Howard County Center for the Arts Hosts Two New Exhibits

Two new exhibits open in January at the Howard County Center for the Arts. In Gallery I, HoCo Open 2015 is a salon-style, non-juried biennial exhibit showcasing work by artists living, working, or studying in Howard County. The Gallery II exhibit, Poetic Energetic, features artists Nico Amortegui (MALO), Stanley Agbontaen, and Marcie Wolf-Hubbard. Both exhibits open January 16 and run through February 27.

On Thursday, January 8 from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m., artists who live, work, or study in Howard County may submit one piece of original artwork, completed in the last two years, for HoCo Open 2015. Art will be accepted on a first-come basis until the gallery is full. This exhibit is expected to feature approximately 100 artworks in a wide variety of styles and include 2-D as well as 3-D works in such diverse media as watercolor, oil painting, collage, line drawing, photography, and ceramics.

Poetic Energetic features three artists using visual language to tell stories of love, music, community, and the beauty of humanity. Colombia-born Nico Amortegui (MALO) creates large, lively mixed media paintings; Nigerian artist Stanley Agbontaen shows his colorful acrylic paintings on wood; and Marcie Wolf-Hubbard shares her diaphonous encaustic figure paintings.

The Arts Council and Howard County Tourism (HCT) will hold a reception for both exhibits on Friday, January 23 from 6–8 p.m. and welcome HCT’s partners for a pARTners in ART networking event. The reception includes live music and light refreshments and is free and open to the public. Snow date: Friday, January 30. Gallery Hours are Monday through Friday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., and Sunday 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. To obtain the HoCo Open guidelines and entry form or to learn more about this and other HCCA programs call 410-313-ARTS (2787) or visit www.hocoarts.org.

IMAGE (courtesy of the artist): Festival of Love, by Stanley Agbontaen, from Poetic Energetic