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FALL ARTS PREVIEW 2017: Galleries

Unclear how LGBT issues will be addressed at Mall’s new Bible museum

Published

8 years ago

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gallery, galleries, gay news, Washington Blade

‘The Ship of Tolerance’ by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov. (Photo courtesy Hirshhorn Museum)

Touchstone Gallery (901 New York Ave., N.W.) presents “About Face: Reversals and Undoings” in Gallery A, “Ordered Complexities” by Patricia Williams in Gallery B and “Physiognomy” by Tim Johnson on display through Monday, Oct. 1. “About Face: Reversals and Undoings” features work from Touchstone Gallery members will explore reversals in points of view, position or attitude through the use of prints, paintings, sculpture and more. Williams’ exhibit will combines science, math and creativity into paintings. Johnson’s exhibit will display a collection of recent small scale portraits. Admission is free. For details, visit touchstonegallery.com.

Vivid Solutions Gallery (1231 Good Hope Rd., S.E.) displays “Black Dolls” by Mirtho Linguet through Saturday, Oct. 7. The exhibit examines white supremacy in French Guiana through photographs featuring women standing and sitting in lingerie in both man-made and natural environments. Free admission. For more details, visit anacostiaartscenter.com/vivid.

Black Rock Center for the Arts (12901 Town Commons Dr., Germantown, Md.) presents “Farm to Gallery: the Countryside Artisans” Sept. 16-Oct. 28. The artwork will reflect on farming heritage and the rural landscape from their studios, workshops and farms. Featured artists include Lori Baker, Tina Thieme Brown, Dalis Davidson, among others. Community Art Day: From the Countryside will be on Saturday, Sept. 23 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. There will art making activities, tours of the exhibit and artist demonstrations. For more information, visit blackrockcenter.org.

The National Gallery of Art (Sixth and Constitution Ave., N.W.) showcases “Posing for the Camera: Gifts from Robert B. Menschel” on Sunday, Sept. 17-Jan. 28. The collection of 60 photographs explores how the act of posing for a portrait shifted from the time photography was first invented in the early 1840s through the 1990s. For details, visit nga.gov.

Art All Night, a free overnight arts festival, takes place across Congress Heights, Dupont Circle, H Street, North Capitol and Shaw on Saturday, Sept. 23 from 7 p.m.-3 a.m. The local arts scene will be on display in the forms of painting, photography, dance, theater, film, poetry and more. LGBT artists Michael Crossett, Charlie Gaynor, Branddave, Stephen Benedicto, Betto Ortiz and Colin Winterbottom will have their work displayed as part of the Mid City Artists showcase at 1911 9th St., N.W. LGBT artist Lisa Marie Thalhammer will also display her rainbow-panel “Love” mural at Blagden Alley in the Shaw neighborhood. For a complete list of displayed artwork and activities. For more details, visit artallnightdc.com.

Newseum (555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) brings back its popular exhibit, “Creating Camelot: the Kennedy Photography of Jacques Lowe,” Sept. 29–Jan. 7. More than 70 selected images, taken by Kennedy’s personal photographer, displays John F. Kennedy, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy and their children, Caroline and John, in private and public life. Adult tickets, from ages 19-64, are $24.95, senior tickets for 65 and older are $19.95, youth tickets for ages seven-18 are $14.95 and children 6 and younger are free. For more information, visit newseum.org.

The George Washington University Museum and the Textile Museum (701 21st St., N.W.) presents “Fashion Show: Scraps on the Runway,” on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. Student designers will present their fashion creations from upcyling materials. Museum member tickets are $25 and non-museum member tickets are $25. For more details, visit museum.gwu.edu/programs.

Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (1661 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) displays “Murder Is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death” Oct. 20-Jan. 28. The doll-sized reimaginings of true crime scenes from the first half of the 20th century are still used in forensic science training today. While the scenes are based on real cases, Lee added some imaginative details. Free admission. For more information, visit americanart.si.edu/exhibitions.

Museum of the Bible (409 Third St., S.W.) holds its grand opening on Friday, Nov. 17. “Passages,” a 30,000-square-foot, interactive exhibit that includes more than 400 rare biblical texts and artifacts, will be featured. Artifacts included in the exhibit will be first editions of the King James Bible, Torah scrolls that survived the Holocaust, the world’s smallest Bible and more.

No word yet on how LGBT issues may or may not be addressed. The Green family of Hobby Lobby fame is behind it though museum personnel say it will be apolitical and will not proselytize. Admission is free, but timed tickets are required for entry. For more information visit museumofthebible.org.

National Building Museum (401 F St., N.W.) showcases “Making Room: Housing for a Changing America” from Nov. 18-Sept. 16, 2018. The exhibit pulls inspiration from the changing lifestyle of American households including a rise in shared living, an affordable housing crisis and an increase in multi-generational households. A micro unit living space will be redesigned to accommodate an extended family, a retired couple and roommates. For more information, visit nbm.org.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Independence Ave., and Seventh St., N.W.) presents  “The Utopian Projects” by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov through March 4, 2018. Inspired by living in the Soviet Union, their installations span between 1985 until present day. Monuments, commissioned outdoor works, architectural structures and more are featured combined with lights, motors, text and music. For more details, visit hirshhorn.si.edu.

Zenith Gallery showcases “Black Artists of Today: Reinventing Tomorrow,” a collection of contemporary African and African American art, at the Sculpture Space (1111 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) through Jan. 6. Doba Afolabi, Akili Ron Anderson, Mason Archie and more will be featured. There will be a “meet-the-artists” reception on Wednesday, Sept. 20 from 5-8 p.m. For more information, visit zenithgallery.com.

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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

4 weeks ago

on

November 3, 2025

By

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.

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Galleries

New gallery opening in D.C.

Dandelion Collective exhibition features works by John Von Sauerhoff

Published

1 year ago

on

August 23, 2024

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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. 

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Galleries

New England art duo to exhibit in Virginia

RufoArt opens at Nepenthe Gallery

Published

2 years ago

on

July 28, 2023

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(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.

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