February 18 - April 5, 2025
Opening Reception: Tuesday, February 18th, 6 - 8pm
College Park, MD. The Stamp Gallery is pleased to present the exhibition “Open Ended Narratives: Mixed Media Assemblages on Wood by Schroeder Cherry”, a solo exhibition of assemblage artwork by multidisciplinary artist Schroeder Cherry. Cherry’s uses mixed-media assemblage painting to create open-ended narratives inspired by travel, folklore, and events, frequently drawing on stories of the African diaspora.
This exhibition is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council. Learn more at msac.org
Artist Statement
My art works are open-ended narratives inspired by travel, music, literature, folklore, and everyday events. Mixed-media assemblage paintings on wood often incorporate discarded objects and repeated images. Keys and locks represent tools of access. Watermelon slices refute negative stereotypes by representing positive aspects of the African diaspora. Glass shards, metal, buttons, playing cards—all become part of the materials telling a story.
The works are open-ended because there is no one story; viewers bring their own experiences to each piece. I often make art in series. This allows me to explore an idea in-depth and play with variations of a theme.
Artist Bio
Originally from Washington, D.C. Dr. Schroeder Cherry is now an award-winning, Maryland -based artist who uses mixed -media assemblage paintings on wood to create open-ended narratives inspired by travel, folklore, and events - both real and imagined. He earned a bachelor’s degree in painting and puppetry from The University of Michigan; a master’s degree in museum education from George Washington University; and a doctorate in museum education from Columbia University. His works are found in private and public collections across the US. He has also performed puppetry across the US in museums, cultural centers, libraries and schools.
Awards and recognition include: 2019 Sondheim competition finalist; 2021 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award; 2023 Virginia Center for Creative Arts Residency; 2024 visit to Brazil on an Artists Travel Grant awarded by the Municipal Art Society of Baltimore; 2024 Baker Award Finalist; and the 2024 PBS documentary episode titled, “Play” by Craft in America. Schroeder Cherry has worked in seven US museums, including The Art Institute of Chicago; Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Museum; Studio Museum of Harlem; J.Paul Getty Museum; The Baltimore Museum of Art; and Maryland Historical Society. He has held senior grantmaker positions at Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Foundation, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, first as Deputy Director of Museums, and later Counselor to the Director. He has taught graduate museum studies at Morgan State University, and in 2021 was appointed Curator of Morgan’s James E. Lewis Museum of Art (JELMA).
ABOUT THE GALLERY
Located on the first floor of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union—Center for Campus Life at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Stamp Gallery is dedicated to exhibiting contemporary art, especially the work of emerging and mid-career artists. The Stamp Gallery supports contemporary art that is challenging, academically engaging, and attuned to broad community and social issues. Through meaningful exhibitions and programming, the Gallery offers outside-of-the-classroom experiential learning opportunities. It functions as a laboratory where emerging artists and curators experiment and work through their ideas. The Gallery’s programming aims to emphasize the importance of process to contemporary artistic practice and to provide a forum for dialogue.
FREE and open to the public.
Gallery hours: Mondays–Thursdays: 10 am – 8 pm, Fridays: 10 am – 5 pm, Saturdays: 11 am – 5 pm, Sundays: Closed.
More information: stamp.umd.edu/gallery.