Culture House is pleased to present Andrea Limauro’s American Civil War. The exhibition is on view from July 31 - August 28, 2021, and is open to the public each Saturday from 12 pm – 3 pm. No appointments are required. The artist will be present to meet with visitors during the opening reception on Saturday, July 31st from 1-3 pm. Virtual talks will be announced during the course of the exhibition. 

American Civil War is a body of work created during the tumultuous last year by Italian-born and Silver Spring, MD-based artist Andrea Limauro. Limauro speculates that the bloodiest conflict fought by the United States did not end in 1865 at Appomattox Court House. Instead, the fight over equal rights moved to a prolonged 150 year “cold war” that culminated but did not end with confederate flag waving rioters storming the Capitol on January 6 of 2021. The end of the Civil War provided no real closure for the country as the leaders and symbols of the Confederacy suffered little or no consequences and were instead allowed to shape the body politic of the post-conflict South, and the nation generally, for decades. Thus, the battle for the soul of the nation would rage on through the Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights movement, and is still reflected in the contemporary Unite the Right and Black Lives Matter rallies.

Limauro’s works explore how, in modern times, the battles of the American Civil War are fought, not in trenches by two conventional armies, but instead, by proxy groups featuring the likes of, on one side, militias, KKK members, certain local police and federal agents and, on the other, Black Lives Matter and ANTIFA protesters. Today’s Antietams and Gettysburgs are fought with laws and law enforcement, courts and Congress, presidential campaigns and protest signs, pop culture and billboards, protests and acts of terrorism, acts of individual resistance and defiance.

About the Artist

Andrea Limauro is a visual artist and city planner whose work explores migration and migrant identity issues, nationalistic narratives, gun violence, climate change, and other social topics. Limauro’s work has been exhibited at the Art Museum of the Americas, IA&A Hillyer, and Touchstone Gallery in Washington, DC, the Annapolis Maritime Museum in Maryland, and the Arlington Art Center in Virginia. In 2022, Limauro's paintings will be featured in New American Paintings, No. 148, South Issue, and Studio Visit Magazine Volumes 49 & 50. His exhibitions have been reviewed by the Washington Post and the Washington City Paper. Limauro was a Finalist for the Albero Andronico Art Award in Rome, Italy (2019) and a Semi-Finalist for the Bethesda Painting Awards in Maryland (2020). He serves as a Board Member of the Washington Project for the Arts. Limauro holds a BA in Politics and Sociology from Essex University, UK, a Graduate Diploma in International Development from the University of Padua, Italy, and a Masters Degree in Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The gallery is open to the public from July 31 - August 28, 2021, on Saturdays from 12-3 pm and by appointment. For the safety of our community and staff, all staff and visitors will be required to wear a mask. A maximum of ten visitors will be allowed at a time and must sign in before entering the gallery.