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SHORTIES BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART (BMA) MEDITATIONS ON AFRICAN ART

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BALTIMORE, MD. — On view through August 17, the third and final installation in the Baltimore Museum of Art’s (BMA) “Meditations on African Arts” series, “Pattern” features more than 70 diverse works — many on view for the first time — that define the shape and surface of African art.

Dramatic textiles, whimsical and adinkra dye stamps, delicately carved ivories, boldly painted shields and figurative works show the role of pattern in cultural style, body adornment and dynamic visual design. Nigerian-born, London-based artist Mary Evans has created several site-specific works for the exhibition, including video montages detailing the slave trade in British port cities and West Africa and on plantations in the southern United States that are viewed through a kaleidoscope; floor-to-ceiling intricately patterned murals; and framed works on paper.

The exhibition is curated by Karen Milbourne, BMA associate curator of the arts of African, Asia, the Americas and the Pacific Islands.

The BMA is at 10 Art Museum Drive. For information, www.artbma.org or 443-573-1870.