Witness SUMMER ‘25, the vibrant Baltimore art exhibition with powerful works by emerging artists and old masters at C. Grimaldis Gallery.
BY KAZEEM ADELEKE, ARTCENTRON
BALTIMORE, MD -The 48th Annual Summer Show at C. Grimaldis Gallery, titled SUMMER ‘25, is an intellectually rich Baltimore art exhibition. This group exhibition brings together a curated selection of established masters and rising contemporary voices. This extraordinary event stands as one of the most anticipated art shows of the year. The exhibition explores themes of memory, identity, environment, and cultural storytelling. It expresses these themes through compelling works of painting, sculpture, and photography.
Celebrating Legacy: Honoring Influential Artists
SUMMER ‘25 highlights the powerful legacies of artists whose contributions have shaped contemporary visual language. This Baltimore art exhibition showcases a range of significant artistic voices.
Eugene Leake (1911–2005)
Eugene Leake captures the tranquil beauty of rural landscapes with atmospheric precision. He invites viewers to step into serene terrains alive with movement and color. His command over natural light and environment creates meditative works that transcend time.
Grace Hartigan (1922–2008)
Grace Hartigan, a leading figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement, fuses vibrant color washes with figurative gestures. Her dynamic brushwork and emotive palettes bridge the lyrical with the visceral. They reflect the raw energy of mid-century American art, making her a standout in this Baltimore art exhibition.
Keith Martin (1911–1983)
Keith Martin channels the surreal through abstraction. He crafts mesmerizing pieces that blend collage and painting. His works reveal psychological depth, where forms melt into one another to portray subconscious narratives.
Expressions of Identity and Culture in this Baltimore Art Exhibition
A vital strength of SUMMER ‘25 is its rich diversity of voices. It includes artists whose work investigates the intersections of personal history, social structures, and collective memory. This makes it a truly dynamic Baltimore art exhibition.
José Manuel Fors
José Manuel Fors, the Cuban master of photographic collage, pieces together sepia-toned family portraits and archival documents. His deeply intimate compositions are meditations on memory, loss, and the passage of time. They act as both personal mementos and national commentary.
Giorgos Rigas (1921–2014)
Giorgos Rigas provides nostalgic insight into traditional Greek life. He paints mountain villages and coastal scenes from memory. His work memorializes a vanishing way of life. It evokes universal emotions of longing and remembrance.
Ben Marcin
Ben Marcin explores themes of American isolation and architectural symbolism. His photographic tableaus spotlight vacant buildings. These structures serve as cultural signifiers. They offer a broader critique of urban development and socioeconomic disparities.
Enchantment in Miniature: The Vision of Nora Sturges
Nora Sturges constructs intricately detailed small-scale paintings. These works draw on the visual language of medieval Italian frescoes. These surreal microcosms combine historical references with imaginative narratives. They pull viewers into timeless dreamscapes. Her works are dense with mystery. They invite slow, contemplative engagement, elevating the miniature to the monumental within this Baltimore art exhibition.
Making Bold Statements at This Baltimore Art Exhibition
This year’s exhibition proudly showcases emerging talents. Their work reveals nuanced approaches to identity, symbolism, and contemporary discourse. Their fresh perspectives contribute significantly to the vibrancy of this Baltimore art exhibition.
Heejo Kim
Heejo Kim presents vibrant, dreamlike figurative paintings. Her compositions are populated by flowing molten bodies and luminous domestic interiors. They resonate with emotional complexity. Kim’s work speaks to the duality of vulnerability and empowerment in the life of a young woman navigating modern Seoul. She shapes narrative through the language of color and form.
Amelie Wang
Amelie Wang confronts the historical censorship of China through swirling, symbolic compositions. Each painting serves as an act of reclamation and personal inquiry. It interrogates how national histories embed themselves into family dynamics and individual psyches. Wang’s work weaves emotion into color, offering catharsis through abstraction.
Provocation and Truth: The Work of John Waters
John Waters, Baltimore’s legendary provocateur, delivers photography that unapologetically explores queer identity, racial inequality, and class consciousness. Waters blurs the boundaries between fine art and pop culture. He crafts imagery that challenges social norms while remaining rooted in sincerity and wit. His fearless critique of the American cultural landscape solidifies his reputation as one of contemporary art’s most essential voices featured in this Baltimore art exhibition.
It is worth noting some statistics regarding racial inequality in the United States, a topic often addressed by artists like Waters. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2023, the median household income for White (non-Hispanic) households was approximately $81,060, while for Black households it was around $52,860. Additionally, the poverty rate for Black individuals in 2023 was 17.1%, significantly higher than the 7.3% for White (non-Hispanic) individuals. These disparities highlight the ongoing challenges of racial inequality that artists like John Waters bring to the forefront.
Materiality and Force: Sculptural Dialogues
SUMMER ‘25 explores sculpture and form as conduits of natural energy and existential reflection.
Jae Ko
Jae Ko transforms paper into powerful sculptural forms. She bends and twists the medium to evoke natural forces like wind, gravity, and fluid motion. Her installations are dynamic embodiments of organic energy. They emphasize both materiality and movement.
John Ruppert
John Ruppert offers photographic portraits of ancient Italian olive trees, assembled through digital layering. These images highlight the resilience of nature and the marks left by time, weather, and human interaction. Each tree becomes a monument—stoic, intricate, and sacred.
Global Perspectives: Environmental Reflection Through Painting
Hidenori Ishii
Hidenori Ishii’s MIRЯOR series delves into the psychological trauma of environmental catastrophe. He works with resin—the same material used to contain radiation at Fukushima. Ishii embeds symbolic layers into his paintings. These haunting works reflect both the visible and the unseen. They channel fear, resistance, and endurance through medium and message.
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, a significant environmental catastrophe, occurred in March 2011. It was triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami. The event led to the release of radioactive materials into the environment, causing widespread displacement and long-term health concerns. The ongoing cleanup and decommissioning efforts are projected to take decades, underscoring the enduring impact of such disasters.
Infinity and Illusion: Chul Hyun Ahn’s Light Sculptures
Chul Hyun Ahn’s mesmerizing light sculptures explore the concept of the void. He crafts visual illusions that seemingly stretch into infinite space. Utilizing mirrors, LEDs, and optical science, Ahn’s work invites contemplation on consciousness, emptiness, and perception. His installations bridge Eastern philosophical notions of the void with the digital aesthetics of the contemporary era.
SUMMER ‘25: A Nexus of Past, Present, and Future
The SUMMER ‘25 exhibition at C. Grimaldis Gallery achieves more than a seasonal collection. It becomes a living archive of cultural memory and artistic evolution. By assembling artists from different generations and geographies, this Baltimore art exhibition creates a cross-cultural, intergenerational conversation. This conversation is rooted in emotion, critique, and imagination.
This exhibition is a powerful reminder of art’s ability to hold space for complex identities. It tells stories that resist silence. It connects viewers across time and place. Whether through the archival sepias of Fors, the vibrant memories of Kim, or the unsettling reflections of Ishii, SUMMER ‘25 brings contemporary issues into poetic and visual clarity.
From legendary figures like Hartigan and Waters to the bold perspectives of Wang and Kim, this show is not just a highlight of the Baltimore art scene. It is a critical statement on the state of art and society at large.
Visit SUMMER ‘25 at C. Grimaldis Gallery before it closes on September 13, 2025. Witness one of the most compelling group exhibitions of the year—a truly unmissable Baltimore art exhibition where artistic mastery meets contemporary urgency.