Home & Design Magazine

Across Asia: Arts of Asia and the Islamic World
2023-04-23 - 2024-04-23 | THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM
April 23, ongoing
Featuring some 500 objects from The Walters’ permanent collection, this landmark exhibition illuminates both Asian and Islamic art traditions dating back thousands of years. The historical examples of architecture, calligraphy, lacquerware, painting and sculpture on display represent diverse cultures and regions, from West to South Asia.

1898: U.S. Imperial Visions and Revisions
2023-04-26 - 2024-02-25 | National Portrait Gallery
Marking the 125th anniversary of the Spanish-American War, this exhibit examines the rise of the U.S. as an empire through the lens of portraiture and visual culture. More than 90 works from collections in Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Guam, Spain and the U.S. present an array of viewpoints in a fascinating look back at history.

From the Deep: In the Wake of Drexciya with Ayana V. Jackson
2023-05-01 - 2024-04-29 | National Museum of African Art
In the 1990s, Drexciya, a Detroit-based techno duo, imagined an underwater kingdom populated by the offspring of pregnant women who were either pushed or jumped overboard during voyages of the transatlantic slave trade. Since then, many artists—including Ayana V. Jackson—have conjured their own interpretations of this mythical world. In her first solo museum exhibition, Jackson empowers Drexciya’s denizens of the deep through photography and underwater video in which she depicts herself wearing garments designed by collaborators across the African continent.

Smithsonian Craft Show
2023-05-03 - 2023-05-07 | NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM
Now in its 41st year, the Smithsonian Craft Show will display creations by 120 artists representing all facets of craft and design, from ceramics and basketry to glass, jewelry, furniture, fiber and wearable art. “Celebrating the American Spirit” is the theme of this year’s juried event, which will feature work by 13 Native American and Indigenous artists. Pictured: A ceramic piece by Harlan Reano. Proceeds support educational, research and outreach efforts of the Smithsonian Women’s Committee.

Classical Washington
2023-05-06 - 2023-11-18 | George Washington University Museum and the Textile Museum, 701 21st St NW, Washington, DC 20052
When they envisioned Washington’s architectural profile, America’s Founding Fathers and subsequent leaders frequently invoked Greek and Roman styles as a link to America’s political roots. This exhibit explores depictions of monuments, sculptures and public buildings throughout the nation’s capital that were designed to reflect the classical architecture of these ancient civilizations.

Martha Jackson Jarvis: What the Trees Have Seen
2023-05-07 - 2023-10-01
Martha Jackson Jarvis’ great-great-great-great grandfather, Luke Valentine, was a free Black militiaman who served during the Revolutionary War. In a series of 13 large abstract works on paper, the multi-media artist traces a journey Valentine made from Virginia to South Carolina. The assemblage not only captures shifts in terrain but also the dangers and emotions her ancestor must have experienced along the way.

Robert Houle: Red Is Beautiful
2023-05-25 - 2024-06-02 | National Museum of the American Indian
This retrospective celebrates the 50-year career of Robert Houle (Saulteaux Anishinaabe, Sandy Bay First Nation). Embracing Western and Indigenous artistic traditions, Houle pays homage to the earth, the sacred and the creative moment in his paintings via color, light and gesture.

Brick City
2023-05-27 - 2025-01-01 | NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM
Lego lovers of all ages will delight in an around-the-world tour featuring reproductions of 37 iconic structures and places made entirely of Lego bricks. Edinburgh-based artist Warren Elsmore constructed the intricate models depicting attractions on every continent, from San Francisco’s Painted Ladies to the Shalamar Gardens of Pakistan. Pictured: A model of the Lincoln Memorial, made of 2,000 Lego bricks. https://www.nbm.org/exhibition/brick-city/

Canova: Sketching in Clay
2023-06-11 - 2023-10-09 | National Gallery of Art
Italian Neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova (1757–1822) started each of his masterpieces in marble by producing a model in clay. More than 30 of some 60 surviving clay sketches shed light on the artist’s creative process.

