CAMBRIDGE, Maryland – The Main Street Gallery in Cambridge is pleased to present in its fall exhibition “Cooking Up Some Art,” a collaborative exhibition of 11 guest artists who are friends and have been members of a cooking group for over 30 years. The artists work in a variety of media including painting, book arts, photography, digital art, printmaking, collage, sculpture and textile arts. Although their subject matter varies widely, at least one paints delicious oil paintings of food. The guests will exhibit alongside the eight artists who are members of the gallery.
The group began in the Washington, D.C. area when its founder, the late Michael B. Platt, a renowned artist and art professor at Howard University and Northern Virginia Community College, suggested that some of his artist friends and art students all get together to cook together. Back then, a cooking event lasted a whole day, as the group would meet early to shop at markets, grocery stores, and specialty shops, then head to people’s homes to spend the rest of the day cooking and enjoying their feast.
The group also sometimes traveled to members’ summer homes on the Shenandoah and Choptank Rivers, where swimming, kayaking, fishing and sailing were also part of the program. In those early days, there was a rule established by Platt that they could only cook foods they had never eaten before. This resulted in some dinners featuring venison, wild fish and exotic side dishes. Although the group no longer strictly adheres to this rule, their dinners are reportedly still very creative. For their last meeting, they recreated dishes from their individual travels.
The meal sparked lively conversations over dinner about places they’ve visited, the DC art scene, and memories of past dinners. “There’s always a lot of food and a lot of laughter at our dinners,” says member artist Randi Trinka. “Over the past 30-plus years, we’ve had so many crazy, unforgettable times together and it’s always great fun to reminisce. And of course, we always remember Mike Platt, the creative guy who brought us all together.”
