BALTIMORE, MD — The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) announced the acquisition of more than 100 works of art. The objects entering the collection represent a broad range of historical and contemporary material and reflect the BMA’s ongoing efforts to diversify its holdings with works by women artists, artists of color, artists with ties to the Baltimore region, and those representing global cultures across time. Among these works are paintings by Marie Bracquemond, Brenda Goodman, Alexander Harrison, Martha Jackson Jarvis, Hung Liu, Kylie Manning, Megan Rooney, James Alexander Simpson, Helen Torr, Susan Catherine Waters, and James Williams II; sculptural works by Rhea Dillon, Doyle Lane, Jiha Moon, Shahzia Sikander, and Chiffon Thomas; video by Justen Leroy and Sin Wai Kin; and works on paper by Merikokeb Berhanu, Darrel Ellis, Dindga McCannon, Peter Milton, Wura-Natasha Ogunji, and numerous others across media.
In a significant milestone, the acquisitions also include the first work of performance art to enter the BMA’s collection: interdisciplinary artist Jefferson Pinder’s Ben-Hur (2012). Pinder (b. Washington, D.C., 1970) embraces the formal qualities of performance, moving image, sound, and sculpture to investigate constructions of race and history. Ben-Hur is a summative, stand-out work in Pinder’s oeuvre that engages six Black men in actions that recall representations of labor in art. A detailed guide to the performance as well as video documentation supports ongoing stewardship of the work and will enable the BMA to stage it in the future. The acquisition also includes the first edition of Pinder’s related, standalone video piece Ben-Hur (2013).
“The acquisitions announced reflect the BMA’s vision to continue to stridently expand our collection through both the artists represented and the global narratives that can be shared with these objects. The works entering our collection activate broader understandings of our moment, our communities, and our histories while creating space for new and underappreciated voices and experiences,” said Asma Naeem, the BMA’s Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director. “Our mission at the BMA is to tell stories that are both rooted in our local context and offer a lens into global cultures and expressions that reveal our shared humanity. This selection of works beautifully represents this effort and I am grateful to our curatorial team for their insight as we continue forward.”
More information: https://artbma.org