Sharing Honors and Burdens: Renwick Invitational 2023
2023-06-16 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20006
The Renwick Invitational showcases  mid-career and emerging artists deserving wider national recognition. Jurors selected six Native American artists for the 2023 exhibit, which examines the honors and burdens facing Native artists as they express their cultural traditions. Creations on display by Joe Feddersen, Lily Hope, Ursala Hudson, Erica Lord, Geo Neptune and Maggie Thompson address themes of environmentalism, displacement and cultural connectedness.

Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village
2023-06-17 - 2023-09-10 | VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS
This retrospective commemorates the life and work of artist and educator Benjamin Wigfall (1930–2017) in his native Richmond. After launching his career, Wigfall studied at Hampton University and Yale and later became a professor at State University of New York (SUNY), New Paltz. It was there that he founded his studio, Communications Village, as a place for making art and mentoring youth. Showcasing nearly 50 works by Wigfall along with video recordings and a printmaking display, the VMFA paints a picture of the man’s creative and social legacy.

Musical Thinking: New Video Art and Sonic Strategies
2023-06-23 - 2024-01-29 | SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
This show explores the powerful connection between video art and music, showcasing 29 time-based installations by 10 award-winning creators. Harnessing genres from hip-hop and jazz to spirituals and lullabies, the works explore personal and universal themes that form a commentary on contemporary life. This is the museum’s first fully accessible exhibition, designed in conjunction with Gallaudet University to offer layered experiences for deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors.

Jessica Diamond: Wheel of Life
2023-07-14 - 2024-04-28 | Hirshhorn Museum
A text-and-image-based installation by New York conceptual artist Jessica Diamond offers a commentary on American culture and commercialism. Thirteen new wall drawings play off two of Diamond’s preexisting works.

Palace Life Unfolds: Conserving a Chinese Lacquer Screen
2023-07-15 - 2024-01-28 | NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ASIAN ART
The museum spotlights a 12-panel screen depicting women in an imperial palace during the Han dynasty. Visitors will learn about the 1672 screen’s meaning and manufacture as well as about recent conservation efforts to bring its intricate beauty back to life.

The Art of Advertisement: Art Nouveau Posters of the Late 19th Century
2023-07-22 - 2024-01-21 | VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS
The rise of stylized, mass-produced posters in late-19th-century Europe and America blurred the lines between fine and applied art. Works by top French, Belgian, Viennese and American artists emphasized natural beauty in the flowing lines and flourishing patterns of the Art Nouveau movement. These posters represent early depictions of women as fashionable, independent individuals and also heralded a new age in graphic design.

Home Design Inspiration
2023-08-25 | WASHINGTON DESIGN CENTER
The Washington Metro Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) hosts this annual consumer event. Attendees can join seminars, tour Design Center showrooms and register for one-on-one consultations with professional designers.

Handstitched Worlds: The Cartography of Quilts
2023-09-09 - 2023-12-23 | THE GW UNIVERSITY MUSEUM AND THE TEXTILE MUSEUM
By expressing the personal stories and experiences of makers and their communities, quilts often illuminate historical events and cultural trends. Drawn from the collection of New York’s American Folk Art Museum, creations on display range from traditional early-American quilts to contemporary sculptural assemblages. museum.

Cushner
2023-09-09 - 2023-12-10 | AMERICAN UNIVERSITY MUSEUM AT THE KATZEN ARTS CENTER
Mounted in partnership with Hemphill Artworks, this exhibition shines a light on Washington-based artist Steven Cushner, showcasing 34 small-scale works on paper, woodcut prints and large paintings.

Franklin White: An American in Venezuela
2023-09-09 - 2023-12-10 | AMERICAN UNIVERSITY MUSEUM AT THE KATZEN ARTS CENTER
DC artist Franklin White has spent the past two decades in Merida, Venezuela, enamored by its scenery and traditions. The Katzen presents a selection of White’s expansive oil pastels on handmade paper, depicting the mountain village’s natural beauty.

