Since the 16th century, Raku ceramics have been central to Japanese tea culture. Built by hand as opposed to on a potter’s wheel, these vessels continue to inspire artistic creativity. The Freer Gallery displays pieces dating back to the 18th century that exemplify glazes and forms unique to Raku ware.
An exhibit conceived for young museum-goers celebrates the concept of home and the built environment through the lens of children’s literature. Installations featuring classics such as Winnie-the-Pooh, The Hobbit and Harold and the Purple Crayon are designed to spark curiosity and encourage visitors to create stories of their own.
Nearly 100 contemporary works spanning multiple disciplines comprise this collection by more than 40 emerging and established artists—some American by birth and others who have adopted this country as their home.
Two ground-breaking paintings—one by Jean-Michel Basquiat and the other by Banksy—are placed in dialog in the Hirshhorn’s first presentation of either artist’s work. Also on display are 20 small Basquiat pieces made between 1979 and 1985, along with Downtown 81, a film starring Basquiat as a struggling artist.
Could pollution have played a role in the emergence of European modernism in art? This exhibit poses that question using paintings and works on paper by Henri Matisse, Claude Monet and James McNeill Whistler to demonstrate how their artistic styles emerged partially in response to industrial-era smog in London and Paris.
In honor of its 50th anniversary, the Hirshhorn Museum is hosting a landmark exhibition by conceptual artist Adam Pendleton. New and recent paintings and a video work pay homage to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The show is the Richmond native’s first solo exhibit in DC.
This comprehensive show presents 30 rarely seen works by Frida Kahlo supplemented by behind-the-scenes photographs of the enigmatic artist. Vibrant paintings that celebrate her Mexican heritage take center stage, but her backstory of trauma and physical hardship imbues each with a deeper message: the triumph of creativity over adversity.
An installation marks the 40-year anniversary of the anonymous feminist artist collective Guerrilla Girls, known for provocative street campaigns that take on gender inequality through billboards, banners and more. This visual timeline highlights the group’s history and its dedication to effecting change.
Viewers are challenged to make connections between modern and Renaissance art in this exhibit that contrasts paintings by Rozeal and Cezanne with Titian masterpieces. Historic references and other similarities relate these disparate works over centuries.
Twenty large-scale works on view at the NMWA explore Niki de Saint Phalle’s output as a printmaker. For the lively, color-saturated prints, which were made between 1968 and 1970, the artist found inspiration in the female form, the California landscape and mystical Tarot card illustrations.
Latin American works ranging from ancient urns and textiles to contemporary ceramics will be displayed in the Baltimore museum’s newly renovated North Court galleries. Representing 40 different cultures and 4,000 years of history, the show is organized by theme and geographic provenance, and will include bilingual materials for a more immersive experience.
Named for the fertile soil of ancient indigenous civilizations in the Amazon, this show celebrates the splendor of the natural world through works by artists of color and Native identity. Environmental injustice and the legacy of European settlement is examined through paintings, sculptures and films.
This exhibition puts the relationship between art and European natural history under the microscope—specifically the study of insects and small animals. Featuring more than 75 detailed works that inspired generations of printmakers, decorative artists and naturalists alongside specimens and taxidermy from Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, these “little beasts” will likely leave a big […]
