Jon Malis, Unknown Specimen, 2011, Inkjet print of scanned 4×5 negative mounted on aluminim composite material.

With this being the weekend that jump starts summer, the arts calendar is a little lighter than usual, though curiously full of science.

>> American University student and one of our DCist Exposed winners Jon Malis hosts the reception for his MFA thesis show reMind on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. During his semester-in-residence at George Washington University, Malis was part of a team documenting the move of Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital to their new facilities when several wooden crates were discovered in an autopsy room. Their contents – hundred-year-old glass slides of brain sections – quickly became an obsession, both visually as the object and as containers of memories and passing time, and Malis began photographing them. This collection of photographs considers the implications of changing interpretations and perceptions of what was once considered a document of absolute precision, now replaced by newer technology and left to decay. The exhibit will be on view through June 4 in Gallery 102, Smith Hall of Art, 801 22nd Street NW. Free.

>> Tonight is the opening reception and artist talk for From Color to Form currently on view at The Heurich Gallery. David Carlson’s layered paintings express the natural environment, cultures and personal experiences through geometric forms and implied time and space. A love of candy, neon colors, and fiber optic light is the inspiration behind the the organic shapes and colorful palettes of Suzanna Fields’ work, which are actually beads of acrylic paint painstakingly applied to create lively, sculptural paintings. 5:30 to 7 p.m. at 505 9th Street NW. Free.

>> My favorite part of a beach at night is how the water and sand shimmer as the waves break and recede, disturbing the tiny little bioluminescent dinoflagellates on the surface that create these phosphorescent flickers. It is estimated that 90 percent of deep sea marine life produce bioluminescence, which is used for attraction of both mates and prey, communication, illumination at sea depths far below the distance light can penetrate, or even as an escape mechanism by creating confusion. On land, lightning bugs, glow worms, and certain mushrooms, for example, produce their own light emissions. On Saturday, learn more about about these organisms at The Fridge’s Scientist Talk, The Science of Bioluminescence, presented in conjunction with their current exhibit Cold Light: Bioluminescent Evolution. Artist Katie Schuler, whose work focuses on the science behind the phenomenon of naturally occurring glowing objects, will offer some of her favorite bioluminescent discoveries before turning the floor over to Allen Collins, a Smithsonian and NOAA scientist who studies jellyfish, and mushroom expert Mitch Fournet, who will present research, images, video and specimens to explain the role bioluminescence plays in the lives of these organisms, as well as the importance of protecting these environments. Gallery hours have been extended into the late-night for the exhibit — through June 5th, the gallery will be open until 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 9 p.m. on Sunday. Free.

>> When Earth is viewed from space, cloud formations, coastlines, mountain ranges, islands, rivers and other landforms transform into abstract patterns with striking textures and brilliant colors. Earth as Art, a collection of U.S. Geological Survey photographs of our planet taken from above, goes on display at the Library of Congress, in the exhibition hall outside the Geography and Map Reading Room located on the basement level of the James Madison Building, starting Tuesday. The 40 award-winning Landsat satellite images will be on display for one year after which they will become a part of the permanent collection of the Library’s Geography and Map Division. Stop by the exhibition hall between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday to see this collection selected by the U.S. Geological Survey based on their aesthetic appeal rather than their scientific value. Free.

>> On Thursday, Studio Gallery presents The Artist Speaks: Creative Conduit with artist/poet Gene Markowski and singer/composer Sharon Shafer. This special presentation includes poetry, drawings, songs and conversation with the artists through the exploration of innovative techniques using improvisation, elements of chance and use of synthesized instrumental timbres. Discussion of the creative process and audience participation are special features of this unique performance. 4 p.m., Free.

>> Also on Thursday, artist Gandalf Gavan will be speaking about his specially commissioned light installation, part of the private collection of Anna Lena Wetzel & David Kamenetzky. This edition of Transformer‘s Collector’s View takes you inside the Dupont Circle home for a personal view of the collection that also includes works by Holger Jacobs and Kyan Bishop. 6 to 8 p.m. Contact the gallery at 202-483-1102 to reserve your ticket, which is tax deductible and supports the gallery’s 2011-2012 exhibition series.

>> The National Gallery of Art‘s weekend film fest features award winning films from the 2010 edition of the celebrated International Festival of Films on Art, an annual event in Montreal now in its twenty-ninth year. Take a break from the afternoon sauna for a series of three films, starting at 2:30 p.m., with Twice Upon a Garden, about Les Jardins de Métris, Quebec’s most visited garden, followed by a look at Peter Eisenman’s controversial Berlin Holocaust Memorial in Expansive Grounds, and concluding with Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight, about the American graphic designer and creator of the “I Love NY” campaign. At 2 p.m. Sunday, The New Rijksmuseum, a documentary about the renovation of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, home of the Rembrandts, and the problems plaguing the project, now in its eighth year. At 5 p.m., catch Romance of Astrée and Celadon, the final film by French director Eric Rohmer, inspired by Honoré d’Urfé’s seventeeth-century novel L’Astrée. The festival concludes at 2 p.m. Sunday with Boris Vian, the Jazz Life, a portrait of the writer who became artistic director of the legendary Jazz Hot magazine; Archipels Nitrate, on the unique history of the famed Cinémathèque Royale in Brussels; and Symphonie Montréal, a celebration of one of the world’s great symphony orchestras and its conductor, Kent Nagano. Free, but seats in the Gallery’s East Building Auditorium are filled on a first-come, first-seated basis.

>> Art Soiree throws a Garden Fete at Puro Lounge in Georgetown Thursday night, featuring artwork by Natalie Cartner and a live jazz performance by Robert Kupstas Quartet. Cartner experiments with size and adds a whimsical spin to her latest oil paintings that take on a more adventurous tone. 7 p.m. to 12 a.m., $10. RSVP.

>> Zenith Gallery presents the sculpture work of Katie Dell Kaufman and Lynda Smith-Bugge in The Spirit of Wood exhibition, opening today at Eleven Eleven Sculpture Space. Mark your calendar for the Meet the Artists reception on Wednesday, June 22, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Free.

Art Notes:

• Stop by the new Flying Fish Coffee & Tea in Mount Pleasant to check out artwork by Mount Pleasant artists Adam Chamy and Jessica Shull, on display through June 30.
• The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Department of Parks and Recreation invites artists with professional experience in creating public art or site specific commissions to submit an application to design, fabricate and install original works of art for the exterior grounds of the Southern Regional Tech/Rec Complex (Tech/Rec). Download the prospectus here.
• Touchstone Gallery extended the application deadline for Mini Solos @ Touchstone until midnight on Sunday, so you procrastinators can breathe a little sigh of relief — but try not to squander this reprieve.
• LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph is coming up next month in Charlottesville. Get your tickets and all the details right here.