Galleries

FALL ARTS 2015: galleries and museums

Touchstone multi-medium exhibit among fall highlights

Published

10 years ago

September 10, 2015

Mariah Cooper

‘The Temporary Art Repair Shop’ by Tobias Sternberg at Transformer. (Photo courtesy Transformer)

The District receives a breath of fresh air on the art scene with numerous gallery exhibitions opening for fall viewing.

Touchstone Gallery (901 New York Ave., N.W.) presents three exhibits through Sept. 27. “Layers” is featured in Gallery A with photography, paintings, sculptures, hand-pulled prints, collages and drawings focused on layers of color on display. In Gallery B, “Metropolis” by McCain McMurray, a series of art inspired by cityscapes, is presented. “Quarter Sections” by Janet Wheeler, artwork based on oppositions, repetitions and variations and more, is located in Gallery C. The opening reception for these exhibits is on Sept. 11 from 6-8:30 p.m. There will be an encore reception on Sept. 26 from 2-4 p.m. and an artist talk at 3 p.m.

Bethesda Gallery B (7700 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, Md.) presents a group exhibition of the eight finalists from the Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards through Sept. 26. Finalists include Selin Balci, Lynn Cazabon, Catherine Day, Jason Hughes, Tim Makepeace, Sebastian Martorana, Jonathan Monaghan and Nara Park. First place prize is for $10,000. The opening reception is Sept. 11 from 6-9 p.m.

Adah Rose Gallery (3766 Howard Ave., Kensington, Md.) presents “Scott Hazard: Memory Gardens” from Sept.11-Oct. 31. Hazard’s sculptures are created from torn pieces of paper that are spaced apart and aligned in wood to create a landscape garden of words. This is Hazard’s first gallery show with Adah Rose Gallery.

The National Portrait Gallery (8th and F streets, N.W.) presents “Dark Fields of the Republic: Alexander Gardner Photographs 1859-1872” from Sept. 18-March 13. Gardner’s photographs captured the Civil War, post-Civil War, portraits of American Indians and a rare portrait of Abraham Lincoln.

Studio Gallery (2108 R St., N.W.) presents “Seeing Through the Mind’s Eye” by Deborah Addison Coburn through Sept. 26. The exhibit is a combination of oil and watercolor portraits created with shapes and lines for a geometric take on faces. An artists’ reception will also be on Sept. 19 at 3 p.m.

Hillwood Museum (4155 Linnean Ave., N.W.) presents “Ingenue to Icon: 70 Years of Fashion from the Collection of Marjorie Merriweather Post” with summer fashions showing through Sept. 27 and fall and winter styles on display starting Oct. 1. The collection spans Post’s wardrobe from the 20th century and includes flapper dresses from the 1920s and gowns from the 1950s. General admission tickets are $15, senior tickets are $12, student tickets are $10 and children 6-18 years old are $5. Members and children under 6 years old are free.

Transformer (1404 P St., N.W.) presents “The Temporary Art Repair Shop” by Tobias Sternberg from Oct. 3-30. Sternberg will transform the space into a repair shop and sculptor’s studio. The public is invited to drop off their broken or ugly objects and Sternberg will turn these objects into works of art. If Sternberg chooses to use the object, it will be on display until closing day. The opening reception for the exhibit is Oct. 3 from 6-8 p.m.

The Phillips Collection (1600 21st St., N.W.) presents “Gauguin to Picasso: Masterworks from Switzerland” from Oct. 10-Jan 10. The exhibit pays tribute to Rudolf Staechelin and Karl Im Obersteg both from the city of Basel. They supported Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and School of Paris artists. From their collections, more than 60 paintings from 22 artists will be on display from the mid-19th and 20th centuries. Adult tickets are $12; student and senior tickets are $10. Members and children under 18 years old are free.

Freer and Sackler Galleries (1050 Independence Ave., S.W.) present “Sōtatsu: Making Waves” from Oct. 24-Jan. 31. The exhibit showcases more than 70 works from 17th century Japanese artist Tawaraya Sōtatsu. Works displayed include “Waves at Matsushima,” “Dragons and Clouds” as well as fans, paintings, hanging scrolls and more. Admission is free. For more details, visit asia.si.edu/exhibitions.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts (1250 New York Ave., N.W.) presents “Pathmakers: Women in Art, Craft and Design, Midcentury and Today” from Oct. 30-Feb. 28 featuring multi-media work by Eva Zeisel, Vivianna Torun Bulow-Hube, Rut Bryk, Vivian Beer and many others.

The National Gallery of Art (6th and Constitution Ave., N.W.) has multiple exhibits coming on display this fall. “Woman in Blue Reading a Letter” by Johannes Vermeer, lent from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, is on display from Sept. 19-Dec. 1. “The Serial Impulse at Gemini” will be on display from Oct. 4-Feb. 7. The exhibit showcases 17 artists’ works produced at the Los Angeles print workshop Gemini G.E.L. “Celebrating Photography at the National Gallery of Art: Recent Gifts” will be on display from Nov. 1-March 27. These photographs were all donated to the National Gallery of Art in celebration of the gallery’s 25th anniversary of its photography collection. Admission is free for all exhibits.

