February 18, 2022
by Teri Henderson, BmoreArt
It’s rare to enter a gallery and be invited to physically interact with the art. But at tet[R]ad: Cultivating Collaborative Creative Community, that is the whole point. Developed by a duo of artists/researchers, David R. Modler and Samuel H. Peck, tet[R]ad is an ongoing project that connects people through a visual diary/sketchbook exchange. For this exhibition, Modler and Peck worked with Baltimore-born artist Desmond Beach on an immersive installation that transforms Maryland Art Place’s gallery into a colorful collaborative classroom. Every surface is covered in neons and primary hues, beckoning visitors to contribute and converse with the artist-organizers.
Beach holds an MFA from MICA’s Rinehart School of Sculpture and focuses his mixed-media artistic practice on African storytelling and the legacy of the African Diaspora. For the installation, Beach created several life-sized drawings: sloping, graphite outlines of Black women and men. At first, I thought the buckets of markers and crayons surrounding the drawings were sculptural elements, until I was told that the drawings had recently traveled to a classroom in Baltimore where a group of students colored them in. I was floored and hesitant to know that I could color and add to the drawings. I felt a bit nervous, so I didn’t add anything then—the opportunity to physically add to the art was new to me. I’ve found myself feeling increasingly plugged into the matrix lately, and this was a chance to disengage from the digital and re-ground myself with the analog. I’m excited by the possibility of adding my own marks before the show closes.
There was nearly too much for me to take in on my first visit: outlines of smiling faces, seemingly spray-painted, walls containing shelves of journals that can be borrowed and returned. Stories everywhere, layered like paint on a canvas. Ephemera, photographs, small journals full of stickers and drawings, layers of paper and cardboard covered with markings—these things that traveled from other variations of the project are displayed alongside Beach’s drawings.
Nearly every moment of the exhibition offers the viewer a chance to create something. Tet[R]ad reimagines the traditionally passive gallery-going experience into one that is dynamic, bright, and encouraging. By removing preconceived notions of what it means to make and view art, it invites visitors to engage with the work of all involved: the curators, artists, and each other. The show was invigorating, allowing me to reimagine what forms an exhibition can take and reminding me that art can be fun.
.jpg "MSAC")
.png "William G. Baker Jr. Memorial Fund")
.png "T Rowe Price")
