From Portland to huehuetenango

The quiet classiness of the Sherry Leedy Gallery (2004 Baltimore, 816-221-2626) provides a cool undertone that equally complements styles as disparate as tonight's offerings: Ixchel, a survey of Guatemalan textile art; paintings by Valerie Beller; and some unconventional quilts by Bean Gilsdorf. Gilsdorf's quilts are striking and stark, incorporating design elements of poster art and illustration. The quilt series, Like Magic, juxtaposes images of midcentury businessmen with cultural and corporate iconography — guns and stuff. Ixchel brings the artistry and cultural significance of traditional Guatemalan textile art to American viewers. "Guatemala has a very long history of weaving," says gallery owner Sherry Leedy, "primarily, if not exclusively, by women, passed down by mothers to daughters. They make these fabulous woven and embroidered cloths that they wear. This is a continuation of that tradition and some really extraordinary pieces that were selected for this exhibition."Beller's Nature & Memory is a collection of abstractions visually representing the input of other senses: "It's like visual music," Leedy says. "It's sort of an analogy for sound. It has a transcendental quality that is really part of a long tradition in art." All three exhibits open tonight at 7.
Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Starts: May 22. Continues through June 27, 2009