Arts Agenda: Outside the Box
>>The National Academy of Sciences is running an exhibition meant to “tickle your senses.” Patricia Olynyk’s installation, Sensing Terrains, merges scanning electron micrographs – of wild mouse taste buds, for example – with macro photographs of Japanese gardens where the particular sense was triggered. Wonder if she’s got a piece on toad licking... 2100 C St NW, Rotunda Gallery. Open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Runs until June 16.
>>Does the onset of summer have you gasping for more greenery than our fair city can provide? Take a ride up to Wheaton for the day to check out the Brookside Gardens’ 50-acre display. Not only will you get your fill of begonias and butterflies, but a step inside the Visitor’s Center reveals two ongoing art shows – Concetta Scott’s The Garden as Metaphor and the Laurel Art Guild’s Spring Flowers & Landscapes. If your botanical muse is inspired, save your pennies for the Brookside’s art classes, which begin in August, and by this time next year you might have your own masterpiece hanging on their wall. 1800 Glenallan Ave., Wheaton, MD. Gardens open daily from sunrise to sunset; Visitor’s Center open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Current shows run until June 24.
>>If you’re tired of running to Starbucks for another burnt cup of joe just to escape from your downtown office for a minute, next time try stepping over to the Italian Cultural Institute, which is currently featuring the works of Achille Perilli. The show includes works on paper from 1946 to 1957 from this well-known Italian abstract painter’s private collection. 2025 M Street NW, Suite 610. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. Runs until June 23.
>>Visit the National Building Museum to check out Newer Orleans: A Shared Space, an exhibit by six design firms that have proposed new concepts for rebuilding the city. Taking into account “the water and the land, the social and the political, and a possible architectural language for future structures,” these designs might just seem familiar a few years from now while walking down the rebuilt streets of New Orleans. While you’re at the Museum, keep Al Gore’s dream alive by checking out The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design. When your electric bill skyrockets during the next summer heat wave, you might be glad you took some notes. 401 F Street NW. Open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Don't forget the ongoing shows at Flashpoint, Hirshhorn, G Fine Art, Katzen Art Center, Hemphill, and lastly, Irvine Contemporary, which closes June 10.