The first major exhibition in ten years by painter Jimmy Rouse is a testament to the enduring power of representational painting to describe the world, and its potential to address contemporary themes. People, Things & Places demonstrates the artist’s range and development over time, for whom the act of painting is always about learning, exploring the medium, and understanding both his inner and outer worlds. Self portraits capture his often mischievous, occasionally cranky stare, and still-lifes, portraits of bohemian friends and landscapes of old Fells Point are suffused with the soft, clear light of Sisley or Seurat. Rouse’s real power, however, is reserved for his larger figurative paintings, where he and longtime muse Ava Oelke often reenact compositions from baroque masters or the artist’s imagination to eerie effect. One time owner of Louie’s Bookstore Café, longtime presence at Martick’s Restaurant Francais, a leader of the Charles Street Development Corp during its heyday as a gallery district, and the son of visionary developer James W. Rouse, Rouse has been a jovial force-to-be-reckoned-with on the city’s cultural scene for over three decades.

Two public programs capture a sense of Rouse’s place in Charm City’s social and gustatory history. Food + Art: Stories from Louie’s and Martick’s revisits two legendary Baltimore establishments, where food and artists have commingled for over forty years. A gathering of folks who were there (and who wasn’t?) share stories and invite you to bring your own. The exhibition opens with a party featuring Jimmy’s fave dance band Mambo Combo, retro and original songs by Ava Oelke, and catering by On the Hill that does justice to Rouse’s other role as a pioneer of Baltimore dining.

On view May 3-31.