On Display June 16 – July 31 in Our Virtual Gallery

Notification was made May 22, 2025

Virtual Gallery    Sales Gallery    Artists In This Show    Watch The Juror Talk          

Introducing At Play

All good things don’t really have to come to an end, re-live your happiest moments within your art! Remember those hot summer days at the pool? Or the sandcastles you built with friends as kids? Art is the best way to preserve these memories, as you can paint, sculpt, or digitalize your happiest moments. Take some time to tap into your inner child and paint when you or others were “At Play”. Any original 2D or 3D work that follows our exhibition guidelines will be considered. This includes works selected by the juror which will be exhibited in Maryland Federation of Art’s (MFA) first At Play Exhibition through our Virtual Gallery from June 16 – July 31, 2025.

Click this icon to view and print the downloadable prospectus.

Juror: Lyndon Barrois Jr.: Assistant Professor of Art at Carnegie Mellon University

Lyndon Barrois Jr. (b. New Orleans, LA) is an artist based in Pittsburgh, PA and an Assistant Professor of Art at Carnegie Mellon University. He is half of LAB-D, with artist Addoley Dzegede, with whom he has collaboratively staged four exhibitions, and co-authored a book of essays (Elleboog, at the Jan van Eyck Academie in 2019).

He uses cinema as a means to travel both temporally and geographically, bringing to mind ideas of anachronism, simultaneity, and reanimation. Looking at branding strategies of old cinema—along with the phased-out profession of shooting film stills—he considers these methods ways to represent a film that has yet to be seen. He is currently undergoing a project that uses the heist film and museum context to contend with legacies of colonial extraction. Another ongoing body of work investigates how fashion images function as constructed figments of the imagination onto which we project our desires and lived realities. In various ways, Barrois navigates questions around color, control, taste, waste, and the layering of information.

Barrois Jr. received his MFA from Washington University in St. Louis (2013), and his BFA in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore (2006). He has completed residencies at LATITUDE Chicago, Loghaven, the Van Eyck Academie in Maastricht (Netherlands), Fogo Island Arts in Newfoundland, and the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, Ireland.

Juror’s Statement

It has been a pleasure to serve as juror for At Play, and I’m grateful to the Maryland Federation of Art for the opportunity to engage with such a dynamic and heartfelt collection of work. The invitation to explore themes of memory, imagination, and childhood joy offered a compelling lens through which to view contemporary artistic practice—one rooted in accessibility, vulnerability, and wonder.

In reviewing submissions, I was drawn to pieces that captured a sense of spontaneity or emotional immediacy—those that invited me to consider what it means to revisit moments of uninhibited creativity. While some works approached the theme literally, depicting scenes of leisure or play, others embraced abstraction or symbolism, challenging us to consider how we construct memory and nostalgia through visual language.

The selected works span diverse media and approaches, yet are united by a spirit of experimentation and sincerity. Many of the artists used play not only as subject matter but as method—embracing process-based techniques, vibrant palettes, or unconventional materials to tap into a more intuitive or childlike mode of creation.

Ultimately, At Play reminds us that play is not a passive retreat into the past, but an active engagement with the present. It is a tool for processing, healing, questioning, and reimagining. I hope viewers will find themselves smiling, reminiscing, and maybe even feeling the urge to create as they move through this exhibition.

Awards

Juror’s Choice

  • Kids with Masks by Christopher Lonegan
  • Camp by Max Peterson
  • Staying Young At Heart by Linda Popp
  • First Line by Jennifer Rynbrandt
  • In the Game by Charlie Smith

Honorable Mention

  • Underwater by Angela DiCicco
  • Made with Love by Kendra Lee
  • The Money Tree by Patrick McLane
  • True Croquet by Sherry Sherwood

Information for Accepted Artists

Exhibition Schedule

Exhibition Schedule:

  • Feb 25 Online Entry Opens for Submissions
  • May 7 Entry Deadline
  • May 22 Notification @ 5 PM
  • Jun 16 Exhibition Opens
  • Jul 1 Awards Announced @ 5 PM
  • Jul 31 Last Day of the Exhibition

Liability

Liability

MFA shall not be liable for any special or consequential damages that result from the use of, or inability to use, MFA’s online exhibition gallery.

Sales

Sales

  • Only artists in the 48 contiguous United States may set a price. MFA will reimburse appropriate shipping costs to those artists for online sales shipments.
  • Artists will retain 80% from sales (85% for MFA Members). MFA will retain 20% commission (15% for MFA Members) on any work sold through MFA. The sale of artwork is taxable, and all sales tax processing will be handled by MFA. Artists will be responsible for fulfillment of sales.
  • The sale of artwork is taxable and all sales tax processing will be handled by MFA.
  • All other artists must enter Price on Request (POR) and purchase inquiries will be referred by MFA to the artist.
  • MFA asks that artists donate 20% from any sale made through a direct referral from MFA within three months. All donations are used to help defray operating costs of Maryland Federation of Art and are tax-deductible by the artists to the full extent of the law.

Notification

All entrants will receive notification by email. Accepted artists will also be posted on MFA’s website. Artists who have unsubscribed from MFA emails will not receive notification. The notice to accepted artists will include specific details and could vary from the prospectus. Please set your email account to recognize amani@mdfedart.org and info@mdfedart.org. Contact Circle Gallery if you do not receive notice by 6 PM on the day of notification.