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.
This retrospective celebrates three decades of innovation by fiber artist DY Begay, whose work marries her traditional Diné upbringing on the Navajo Nation reservation with a modern, experimental handling of fiber. Forty-eight tapestries are on view.
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.
About 40 paintings, prints and drawings from the BMA’s collection explore the roles of water and landscape in defining the early modern Dutch Republic. Pieces by luminaries such as Frans Hals, Rembrandt van Rijn and Jacob van Ruisdael will be on view.
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.
Sea Cloud, a windjammer that was once the world’s largest sailing yacht, was commissioned by Marjorie Merriweather Post and her husband, E.F. Hutton, in the early 20th century and survives today as a luxury cruiseliner. Its story is presented through documents, photographs, decorative arts, paintings and more.
Acquired by the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, 35 vibrant quilts honor Black history and culture. The collection celebrates the legacy of the Women of Color Quilters Network, founded in 1985 so that isolated makers could connect and pass on their textile traditions. americanart.
The career of Art Nouveau illustrator and designer Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) is the subject of an exhibit that explores the development of his style and its impact, from the psychedelic album covers of the 1960s and ’70s to today’s Japanese manga artists.
In 1925, George Hewitt Myers founded The Textile Museum to showcase his global collection of carpets and textiles. This show will bring together iconic pieces from the museum’s coffers as it launches its centennial year.
The idea of perception versus reality informs this exhibit of painting, sculpture, photography, works on paper and video by women artists spanning the Surrealist movement to the present. Art by Louise Bourgeois, Laurie Simmons and many more subverts gender stereotypes and explores feminist issues, expressing an overall mood of existential unease.
Dedicated to visionary artist and activist Elizabeth Catlett, this retrospective showcases the Howard University grad’s legacy through more than 150 politically engaged works, including sculpture, prints, rare paintings, drawings and ephemera depicting the Black American experience.
For the first time in nearly 50 years, 14 larger-than-life cotton cloth paintings—known as pichwais—depicting the god Krishna go on view at the Sackler Gallery. Dating from the 18th to 20th centuries, these works celebrate the Hindu Pushtimarg tradition through colorful, vibrant representations.
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.
For more than 40 years, sculptor Chakaia Booker has created monumental, abstract works of art from discarded rubber tires. This exhibit, which includes three large-scale wall relief pieces as well as black-and-white photography, explores climate change and the state of the environment.
In its ninth year, this day-long event features nearly a dozen stops at the town’s most notable homes and gardens, with a focus on historic and contemporary architecture and new developments. Proceeds benefit the Falls Church Education Foundation.
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.
This annual self-guided tour gives attendees the opportunity to step inside some of the most impressive homes and gardens in Georgetown. It also highlights the neighborhood’s charm and history—and constant evolution. A parish tea at St. John’s Episcopal Church follows.
For one week every spring, Virginia’s only statewide house and garden tour offers visitors insider access to private landscapes, public gardens and historic sites across the Commonwealth. Adding to the splendor, the Garden Club of Virginia will contribute more than 1,000 fresh floral arrangements to the tour’s 29 properties.
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.
Hosted by All Hallows Guild, this annual flower sale and spring event has been the primary fundraiser for the Cathedral’s gardens and grounds since 1939. This year’s theme is “In Living Color.” Vendors and food stalls offer a wide array of goods and treats in addition to fresh blooms, so there’s something for everyone.
On select Saturdays in May and June, tour-goers can experience historic structures, homes and gardens in five different parts of Maryland, including Queen Anne’s, Southern Anne Arundel, St. Mary’s, Washington and Prince George’s counties.
