Results tagged “hirshhorn”

As an artist looked on as a leading figure in 20th century art, Louise Bourgeois has enjoyed an incredible 70 year career. From her early influences of Surrealism to her Feminist works, Bourgeois uses memory and emotion to create thought provoking motifs and dramatic sculpture. At the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Bourgeois' lengthy and successful career is highlighted in a major retrospective of her work.

Tyler Green at Modern Art Notes has the scoop that the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden has finally named a new director. Former director Olga Viso left the institution almost a year and a half ago, leaving chief curator Kerry Brougher at the helm as acting director in the interim. Richard Koshalek will now officially take the position, and Green notes new the Smithsonian trend in the "hiring of late-career executives," with the 67-year old Koshalek's resume with 20 years at MOCA in Los Angeles, working his way up to director and, most recently, as president of the Art Center College of Design. No word on Koshalek's start date.

DCist's guide to lectures and discussions in the D.C. area

If you head out anywhere for art this weekend, make it the Hirshhorn. As you enter you'll see the new installation of Louise Bourgeois' Crouching Spider, which the artist describes as "a defense against evil." (Bourgeois, who turns 97 on Christmas Day, has a retrospective coming to the Hirshhorn in February.) Inside, starting next Monday, see the exhibit in the Black Box new media space, featuring video work by Ori Gersht.

         

"Make it epic!" Dan Deacon's roadie was yelling in my ear as he held up a stack of stage monitors, working to keep the speakers upright despite the mass of bodies pummeling into them. He wanted me to take a shot of Deacon's so-called Trippy Green Skull — an object that often stands in for the man himself at his absurdly egalitarian shows, due to the fact that it's just about the only thing than can be seen from a distance of more than a few feet — from behind. That way, he reasoned, you'd be able to see the crowd spazzing out from the glowing skull's perspective. There was only one problem: I was standing just a few inches from the skull and had only packed a 50mm lens: not exactly ideal conditions for taking a wide-angle shot. While I may have failed terribly at 'making it epic,' Deacon did not, fighting against all odds to turn in a set on Friday night that was almost impossibly energetic, given the circumstances.

If you go to Hirshhorn After Hours tonight, be sure to check out the Amy Sillman exhibit while you’re there. If tonight’s not in the cards, Third Person Singular runs through July 6th, so you’ve got some time.

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is showing pieces they’ve recently added to their collection with Recent Acquisitions, a show that underscores the direction the museum is moving in terms of collecting, and draws attention to the work of the Contemporary Acquisitions Council (CAC). The CAC helped bring Radiant, a stand-out work by New York-based artist Alyson Shotz, to the museum.

Though it’s a slow time for D.C. museums right now, with many exhibits seeing their final days and new ones opening in February, it’s still possible to see some new art, and art that’s here to stay — the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden has filled its lower galleries with Currents: Recent Acquisitions, pieces that have been acquired by the museum since 2004.