Movie still from Jean Epstein, Young Oceans of Cinema (James June Schneider, 2011, HD-Cam, French with subtitles, 68 minutes). Image courtesy of James June Schneider.>> Tonight, the Hirshhorn Museum presents a documentary on the life of Chilean artist Roberto Matta. Directed by his son Ramuntcho Matta, Intimatta uses video recordings, interviews, and personal letters and writings to detail his father’s transition from drawing to oil painting as well as his involvement with the Paris Surrealist movement and the abstract expressionists in New York. Ramuntcho Matta will host a Q&A session following the 6 p.m. screening.
>> Also tonight, join Adah Rose Gallery and Hillyer Art Space for a panel discussion on art appropriation and the high-profile, on-appeal Richard Prince legal case, in which the “fair-use” argument used by the artist on his (mis)appropriation of 35 photographs by Patrick Cariou was ruled a copyright violation. Panelists include a lawyer specializing in intellectual property, media and technology, a museum curator and researcher, a professional artist, and an art professor. The 7 p.m. discussion at Hillyer Art Space is free and open to anyone interested in issues between art, commerce, and culture.
>> Thursday at 7 p.m., the Corcoran Gallery of Art invites guests for Discovering Diebenkorn, a panel discussion by three curators on the exhibit Richard Diebenkorn: The Ocean Park Series, opening Saturday. The collection includes over 80 pieces representing Diebenkorn’s 20-year departure from the figurative style for which he is known to large- and small-scale, brightly-colored “abstract investigations of space, light, and color evoke landscape and architectural forms as well as the sense of place that defined the California coast.” The panel discussion is $10 for non-members (free for members) and pre-registration is encouraged. Don’t forget – Saturdays are free at the Corcoran through September 1!
>> I don’t know about you, but when temperatures hit triple-digits, I dream of frozen tundra—air-conditioned movie theaters work, too. This weekend at the National Gallery of Art, catch a new documentary Gerhard Richter Painting, about the German artist’s creative process, at 2 p.m. Saturday. Then at 4 p.m., Jean Epstein, Young Oceans of Cinema focuses on the work of the French avant-garde director and film theorist dubbed “the first philosopher of cinema.” At 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Umbrellas takes a look at the failed 1991 project by Christo and Jeanne-Claude to simultaneously open huge blue and yellow umbrellas in Southern California and Japan on an extremely windy day.
>> Jane Wynn’s mixed-media work emphasizes the assemblage of objects like jewelry, sculpture, and works-on-paper. Opens Saturday at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. On July 21, the artist will host an assemblage workshop using found objects to create narratives ($80, call CHAW at 202-547-6839 to register).
>> In De Minimis, Jan Willem van der Vossen takes two approaches in his minimalistic, abstract paintings using colors and lines to create landscapes with modern/minimal and emotional/fluid views. His reception at Studio Gallery is on Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m.
>> Art Enables hosts a reception for Places In Between, featuring work by Charles Meissner, Jermaine Williams, John Simpson, and Chris Schallhorn, at Art17 (Coldwell Banker in Dupont Circle, 1606 17th Street, NW) from 7 to 9 p.m.
>> On Saturday, Curator’s Office closes An Architect’s Dream, in which four diverse artists focus on the concept of arrangement and presentation, centering around Joseph Cornell’s 1958 piece Untitled (Celestial Navigation). Rashid Johnson examines black history and culture between the generations within his own family using artifacts in a mixed-media format. Pipilotti Rist’s video and sound installation takes perspective from the objects that surround us while Haim Steinbach’s signature use of form and function transform context and relationship between consumer objects and their presentation. Closing reception 5:30 to 7 p.m.
