Have you ever visited BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, Maryland?
If the answer is “no,” now is the perfect time to start with a really cool installation.
“You are missing out if you’ve never been to BlackRock,” chief program officer Katie Hecklinger told WTOP. “We are on the verge of our 20th anniversary. The space was designed as a multi-purpose cultural arts center. We are the only thing like it in up-county. We have three stages, classrooms, two art galleries, a gorgeous rooftop terrace.”
Their new mixed-media exhibit “Juxtapositions” is on display now through Feb. 26.
No tickets are necessary as the installation is free and open to the public.
“The juxtaposition found between gritty, harsh materials that reflect harsh, complicated, complex, challenging, dark times, and the juxtaposition of the beauty that’s found in that where in life you find resounding strength, comfort, joy, resilience — for us it reflects the [pandemic] chapter we’re still in, but that we’ve coped with,” Hecklinger said.
The installation features sculptures and mixed media by D.C.-area artist Tory Cowles.
“I’m trying to create a huge installation that you walk into, you can interact with and become part of,” Cowles told WTOP, stressing the exhibit’s immersive interactivity.
The first side of “Juxtapositions” consists of raw and gritty materials.
“On the left side is mostly materials taken from our organic farm in Frederick County, Maryland, that are darker, rough, gritty — corrugated roofing and chain-linked fencing,” Cowles said. “They’ve been scoured by time and weather. It’s a thoughtful, serious side.”
The other side is the opposite, filled with brighter, polished materials.
“Those raw, gritty materials are juxtaposed with man-made, sophisticated, elegant brocades and laces, so there’s an interesting juxtaposition,” Cowles said. “Those disparate materials talk to each other and change each other. The other side is totally light, movement and joy. It’s very colorful. … They’re transformed into something whimsical.”
The visuals are paired with improvisational dance by CityDance Conservatory students.
“This installation begs, asks for, demands dancers moving and interacting with beautiful hanging fabric, art sculptures on the wall and rocks, hoops, rings and beautiful items on the floor,” CityDance’s founding artistic director, Lorraine Audeoud Spiegler, told WTOP.
The creators were blown away the first time they saw the dancers in the space.
“[Sunday] while snow was starting to fall outside, we were at beautiful BlackRock,” Spiegler said. “The dancers for the first time really experienced what it was like to be in that space interacting with the installation. All of us that were there … were in awe of how the dance and artwork came alive. It’s something that can only happen in the moment.”
In addition to the “Juxtapositions” installation, you can also check out Stuart Diekmeyer’s new photography exhibit “Curiosity of Scale,” which is on display now through Feb. 26.
“What he has done in that work is taken a microscopic lens and captured these very small moments, whether it’s a drop of water or an insect or another organic, living thing, and blown it up, so you get a chance to explore ‘a bug’s life,’ if you will,” Hecklinger said.
You can also enroll in BlackRock’s series of winter classes, which begin Jan. 31 in partnership with Imagination Stage, Tunes4Tots, GottaSwing and Love Source Yoga.
“Students from age 2 all the way up to 99 or 105 have an opportunity to take dance, music, visual art or drama courses,” Hecklinger said. “We partner with some of the most talented arts organizations and teaching artists in the area. You can study private guitar, take a step workshop. We’ve got a variety of virtual music lessons, watercolor, painting.”
Cowles will teach a family workshop on sculpting with found materials Jan. 29 at 2 p.m.
There will also be a free reception on Feb. 20 if you simply RSVP here.
Listen to our full conversation here.
