Mark’s Score 9.0
What do you do at the beach on a cold winter’s day? You go to an art gallery, of course. Fortunately, we have a viable option, the Ocean City Center for the Arts is an excellent gallery. Though officially it is a gallery, it feels more like an art museum than a gallery.
The Ocean City Center for the arts is owned by the Art League of Ocean City. The League was founded in 1963. The current facility on 94th Street was built in 2013 and showcases 7,550 sq ft (65 m2) of the works of local artists. Exhibits are changed every month and are kicked off with an opening reception from 5-7 pm on the first Friday of every month. The gallery also offers workshops for all ages and skill levels as well as a summer art camp program.
I will be honest, until recently, I was completely unaware that this gallery even existed. I found it by accident. It was a cold winter’s day and I decided to have lunch at Liquid Assets (around the corner form the gallery). I took a wrong turn and accidently went down 94th street. I saw the gallery, and since I had a few minutes to kill, I thought I would have a look. I will admit I went in with low expectations, we are all familiar with beach art galleries. I feared I would walk into a room of mediocre art depicting seagulls and grass covered sand dunes, work that I would never hang on my walls
I knew my fears were unfounded when I walked in the door and hanging from the ceiling in the central gallery was a glass chandelier that could have been mistaken as a work from the Moreno Glass Works in Venice. My “few minutes” tour ended up lasting 45.
The center contains a number of galleries, the spotlight gallery, the Sisson Galleria, and Studio E.
What I don’t know about art would fill volumes. So, I am not going to critique any of the art I saw that day. Art is a very subjective thing, what I think is sublime, another person may think mundane. But I can highlight the works that spoke to me.
I was very impressed with the ceramic vases in one of the side galleries on the second floor. I thought “Light & Shadow” by John Kovach was an inspired piece of art. In fact, I was so moved by it, I almost bought the pair right then and there. I also loved the use of color and multi-mediums in “The Marsh’s Edge” by James Krabs & Barbara Slocum.
The center hosts a number of art shows and performing arts events throughout the year, which you can find on their website. If you haven’t been to the center, it would be well worth your while to check them out. What better way to spend a few hours on a cold winter’s day at the beach?
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