When James Phillips saw his acrylic painting on canvas “Sankofa II” (1997-8) installed at the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), the Baltimore artist and associate art professor at Howard University crossed his arms and carefully inspected it.

Melanee Harvey, an art history Ph.D. candidate who accompanied Phillips on his NMAAHC visit, said she wondered what he was looking for. And Phillips told her, “I’m just making sure I got my lines right.”Continue Reading

When those passing by or browsing the web first set eyes on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the newest Smithsonian museum that opened Sept. 24, 2016, on the National Mall mere steps from the Washington Monument, they often see echoes of a slave ship in the building’s architecture.

But visitors to the museum learn the real architectural inspiration behind the bronze-colored and tiered layering of the building when they tour its top floor galleries.Continue Reading

University of Maryland University College (UMUC) Arts Program cordially invites you to a new exhibition by Baltimore-based visual artist James Phillips. Phillips is an exceptional artist who meticulously produces colorful works that broaden one’s understanding of African aesthetics, patterns and symbols by incorporating these cultural references into contemporary compositions.

He describes himself as a product of the Black Power movement, which encouraged African American artists to create works that reflected pride in their history and culture. His works are in many public and private collections throughout the United States. Phillips received his MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art and is an associate professor of art at Howard University.

Funding for this project was provided by the Wolpoff Family Foundation; Maryland State Arts Council; Friends of the Arts Program; and Eva J. Allen, Ph.D., and Nicholas H. Allen, DPA.

Exhibition Dates
January 15–April 16, 2017

Exhibition Hours
9 a.m.–9 p.m. daily

Location
UMUC Arts Program Gallery, Lower LevelUniversity of Maryland University College
College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center
3501 University Boulevard East
Adelphi, MD 20783 | Directions

“The Colossus,” an 1818-25 work in the collection of the Museo del Prado, is one of the scariest paintings attributed to the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. In it, mayhem has broken out on the ground and people and animals disperse in all directions as fighting seems to dominate the landscape. But the figures appear as mere ants compared to the  giant—his nudity obscured by clouds—that towers above the scene. Fists raised, the giant is reminiscent of the war-god Mars.Continue Reading

The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) community, Dorothy and Henry Rosenberg Jr., and Patricia and Mike Batza, present the exhibition, Horrors of War, by renowned Baltimore artist Joseph Sheppard, Oct. 30, 2016–Oct. 29, 2017.Continue Reading

Lesa Cook’s terra cotta sculpture “Bacchus as Uninvited Houseguest” (2015) comes as advertised. Naked per custom, the Roman god of wine lies on a couch. A laurel wreath and grapes adorn his head. He holds a cup in his hand; his gut is appropriately proportioned for the patron saint of gluttony. The mustachioed figure resembles a familiar uncle, not a denizen of Olympus.Continue Reading