MAURICE + FRIENDS PRESENT
CADUCEUS + ARROW
Curated by Maurice
Photography by Kristofer Heng

Artists
Patrick Bell
Ricky Boscarino
Kelso
Portia
Evan Reilly
Tannis Ruitt
good neighbor
3827 Falls Rd, Baltimore, MD 21211

Opening Reception
Saturday, April 27th from 4-8 P.M.

MAURICE + FRIENDS pleased to present, CADUCEUS + ARROW, a springtime group exhibition of celebratory visual splendors and mystery, carefully handcrafted and curated by Maurice.

In March 1638, Peter Paul Ruben's wrote a letter to Justice Sustermans (1597-1681), court painter of Grand Duke Ferdinando II de' Medici of Tuscany, expounding his painting Consequences of War (1638-1639).

...I believe if I remember rightly, that you will find on the ground, under the feet of Mars, a book and a drawing on paper, to imply that he treads underfoot all the arts and letters. There ought also to be a bundle of darts or arrows, with the band which held them together undone; these when bound form the symbol of Concord. Beside them is the caduceus and an olive branch, attribute of Peace; these are also cast aside...*

The dichotomy of peace and violence is impudent in this great work. It is through psychological Tenebrism where the painting is in full bloom: rendered visages of human apathy/brutality are combined with props of the arts trampled upon in their wake of destruction in order to provide a sobering parable of the Consequences of War. The allegorical sophistry of this painting's compositional unity and untethered energy of various personifications provide a beautiful collateral to the artists selected for this exhibition.

This marks the first outdoor presentation for Maurice. Each artist selected creates works of contrast though psychical and imposing physical manifestations that create a Sfumato gradient of human emotion, exposing a tenderness and vulnerability that feels simultaneously private and public: a perfect primer for a presentation of works that invite the viewer to experience intimate moments, in an open setting.

This exhibition is in partnership with good neighbor in Hampden, Baltimore.

*Translated by Kristen Lohse Belkin, Rubens (London: Phaidon, 1998), 288-289.