(Enlarge) Cheryl Duvall’s “Maryland Steamed Crabs” is part of the “HoCo Open 2008.”

Most art exhibits allow for a little bit of breathing room around each piece hanging on the wall, but the Howard County Center for the Arts' biennial "HoCo Open" takes the opposite approach. This open exhibit for Howard County artists crams as much art as it can on the wall.

To be more specific, this translates to 100 artworks engendering sensory overload in the viewer. As you would expect under such non-juried, anything-goes, large-quantity conditions, the quality of the work varies considerably. Most of it's competent, though, and some of it is much more than that.

There's obviously no thematic rhyme or reason to such a show, but you're free to pick your own favorites. Realistic landscapes, still-life subjects and portraits predominate, but some of the most interesting works tweak the realism in various ways.

Especially appealing is April M. Rimpo's watercolor "The Porch," whose crisply defined and colored forms make it easy to see that you're looking at patio tables and chairs. Look at this tightly cropped arrangement a tad longer, however, and you'll also appreciate it as a slightly abstracted, form-conscious composition that's really about the oval-shaped tables and the curving shapes that define the chairs.

Outdoor furniture also factors into Bruce Blum's photograph "Last Crumbs," in which three small birds presumably are dining off the crumbs dropped from the table above them. The chairs stacked on top of the table and the long shadows cast by the furniture indicate it's early evening and the human population has disappeared until the next day. The spare subject matter and subdued tone give this photograph a meditative aura.

Sometimes an artist literally will chop up the usual distinctions we make between realism and abstraction. Pat Wilson's collage "Ocean" consists of numerous tiny pieces of mostly green and blue paper that have been densely packed together in swirling patterns evoking sea currents. This collage isn't a realistic depiction of the ocean, strictly speaking, but it gives a visceral feeling for watery movement.

The great majority of work in this exhibit is more readily pegged as either realism or abstraction. Not surprisingly, the realistic imagery includes quite a few pieces that let you know you're in Maryland.

Cheryl Duvall's watercolor "Maryland Steamed Crabs" is so devoted to its subject that the entire picture is filled with an orange stack that's bound to make you smile in the land of pleasant living.

Bill Wilson's watercolor "MD Oystermen" features three of them pulling in a net. The melted, muted colors produce a reflective quality that may prompt some viewers to ponder that this particular local industry may be in its twilight years.

Among the artworks depicting sites close to home, Sherry Peruzzi's photograph "Great Blue Heron, Lake Kittamaqundi" features a single bird standing on the shore. Nothing in the frame indicates that this is anything other than a natural setting, and yet the title also lets you know that it's shot in downtown Columbia.

Other local sites depicted in various mediums range from Howard County rural tracts to Ellicott City's charming 19th-century skyline.

Baltimore gets its due in the installational juxtaposition of David Fried's nostalgia-tinged oil painting "North and Linden," presenting stores and pedestrians as they would have appeared in that midtown neighborhood in the mid-20th century; and a black-and-white photograph from David Ashman's "Baltimore: Juxtaposed" series in which he carefully frames the high-priced townhouses and even higher construction crane at a current building site along the trendy Key Highway shoreline of the Inner Harbor. One artist looks back in time and the other looks ahead in an ever-changing city.

"HoCo Open 2008" runs through Aug. 17 in Gallery I of the Howard County Center for the Arts, at 8510 High Ridge Road, in Ellicott City. Running concurrently in Gallery II is "No Boundaries," consisting of artwork by youth and adults with developmental disabilities. Presented in partnership with the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks Therapeutic Services, this exhibit includes the colorful sets constructed for its production of "Hairspray." There is a reception for both exhibits on Tuesday, July 22 from 6 to 8 p.m. Call 410-313-2787 or go to www.hocoarts.org.

user comments (1)

user howardlocal says...

Thanks for the thoughtful review of a local visual arts event. Most local reviews focus on Baltimore and/or Washington, areas well covered by the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun. Consequently our local artists rarely are in the spotlight. We have an increasing number of good quality Howard County Galleries which need critical review in order to grow, improve, and thrive.

Posted 1:35 PM, 08.07.08

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