This March, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) will explore the enduring influence of Henri Matisse through a compelling exhibition that juxtaposes the modern icon’s work with that of celebrated contemporary artist and Maryland native Louis Fratino. Fratino and Matisse: To See This Light Again will feature approximately 15 works by each artist presented in dynamic pairings and groups, revealing a unique intergenerational dialogue. The exhibition includes iconic paintings and intimately scaled drawings and sketchbooks with figure studies, interiors, still lifes, and self-portraits. Among the works are two new paintings by Fratino—September flowers and Studio nude—as well as several other works by the artist that have not been previously exhibited. Fratino and Matisse will be on view March 11–September 6, 2026, and is part of a suite of Matisse exhibitions opening at the BMA in the same month, including Matisse and Martinique: Portraits and Poetry and Matisse in Vence: The Stations of the Cross.
Fratino’s practice is grounded in both his contemporary lived experience and a deep engagement with the aesthetic traditions of European and American modernists. His paintings and works on paper depict warm domestic spaces and intimate portraits that often illuminate queer love, desire, and beauty. Fratino was born in Annapolis, Maryland and educated at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). While at MICA, he began spending considerable time with the BMA’s extensive holdings of Matisse works, drawn in particular to the French artist’s mastery of line, color, and atmosphere—elements that significantly inform his own vision and practice. Matisse’s portrayals of idealized and abstracted female nudes also provided fertile space for exploration, as Fratino turned his focus to the male form, expanding the artistic gaze to the male body and positioning himself within a long history of artists engaged with the nude.
About Louis Fratino
Louis Fratino (b. 1993, Annapolis, MD) received his BFA in Painting with concentration in Illustration from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore (2015). He is a recipient of a Fulbright Research Fellowship in Painting, Berlin (2015-16) and a Yale Norfolk Painting Fellowship in 2014. His first institutional solo exhibition, Louis Fratino: Satura, was presented at Centro Pecci in Prato (2025). In 2024, Fratino’s paintings were featured in the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, Stranieri Ovunque—Foreigners Everywhere, curated by Adriano Pedrosa. Fratino’s work is included in the collections of the BMA, Hammer Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, RISD Museum, and Whitney Museum of American Art. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
The Baltimore Museum of Art
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