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Crosstown Arts is pleased to present Bawlmer, a group exhibition of new work by Baltimore-based artists organized Dwayne Butcher. Butcher is an artist, designer, and curator who moved from Memphis to Baltimore in 2013. Artists he has chosen for this exhibition include Colin Alexander, Kyle Bauer, Amy Hughes Braden, Dave Eassa, Cara Ober and Paul Shortt. Through painting, sculpture, and a prevailing sense of humor, the exhibition aims to make connections between Memphis and Baltimore and their respective creative landscapes.

Curator’s Statement:

‘In my short time in Baltimore, I have noticed many similarities between this city and Memphis. Each is roughly the same size in area and population, and each is similar in its racial, political, and socioeconomic makeup. They both have the “grit and grind” that blue-collar, middle-class urban areas have to have. This “grit and grind” is the prefect incubator for creativity, which makes “Bawlmer,” as enunciated in the local dialect, seem like home to me.

The six artists included in this exhibition approach their work with a sense of humor. They poke fun at normal conventions of class and gender, recall the fads of their youth, enjoy the frivolity of today, break down shapes into the purest of forms, and call into question the superiority of the art world’s “big swinging dicks.”

Oh, the Baltimorons love their crabs as much as Memphians love their BBQ. So there is that. And then there is the Old Bay.’

-Dwayne Butcher

Artist information:

Colin Alexander 

Kyle Bauer

Amy Hughes Braden

Dave Eassa

Cara Ober

Paul Shortt

Curator’s biography:

Originally from Memphis, TN, Dwayne Butcher is an artist, designer, and curator living in Baltimore. He received his MFA from the Memphis College of Art in 2008. While at MCA, he developed a deep interest in the integration of Digital Media expression with traditional art forms. His work wittily comments on his life as a citizen of the American South, often around issues of gender identity. His work has increasingly been shown in international exhibitions in the last two years in locations such as Belfast, Northern Ireland, Chongqing, China, Paris France, Berlin, Germany, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, New York City and Los Angeles. He has been featured in articles focusing on his work and community art projects for the New York Times, The Washington Post, Hyperallergic, Art21, and Big, Red and Shiny.  When Dwayne is not working on all of the above things, he maintains an art blog focusing on the visual arts of Baltimore and the surrounding area. He enjoys watching short animations and experimental films. He is one of the world’s greatest Risk players and has won awards for his chicken wings.  Dwayne also spends a lot of time with his wife taking pictures of their two worthless cats. Oh. He also likes beer.

-From http://dwaynebutcher.squarespace.com/info/

Cover image: Kyle Bauer, detail