Rachel Rotenberg
2023-09-09 - 2023-12-10 | AMERICAN UNIVERSITY MUSEUM AT THE KATZEN ARTS CENTER
This exhibition focuses on sculptures by Rachel Rotenberg created using cedar planks and other materials. The artist, notes the Katzen, “has managed to build works on a heroic scale without sacrificing intimacy.”

Beyond the Light
2023-09-15 - 2023-12-13 | Artechouse
Science and imagination collide in a mind-bending video experience developed in collaboration with NASA. Exploring light as a thread connecting history, science and technology, the show reimagines cutting-edge processes and discoveries, including newly analyzed galactical data captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.

Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas
2023-09-15 - 2024-06-02 | SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
The museum reflects on the career and work of late African American artist Alma Thomas, who was born in the Jim Crow South but spent most of her life in Washington, DC. The show reveals how Thomas’ materials and techniques continued to evolve until her death in 1978.

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
2023-09-22 - 2024-01-15 | National Gallery of Art
Pieces by some 50 living Native American artists are a testament to indigenous survival and knowledge of the land. Works on view run the gamut from weaving and sculpture to beading, painting and more.

Making Her Mark: A History of Women Artists in Europe, 1400-1800
2023-10-01 - 2024-01-07 | BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART
The museum displays more than 200 objects illustrating the integral role women played in the development of art, culture and commerce over four centuries. This vast display of royal portraits, devotional sculpture, tapestries, printed books, drawings, metalwork, ceramics and furniture made by both acclaimed and amateur women artists dispels the belief of the time that women creators were rare or less talented than their male counterparts.

DC-Metro Modern Home Tour
2023-10-07
The Modern Architecture + Design Society and listModern host a celebration of residential modern architecture and design. From DC to Arlington and McLean to Chevy Chase, come see the inside and out of some of DMV's most unique modern homes; meet the local architects, designers, and builders that created the homes; and find some inspiration or a partner for your next project. Pictured: A renovation by Alair Homes.

African Modernism in America, 1947-67
2023-10-07 - 2024-01-07 | The Phillips Collection
Featuring more than 70 creations by 50 artists, this exhibition explores art networks and exchanges between Africa and the U.S. during the postwar period. Organized into four parts, it reveals the depth of experimentation and diverse artistic practices that emerged in Africa in those years and the connections that challenged academic assumptions and biases.

Park Chan-kyong: Gathering
2023-10-07 - 2024-10-13 | NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ASIAN ART
Inaugurating its new modern and contemporary galleries, the museum spotlights the photographic work of Park Chan-kyong—the Korean artist’s first solo exhibit at a major U.S. institution. Visually powerful still and moving images examine South Korea’s complex history, from the impact of rapid socioeconomic development to effects of the Cold War on politics and society.

Etched by Light: Photogravures from the Collection, 1840–1940
2023-10-15 - 2024-02-04 | National Gallery of Art
This exhibit chronicles an early chapter in photography, when innovators perfected a way to etch a photographic image into a copperplate and print it in ink. Resulting images dazzled viewers with their delicate highlights and rich tonal range—and the process of photogravure was born. More than 45 photogravures will be shown along with bound-volume examples of the medium.

Forces of Nature: Voices that Shaped Environmentalism
2023-10-20 - 2024-09-02 | National Portrait Gallery
The gallery shines a light on scientists, politicians, activists, writers and artists who played a pivotal role in the conservation movement from the late 19th century until today. Showcasing more than 25 portraits of thought leaders ranging from Henry David Thoreau to Maya Lin, the exhibit also addresses issues of environmental justice, biodiversity and climate.

Sky’s the Limit
2023-10-21 - 2024-02-25 | NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS
Fresh from a two-year renovation, the museum marks its reopening with a dramatic exhibit featuring contemporary sculpture and immersive installations created over the past two decades by 13 women artists. More than 30 works of art, many monumental in scale, will dangle from the ceiling, cascade down walls and extend across the gallery floors.
