City Arts Update, With BmoreArt Editor Cara Ober

Tom's next guest is Cara Ober, the founder, editor-in-chief and publisher of BMoreArt, an online and biannual print journal devoted to the local art scene.   She joins us on Zoom. Ms. Ober, who is also an artist and curator, was one of eight 2019 recipients of the Maine-based Rabkin Foundation Arts Writer Award, the largest grant of its kind, given annually to visual arts journalists deemed "essential" to the arts in their respective communities.  BMoreArt was also selected by the Rabkin Foundation last September as one of nine arts journals around the country to receive grants to help mitigate the adverse economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The coronavirus has put a damper on many arts events, but there are some things going on in the visual arts community here in Baltimore that merit notice, and Ms. Ober spotlights a few of them today.  Here are links to the ongoing or upcoming gallery shows she mentions on Midday today: Notable Gallery Shows in Baltimore: 1. Springsteen Gallery: Ozone Atmosphere: Works by Monsieur Zohore and Sandy Williams III, up through February 27. Springsteen is located in Highlandtown and is a nationally affiliated gallery member of the New Art Dealers Alliance. The gallery exhibits significant emerging artists poised for national careers. (BmoreArt will be reviewing the show this week) Read more about Monsieur Zohore.Read more about Springsteen Gallery. 2. CPM (Critical Path Method): New art gallery in Bolton Hill run by Vlad Smolkin, former director of the Peter Blum Gallery in New York, exhibiting global and Baltimore-affiliated artists, with an emphasis on prints. BMoreArt Review of their first exhibition: Clifford Owens Their second exhibit is up now: Drypoint Prints by Louise Bourgeois and Pooneh Maghazehe. Visit by appointment up through March 12, 2021 3. Catalyst Contemporary: Upcoming show of paintings by Sejong Cho, a scientist and surealist painter, at this newish gallery located downstairs from the C. Grimaldis Gallery on Charles Street. Run by Full Circle Fine Arts (a photo printing and art gallery services enterprise), Catalyst Contemporary is focused on emerging contemporary painting and sculpture.   Current and Upcoming Exhibits More on Sejong's work.       More on Catalyst Contemporary 4. C. Grimaldis Gallery: Carol Brown Goldberg, Entanglement. Organic visions of the cosmos.This is Baltimore's most established contemporary art gallery.  Director Costas Grimaldis has been advocating for artists -- Baltimore-based talents such as Charlie Ahn, and international ones, including Elaine DeKooning and Grace Hartigan -- for close to 30 years. BmoreArt Connect+Collect Zoom Discussion with Goldberg and C. Grimaldis Gallery. 5. Creative Alliance: Bright featuring ten Black American artists in the main gallery, up through March 20. The artworks in BRIGHT provide new contexts to Black life and serve as a brave choice by these artists to push back against mainstream portrayals of Black bodies. The exhibition includes art by Ambrose, Marie Charlotte Amegah, Destiny Belgrave, Michael A. Booker, Schroeder Cherry, Andrew Gray, David Ibata, Jabari C. Jefferson, Megan Lewis, and Arin Mitchell. Curated by Thomas James. If you are looking to purchase art by Baltimore-based artists and want to shop online: 1. Resort Baltimore (gallery online shop) 2. ICA Baltimore Flat File Program You can find more information about ongoing exhibitions across the region at the BmoreArt Calendar.Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.