‘Belly Button Room Divider Prototype,’ a 1957 ceramic-and-metal rod work. (Photo by Brent Brolin; courtesy of the National Museum of Women in the Arts)

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Galleries

Blockbuster Amy Sherald exhibit opens in Baltimore

Artist has emerged as LGBTQ hero after refusing to cave to censorship

Published

5 days ago

November 3, 2025

Kevin Naff

Amy Sherald at Sunday’s BMA interview. (Blade photo)

Artist Amy Sherald has emerged as a hero in the LGBTQ community following her controversial decision to pull her blockbuster new exhibit “American Sublime” from the National Portrait Gallery in D.C. and move it to Baltimore after Smithsonian officials sought to censor her painting “Trans Forming Liberty.”

That painting depicts transgender model Arewà Basit as the Statue of Liberty, which conflicts with President Trump’s war on DEI and his efforts to erase transgender people from the American narrative.

Sherald issued a statement over the summer that the Smithsonian had “concerns” about the painting. “These concerns led to discussions about removing the work from the exhibition,” Sherald said in the statement. “While no single person is to blame, it is clear that institutional fear shaped by a broader climate of political hostility toward trans lives played a role.”

She said the Smithsonian had proposed including a video in the exhibit that would “contextualize” the painting and likely include anti-trans views. It was then she announced her decision to pull the exhibit entirely and move it to the Baltimore Museum of Art, a major coup for the museum.

*‘Trans Forming Liberty’ by Amy Sherald triggered censorship efforts at the Smithsonian. (Image courtesy Amazon)*

Sherald studied at Baltimore’s Maryland Institute College of Art, which she described as “the best decision I ever made,” during a sold out Q&A on Nov. 2 moderated by the BMA’s director, Asma Naeem. Unfortunately, the subject of censorship and the last-minute decision to move the exhibit to the BMA didn’t come up during the discussion. But Naeem rightly described Sherald as “one of the most important painters of our time.”

“American Sublime,” billed as a mid-career retrospective, features 38 of Sherald’s paintings, including her portraits of former first lady Michelle Obama and Breonna Taylor, along with “Trans Forming Liberty.”

Sherald and Naeem joked throughout the breezy hour-long conversation and reminisced about spending time at MICA and in Baltimore. The artist said she still finds inspiration and even potential portrait subjects in grocery stores and on the streets of Baltimore and New York, where she now lives. Many of the portraits in the exhibit were painted in Baltimore.

Although Sherald and Naeem kept it light and avoided discussing censorship, the one serious and non-negotiable subject Sherald addressed was the paramount importance of integrity. Her insistence on the integrity of the work and the inclusion of trans representation in the exhibit brought her to the difficult decision to pull her work from the Smithsonian. It was a bold and inspiring move in a time when so many public figures, CEOs, and politicians have shown a disappointing and dangerous lack of integrity in the face of an administration that seeks to subvert the Constitution and erode the First Amendment. Sherald stands as a powerful symbol of resistance and, yes, integrity in these dark times. Her refusal to cave to authoritarian impulses and blatant censorship will be remembered for years to come. The nation’s top tech CEOs and congressional leaders should see this exhibit and learn from her brave example.

“American Sublime” is open now through April 5 at the Baltimore Museum of Art and requires a paid ticket for entry. (Admission is free on Thursday evenings and free on Jan. 15 and Feb. 19. The museum is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.) For more information and tickets visit artbma.org.

Galleries

New gallery opening in D.C.

Dandelion Collective exhibition features works by John Von Sauerhoff

Published

1 year ago

August 23, 2024

Tinashe Chingarande

Dandelion Collective, a new space in Columbia Heights for LGBTQ healers and artists, will open on Saturday, Aug. 24 with an opening reception at 2 p.m. at 3417 14th St., N.W.

This first exhibition features the incredible, ethereal artwork of John Von Sauerhoff. His stunning pop surrealist paintings will transport you to another world.

More information is available at dandelioncollectivedc.com/art-gallery.

Galleries

New England art duo to exhibit in Virginia

RufoArt opens at Nepenthe Gallery

Published

2 years ago

July 28, 2023

Tinashe Chingarande

(Photo by New Africa/Bigstock)

New England artists Caroline Rufo and John Rufo, also known as RufoArt will open an exhibition on Thursday, Aug. 10 at 6 p.m. at Nepenthe Gallery.

The husband-and-wife duo will share their paintings and also talk about their inspirations. Caroline explores the natural beauty, ideas, and systems of power that create her surroundings while John works toward an understanding of art as a representation of singular moments of both immediate presence and a larger context of wholeness.

For more details, visit Nepenthe Gallery’s website.