FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Corey Frier- Ritsch
cfrier@everymantheatre.org
Everyman Theatre Presents The Works of Vivian Fliegel
an Art Exhibition in Conjunction with August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson
On exhibit August 31- September 28
BALTIMORE, MD – Everyman Theatre is excited to announce the reopening of its Visual Arts Gallery for the 2025/2026 season. The gallery’s return celebrates local artists and the community, beginning with The Works of Vivian Fliegel, an exhibition presented in conjunction with the theater’s production of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson.
The exhibition, which showcases the mixed-media collage work of the late artist, Vivian Fliegel, will be on display in the Martha and Stan Weiman Mezzanine from August 31 to September 28, 2025, mirroring the run of the play.
Vivian Fliegel, a New York City native and longtime Baltimore resident, created intricate and evocative collages that explored themes of history, memory, and inherited stories. Her work’s thematic connection to the play’s core questions about legacy, family history, and the connection to the past, making her work the perfect artistic companion for The Piano Lesson. The exhibition will feature 11 pieces that thematically connect to the play’s narratives.
Fliegel’s use of collage as a storytelling medium also echoes the work of Romare Bearden, a major influence on the playwright, August Wilson. Bearden, who worked as a cartoonist for the Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper from 1935-1937 and whose artwork “The Piano Lesson” inspired August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name (which is set in the 1930s), remains a pivotal figure in American art and culture. Like Bearden, Fliegel also pieced together fragments of images, paint, and other media to form a larger, more complex story, creating a visual language that invites its audience into a place where shared memories and imagination collide. The exhibition aims to provide a visual companion to the theatrical experience, allowing audiences to explore the play’s themes through a different lens.
” There is something very special about featuring Vivian Fliegel’s stunning work as a complement to our production of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson,” said Joseph W. Ritsch, Everyman Theatre’s Director of Education. “Her art, like August Wilson’s play, speaks to the many layers of community and personal histories. This exhibition speaks to both Fliegel’s and Wilson’s love of Romare Beardon’s work and how both were inspired by him with their own work.”
The exhibition is open during all 31 scheduled performances of The Piano Lesson and will be on display during a special artist reception with some of the late artist’s family and friends on Monday, September 8, from 5:30pm-8:30pm., and during fall edition of Bromo Arts District Art Walk on Thursday, September 11,from 5-7 p.m., before that evening’s performance of the play. This vibrant, multi-sensory event showcases the district’s rich creative community with open galleries, live performances, and installations throughout downtown Baltimore.
By engaging with local artists, Everyman extends the themes of its season of plays beyond the stage and draws direct connections to the city of Baltimore. Everyman is deeply invested in creating imaginative spaces for all artists to express themselves. The gallery space is a hub of inspired talent through the lens of visual art. To learn more information about future gallery artists this season, please visit- Visual Arts Gallery | Everyman Theatre
ARTIST STATEMENT –VIVIAN FLEIGAL
Whether expressing the joy of innocence or the sorrow of degradation, the fragmentation of the images in my work exposes the human condition through collage. The emotional complexity in my pieces draws the viewer in. We are all products of our environment and the multi-layering in this medium allows the viewer to search my collages for something to relate. A hand gesture, a facial expression or an object can transpose as an abstract image yet invoking a memory from the past and becoming a visual reality. The manipulation and distortion of these themes and repetition of images emphasize imperfections in the world around us. Although the technique of collage is inherently random, the compositional objectives in my work are highly controlled. The juxtaposition of real images to color abstractions or textures is used to heighten the tension between the viewer and the work. By the continuous layering of materials – whether paper, metal or mixed media – a metamorphosis occurs from a two-dimensional collage into a three-dimensional sculptural form, thus creating a compelling effect through light, depth and shadow. Examples of Fliegel’s Collage Work