Loring Cornish's MosaicsLoring Cornish

Mosaic artist Loring Cornish began covering the interior of his residence in Los Angeles with a collage of found objects, drawing the attention of the LA community. As Cornish moved back to his home-state of Maryland, his acclaim in California (unknown to him) spread to the east coast. In his Baltimore home, Cornish continued the process he had started in LA, piecing together broken glass and tile to encrust every available surface. Variations of his mosaics consist of other acquired objects such as pennies, landlines, and even shoes. 

After completing work on his own residence, Cornish expanded his projects creating installations around Baltimore, like the mosaicked police substation on the corner of Charles and Lavalle streets. As his work became less bound to interior walls, Cornish started to create his art on panels, leading to the inclusion of his work in galleries and exhibitions. An exhibition of Cornish’s art entitled “In Each Other's Shoes” explores civil rights and the parallels of Jewish and African-American struggles in America. Drawing on the ideas of peace and solidarity, Cornish uses mosaics and collages of found objects to depict movement leaders and phrases related to Jewish identity. 

As a result of Cornish’s exploration of the relationship between Black and Jewish Americans, much of his work is driven by the desire to rebuke the antisemitic views that have begun to infiltrate popular consciousness, particularly within the Black community according to Corning. A gallery named “Shalom” continues Cornish’s examination into Black and Jewish relations, as the second gallery under his direction, the first being called “How Great Thou Art,”a multi-story art space filled with all of Corning’s creations. The Shalom gallery is the most recent of Cornish’s ventures, continuing a tradition of pushing boundaries and bridging gaps with mosaic art. 

~Nikki Ranney, 2023

Sources:

JHU's Evergreen Museum gives Loring Cornish's art 'a whole new life' | Hub 

Loring Cornish (avam.org)

Loring Cornish fights antisemitism with mosaic art and a bit of ‘Shalom’ - The Baltimore Banner

Loring Cornish / How Great Thou Art Historical Marker (hmdb.org)

Loring Cornish | Smithsonian American Art Museum (si.edu)

Outsider Folk Art Gallery - Outsider Art | Loring Cornish | Biography

Nikki Ranney

Glass, Mirrors, Tile, Found Objects

Baltimore, MD us
Latitude/Longitude: 39.2903848 / -76.6121893

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