The Department of Art and Art History presents “Liquid/Solid: New Abstraction by Contemporary Painters” May 16 through June 16 in the Rice Gallery at Peterson Hall. The artists’ reception will be held 7-9 p.m. May 19.

The event is free and open to the public. For information and gallery hours, call 410-857-2595.

The show, co-curated by McDaniel College Assistant Professor of Art and Art History Steven Pearson and Baltimore Artist Cara Ober M.S. ’98, features work from Elizabeth Cosby ’06, as well as 11 other local and national artists. They are: Seth Adelsberger of Baltimore; Robert Atwell of Menomonie, Wis.; Christine Kesler of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Michelle La Perriere of Baltimore; Maggie Michael of Washington, D.C.; Karena Ness of St. Augustine, Fla.; Dana Reifler of Baltimore; Calvin Edward Ramsburg of Frederick, Md.; Jo Smail of Baltimore; Paul Theriault of Allston, Mass.; Adam Wolter of Milford, Ohio.

“Liquid/Solid is an exhibit that unites a number of contemporary abstract painters,” says Ober. “While there is no one style or theme that unites all of the work in the show, all of the artists selected create work that explores the post-modern notion of ‘abstraction.’”

While some paintings may be completely devoid of recognizable subject matter and more traditionally abstract, others may feature images of objects, people and places, but without references to literal visual realities.  The definition of abstraction in this exhibit places the emphasis of the paintings on a conceptual basis, rather than a specific visual tradition.

Many of the painters in this show are emerging artists with MFA’s, although there are several mid-career and experienced painters, as well as several who are self-taught or new to the medium.