Maryland State Wire

The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) is set to unveil its newly reinstalled contemporary wing on February 26, 2025. The exhibition, titled "Crosscurrents," will showcase a diverse range of artworks created over the past six decades. It aims to explore how artists have responded to and found solace in turbulent times.

"Crosscurrents" will feature 67 works, including a new commission by interdisciplinary artist Abigail Lucien. Lucien's exhibition, "Under Other Skies," includes ten steel sculptures that reflect their Haitian-American heritage and engage with themes of future possibility and belonging. The installation seeks to create a "third space" where truth and myth coexist.

Among the pieces displayed for the first time are Nari Ward's "Peace Keeper" (1995/2020) and Justen Leroy's "Lay Me Down in Praise" (2022). Ward's work critiques racial oppression through a hearse adorned with black grease and peacock feathers, while Leroy's video installation addresses environmental crises through music informed by blues, R&B, gospel, and jazz.

The exhibition also highlights ecological themes through various artworks. An interactive installation called "Dreamseeds," created by Hannah Brancato and Sanahara Ama Chandra, invites visitors to share their visions for the earth's future. Other featured works include Doyle Lane's "Weed Pots," Soledad Salamé's "Gulf Distortions," Elias Sime's "Tightrope – Familiar Yet Complex 4," Wolfgang Staehle’s “Eastpoint,” and Jowita Wyszomirska’s “The Light that Got Lost 1.”

Asma Naeem, BMA’s Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director, stated: “Our contemporary collection showcases some of the most daring imaginings of how artists connect with the environment... We are committed to bringing new works on view to engage our visitors in a depth of ideas and expressions.”

Curated by Jessica Bell Brown along with Cecilia Wichmann, Leila Grothe, Antoinette Roberts, Dylan Kaleikaumaka Hill, Oscar Flores-Montero, and Maura Callahan, this installation is supported by the Suzanne F. Cohen Exhibition Fund.

Additionally, the BMA continues its initiative "Turn Again to the Earth," backed by organizations such as the Eileen Harris Norton Foundation and Johns Hopkins University & Medicine.

Founded in 1914, the BMA houses over 97,000 objects spanning various cultures and eras. Its neoclassical building is located near Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.