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.
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.
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 […]
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’ 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 […]
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.
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, […]
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.
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 […]
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.
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 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 […]
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 […]
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.
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.
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 […]
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 […]
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.
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.
Sculptures and special installations dot the Kreeger’s grounds in a display that demonstrates how art encourages viewers to consider subjects from other perspectives. The eight works in this show were created by DC-area artists. Pictured: "Furies," a wood, steel and ceramic sculpture by DC-based Adam Bradley.
Hung Liu (1948–2021) lived through Mao Zedong’s totalitarian regime before immigrating to the U.S. The museum reveals “weeping” paintings and prints by the artist featuring signature paint drips and layers of color. Inspired by vintage photographs discovered on a trip to China in the 1990s, the works convey the dignity and resilience of her subjects—predominantly […]
French artist Antoinette Bouzonnet-Stella (1641–1676) is best known for a work entitled The Entrance of the Emperor Sigismond into Mantua. This series of 25 prints is on display as part of an exhibit focusing on her life and career in Paris, where she lived and studied in the Louvre with her uncle, artist Jacques Stella. […]
The museum highlights work by 25 influential contemporary artists from the U.S. and around the world. More than 120 selections in an array of media include paintings by DC-based Rozeal and a self-portrait by Baltimore’s John Waters.
An exhibit spotlights Franco-Senegalese artist Alexandre Diop, whose mixed-media creations explore legacies of colonialism and the diaspora.
This show centers on paintingsa by 20th-century icons such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Grant Wood and Hale Woodruff depicting rural scenes and city life in the U.S. In addition, select works by artists affiliated with Washington’s Corcoran Gallery of Art shine a light on that institution’s lasting impact.
Chicago native Simone Leigh explores themes of race, beauty and community in visual and material culture with references to vernacular and handmade processes from across the African diaspora. The Hirshhorn presents sculptures by the artist that were shown at the 2022 Venice Biennale, along with three new bronzes, video, ceramics and other earlier creations.
More than 100 portraits on view of everyday Americans, taken from the Great Depression through the 1960s, are a testament to the prolific American photographer’s ability to capture the character and strength of her subjects. Throughout her 50-year career, Lange (1895–1965) focused her lens on scenes of economic disparity, migration, poverty and racism.
