METROPOLIS ART EXHIBITION EXPLORES GRIT AND BEAUTY OF CITY LIFE

         The Ladder by Erin Antognoli

 METROPOLIS Opening Reception:   

Thursday, Sept. 13 from 7 pm–8:30 pm

Takoma Park Community Center, 7500 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park

METROPOLIS EXHIBITION EXPLORES GRIT AND BEAUTY OF CITY LIFE

TAKOMA PARK – As the population in rural areas continues to decline, cities across the United States are booming. Construction cranes tower over the landscape as city dwellers confront both the benefits and challenges of living closely together.

Four artists convey those trends in METROPOLIS, a new group exhibition with a free opening reception on Sept. 13 from 7 pm-8:30 pm in the galleries of the Takoma Park Community Center. Sponsored by the City of Takoma Park, the exhibition will be on view until Nov. 4.

Armed with her Holga camera, Erin Antognoli explores city streets and takes multiple images of different scenes on a single frame of film, crafting reimagined streetscapes that seem to convey a swirling world of unconscious thoughts or dreams.

Sara Anne Daines photographs murals and street scenes from across the world, including the United States, Iceland, Portugal, and Morocco. She captures slices of city life that others walk past, preserving a record of the unbridled creativity of many street artists.

Influenced by his love for graffiti and video games, Benjamin Ross uses paint markers, pens, and acrylic paint in large paintings with brash strokes and chaotic scenes inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Ross has shown his work in local exhibitions and at Art Basel Miami Beach.

Kanika Sircar fashions clay sculptures that convey a sense of timelessness, as if these cryptic vessels could be relics from a distant past or portend some unknown future. Her work has been influenced by swooping lines of graffiti, crumbling walls, and the melancholy of urban decay.

For more information, go to www.takomaparkmd.gov/arts or contact Arts Coordinator Brendan Smith at brendans@takomaparkmd.gov or (301) 891-7266.