The Spread, we know your B'more art is great, so we're here to check out the food, drink and atmosphere at your next reception. For the month of February, we tasted the Spreads at the Art Under Ground Studio (Hampden), Antreasian Gallery (Hampden), Gallery Imperato (Federal Hill) and the Load of Fun Studios (North Ave Arts District)
First Stop, Show #11, Friends with Benefits at the Art Under Ground Studio Saturday, February 9. This IS one odd space for art, run by we think guys and it shows. Presentation is rather cavemanish like, with all the food strewn onto a 24 x 48" table adorned with an obivously stained WHITE (we think) table cloth. Food consisted of ham, cheese, fresh fruit, assorted crackers and chips & salsa. For drinks, there was bottled and box wine, BOTH very good and when you made it to the back of the space, you find a cooler full of beer and bottled water, what a pleasant surprise. But the best thing was the music with vintage Bob Marley and the Whalers playing at just the right tempo for the event! Some side notes, it was quite a large crowd and we can honestly say we now know how sardines feel, also, these guys need to get a PROPERLY working and more PRIVATE bathroom complete with toilet paper and some kind of hand soap. They ran out of Salsa but not Chips(?), all other foods disappeared quickly BUT, the Beer and Wine kept on pouring! Rating: 5.25 out of 10
Next up, Antresian Gallery, Opening Reception for Deep Falls Friday February 15. A beautiful space, perfect for an art gallery and then some! The Reception started at 6:00, we stumbled in around 6:45, WHAT, they only had 2 or 3 Nationals (like in Bohemian) left and the wine was disappearing FAST and pretty much gone within the next 30 minutes but the Reception was scheduled till 10:00! Tsk tsk tsk, the Antresian Gallery should already know artist not only can talk the talk but can drink like parched camels on a hot arid day (or night). Presentation was nice, with food and beverage on a multi-tiered table in the middle of the front gallery area which meant grabbing and munching 360 degrees. I don't think 6:45 was that late to get there, yet most of the food was already gone but the fresh fruit, especially the pineapple pieces, were perfectly ripe and ready to gobble down! As a bonus, while scouting the area for more wine, I stumbled upon an half hidden bottle of Tequilla, oh my, I looked up and saw that Cool Chesire Cat artist M Wiggs grinning from ear to ear and instinctively knew it was time for shots! All in all for me, ChazL, the night became a blur but what a beautiful and clearly refreshing blur. I did not oberve any meat. Some side notes, the gallery was packed and it was rocking! Rating 5.50 out of 10
Friday February 22 found us at the Gallery Imperato, Federal Hill area for the Opening Reception of Time Capsules. Located in an old foundry complex, the gallery would have to be rated as extremely nice, classy and one of the better spaces in Baltimore, high ceilings and exposed brick gave the Imperato 2 quick thumbs up. As a new visitor, my first impression, I underdressed. It became quite apparent after just a few minutes of looking around, JoshJ and I were the only ones not wearing an article of BLACK clothing, yikes, a dress code violation, after just 5 minutes inside we were pegged outsiders! Surprisingly for such a higher end gallery, the food was a big disappointment consisting of "prefab Costco like (rounded corners)" cubed cheese and "mismatched" crackers & dip and "past it's freshness date" fruit according to JoshJ! Josh also pointed out NO TOOTHPICKS and wondered aloud, how on earth are we to plate the food, that's faux pas if ever there was one! However, I started liking the place a little better even without toothpicks. Gallery Imperato may have the best bathrooms in the business, not only separate mens and womens rooms, but nice touches like a lit aromatic candle, soothing hand cream and a refreshing facial spray, I actually thought I was in the wrong bathroom at first. Red and White wine was being poured by 2 "interns" but I felt uneasy with a "tip" jar right there in front of me. I did not oberve any meat. Since we do not want to give out any low ratings, JoshJ decided to pad the score this way. 1.5 points for the Spread & Drinks, 1 point for the physical space and a whopping 2 points for the girl in the sleeveless Black dress. Rating: 4.5 out of 10
The last stop of the month, Load of Fun Studios, Julia Pearson Opening Reception for Refracted Journeys Saturday March 1 (we know, it's not February). Load of Fun is a pretty cool space in a quickly developing arts area within walking distance of the MICA campus which also means the Mount Royal Tavern is right around the corner. This is a one person show, so it's hard to rate something put together by an individual but she did quite a good job! Flying solo this evening I arrived @ 6:30, and to my pleasant surprise, there was NO shortage of drinkables, with bottled wine (with corks), high quality beer and sparkling water to quench one's thirst. Presentation was very tidy, with the wine bottles neatly lined up 2 wide and 3 deep with one open and a handy cork screw right there when needed, the beer and water could be found sitting in a nice tub of ice, with the bottled water turned upside down which made sense, no fumbling to see what your reaching for (next time), nice touch! To top this all off, REAL wine glasses were available, also neatly lined up for easy access. Food was light, with 3 plates of assorted cookies and crackers (I think) but very nicely put together. The overall feel of the Reception was "Shh, quiet, art here", I think a little music would have helped the entire thing. Some side notes, though drink was plentiful, the food was a bit scarce, and this reception could have used some SPUNK considering it was in such a Funk-a-licious space! Rating: 5 out of 10
It just goes to show, we can all be different and have a blast!
It's all in fun,
the Spread, ChazL and JoshuaJ
Look for us at your next Art Thing
The Spread - Volume 1
The Spread - Volume 2
