes over canvases. Her piece on display at Creative Alliance conveys a more organic process than usual, she said.
“I actually go back into the painting while it?s still wet to add a second color, and allow paint to do what it does,” she said.
Painting, an enduring medium, doesn?t get the hype it deserves, Block said. This fact influenced her decision to assemble the unique collection.
“It was time for a show on painting,” she said.
