University Of Maryland Art Gallery Presents Herman Maril

An exhibition that examines the artist’s works on paper

Contact: Taras W. Matla, tmatla@umd.edu, 301-405-1474

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – From September 7 through December 9, 2016, the University of Maryland Art Gallery presents Herman Maril: The Strong Forms of Our Experience, an exhibition that examines the little explored area of the artist’s works on paper. Curated by Ann Prentice Wagner, Curator of Drawings at the Arkansas Arts Center and University of Maryland Department of Art History and Archaeology alumnus (Ph.D. 2006), the exhibition features over eighty works, including drawings, watercolors, acrylic paintings on paper, and prints.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Maril served on the faculty at the University of Maryland from 1946 to 1977. During his time at Maryland, Maril refined his unique lyrical and modernist style for which he is now best known. “Maril was a great American original, a boy from a modest family who was inspired by the views, art treasures, and artists of his own blue-collar city,” notes Wagner. “He created beautiful art that you can never mistake for the work of anyone else.”

Alongside the numerous works on paper, the exhibition will also feature several of Maril’s oil paintings. “Because of Maril’s longstanding connection to the University, the exhibition is a bit of a homecoming,” says University of Maryland Art Gallery Assistant Director Taras Matla. “Although Maril is a Maryland artist with deep roots here, his work also speaks to much larger visual and aesthetic investigations into form, color, and line. We are very excited to host this show here before it travels to Arkansas.”

This exhibition is organized by the University of Maryland Art Gallery, in association with the Arkansas Arts Center. An opening reception for Herman Maril: The Strong Forms of Our Experience will be help on Wednesday, September 7, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the University of Maryland Art Gallery, 2202 Parren J. Mitchell Art Sociology Bldg., College Park, MD 20742. For more information, please call 301-405-2763 or email mailto:artgallery@umd.edu. Admission is free and open to the public.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Herman Maril (1908–1986) received his early artistic training from the Maryland Institute College of Art. After working on various New Deal Projects and serving in the war, Maril joined the faculty at the University of Maryland and remained there until his retirement in 1977. Maril’s work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibition and resides in various public and private collections both nationally and internationally, including the Phillips Collection, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Art. For more information on the artist and his works, please visit the Herman Maril Foundation website at http://www.hermanmaril.com/.

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About the University of Maryland Art Gallery

Established in 1965, the University of Maryland Art Gallery is part of the College of Arts and Humanities and the flagship visual arts venue at the University of Maryland. The gallery is located at 2202 Parren J. Mitchell Art-Sociology Building, College Park, Maryland. Gallery hours: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery is closed Saturday and Sunday, major holidays and on days that home sports events are held at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. Admission is free and open to the public. The gallery’s office hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The office is closed on Saturday and Sunday and major holidays. For general information, please call 301-405-2763 or visit the website at http://www.artgallery.umd.edu/.

About the University of Maryland

The University of Maryland is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 37,000 students, 9,000 faculty and staff, and 250 academic programs. Its faculty includes three Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners, 47 members of the national academies and scores of Fulbright scholars. The institution has a $1.8 billion operating budget, secures $500 million annually in external research funding and recently completed a $1 billion fundraising campaign. For more information about the University of Maryland, visit www.umd.edu.