Marcus Brutus sets a scene with sound. I didn't quite realize this as much as when I saw the works in Lotus Blossom, an exhibition that shares its title with the jazz record by the late trumpeter and composer, Kenny Dorham. Brutus, through five exhibitions at Harper's, is a timeless painter, scenes that betray a specific time but also have a quality that it really doesn't matter. They are between time, sort of floating outside the clock. The figures have determined faces, whether giving a haircut, playing tennis or skating. As the gallery notes, "As if beckoning the quick-paced change that comes with regrowth, the artist’s bold mark-making echoes the fearless dispositions of these subjects." And that is where Marcus stays inside and outside of time. They are dedicated to making time. —Evan Pricco