Since 2009’s inception, my curiosity for the wonders of art has grown. Longing to explore the depths of the visual art world has been a new interest of mine. Infatuated with art, I took it upon myself to get into the art community of Baltimore, searching for any and everything that pertains to art. Thankfully, I stumbled onto a fabulous event. It was one that combined the art of photography and love for vintage fashions. Ecstatic at the thought of satisfying my urge for fashion and my new found hunger for art, I instantly jumped at the opportunity to experience a merging of the two.

The Clothing Warehouse, barely a virgin to Baltimore’s fashion landscape, opened in the hip Federal Hill neighborhood in 2007, but has already made their presence aware. The passé essence of the store interests the fashionable citizens of Baltimore and the beautiful vintage fashions offered lures them in to buy. At their gratitude, they have parties for their loyal customers once a month. However, on April 3, 2009, they did something a little different. Wanting to promote a Baltimore artist, they had an exhibition of photographs titled “DANCERS: REVISTED” by local artist Rafael Soldi on exhibit, a first for the Clothing Warehouse.

Born and raised in Peru and now living in the United States for six years, Rafael Soldi is a senior at Maryland Institute College of the Arts, and he is majoring in photography. At the age of twelve, Soldi’s parents gifted him with a camera for him to take along with him on a class trip to an archaic town in Lima. Stricken by the beauty of the architecture of the historic town, Soldi only wanted to take photos of the city and never stopped taking photos since.

Soldi’s project “DANCERS: REVISTED” is a follow up to his previous collection, “Portraits of a Dancer”. Thankfully, Soldi went on to add another visual of dancing, and in the end he made a splendid piece of art. “Seeking to portray dancers as vulnerable and human by way of a simple portrait, I was very interested in portraying the ugliness of the process,” says Soldi.

“DANCERS: REVISTED”, is a marvelous look into the soul of a dancer. Wanting to be more intimate with his work, Soldi used the ancient palladium process which is a more time consuming and tedious technique. Soldi first established a relationship with his new project, falling in love with it came next, and the end result is truly astonishing. Soldi captures the roughness of dance but still exposes elegance in this black and white photo series. With his clean, refined, and sophisticated style (similar to that of the great Coco Chanel), Soldi produces a dignified collection. “I enjoy simple and straight-forward compositions that are almost deadpan and confrontational. I like soft colors and bold shapes/bodies/faces,” Soldi explains.

My artistic appetite was definitely fulfilled by the works of Rafael Soldi and the sights of vintage wares presented by The Clothing Warehouse equally satisfied my thirst for a fashion fix. Rafael Soldi is an artist to watch. With his next voyage of starting a life in the grand New York City, he hopes to flourish in photography and also contribute to helping out other up and coming artists in a non-profit organization. It was a true pleasure to see his art before his departure, and to dance the night away through art.

by Abdu Eaton