October is one of the busiest months on the art calendar, but you still have time to see Vermeer at the National Gallery; the black women abstract artists of Magnetic Fields at NMWA; a deep read of Renoir, the new mobile gallery Space4 at Yards Park; and the autumn show at ARTECHOUSE. And that’s just the beginning; here’s our picks of what’s coming in November.
Anne Truitt. Parva XII, 1977. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Margot Wells Backas
IN THE TOWER: ANNE TRUITT @ NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
The National Gallery of Art honors leading minimalist artist and longtime University of Maryland professor Anne Truitt (1921-2004) with its first major presentation of her work. Including recent major acquisitions, the exhibition brings together sculptures, paintings, and works on paper, tracing Truitt’s artistic development from 1961 to 2002. Truitt worked apart from minimalist peers in New York and Los Angeles, creating hand-painted sculptures in studio spaces located in Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, and Cleveland Park.
November 19, 2017—April 1, 2018 at the National Gallery of Art, East Building, Tower 3.
Nuna artist, Boucle du Muhoun Region, Burkina Faso. Face mask. Mid-20th century. Gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.
VISIONARY: VIEWPOINTS ON AFRICA’S ARTS @ MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART
Featuring over 300 works of art encompassing a wide range of time, place, and medium, this exhibition organizes the museum’s collection around seven viewpoints that “frame and affect the manner in which Africa’s arts are experienced.” To help launch the show, the Museum of African Art will host a community day on November 4, featuring tours of the newly installed permanent collection, family programs, and a workshop on how to make your own Moroccan rug design.
Opens November 4 at the Museum of African Arts, 950 Independence Avenue, SW. Community Day will take place on November 4 from 10 a.m.? p.m.
From Arthur Jafa’s Love is the Message, The Message is Death (Courtesy of Arthur Jafa and Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York/ Rome)
THE MESSAGE: NEW MEDIA WORKS @ HIRSHHORN
Last fall, the Hirshhorn hired Mark Beasley as its curator of media and performance art. His first exhibition brings together “five contemporary film and video installations that resonate with the voices of music, film and pop culture.” See provocative work by video artists Camille Henrot, C.T. Jasper, Joanna Malinowska, Frances Stark, Hito Steyerl, and Arthur Jafa, whose Kanye West-scored ““Love Is The Message, The Message Is Death” gives the show its title. On November 17, the Hirshhorn presents An Evening With Arthur Jafa, in conversation with jazz musician Steve Coleman. Free tickets will be available on November 2.
November 18, 2017—April 22, 2018 at the Hirshhorn.
Rufino Tamayo, New York Seen from the Terrace, 1937. FEMSA Collection. © Tamayo Heirs/Mexico/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. Photo by Roberto Ortiz
TAMAYO: THE NEW YORK YEARS @ SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM
Born in Oaxaca de Juárez, painter Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991) lived in New York on and off from the 1920-1940s, though his most remarkable New York story occurred after his death, when in 2004 a long lost painting was found in the trash on the Upper West Side. It sold for over a million dollars at auction. With a grouping of 41 key works, the Smithsonian American Art Museum presents, “the first exhibition to explore the influences between this major Mexican modernist and the American art world.”
November 3, 2017—March 18, 2018 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
(National Building Museum)
MAKING ROOM: HOUSING FOR A CHANGING AMERICA @ NBM
The number of nuclear families has seen a marked decline, accounting for only one-fifth of American households today, but housing options have not quite adapted to the needs of this changing demographic. This National Building Museum exhibition looks at how developers and architects have begun to respond to a changing real estate market. The centerpiece of the exhibition is The Open House, “a flexible, 1,000-square-foot home…[with] a hyper-efficient layout, movable walls, and multifunctional furnitur” designed by architect Pierluigi Colombo.
November 18, 2017—September 16, 2018 at the National Building Museum.
A panel by Ashley Dequilla honoring her parents’ immigration from the Phillippines.
ONE HOUSE @ TOUCHSTONE
In a climate where we are becoming more and more divided, a group exhibition at Touchstone Gallery hopes to brings us all together. Over 220 Washington-area artists from a variety of backgrounds participated in the One House project, which presents a “vision for a country where we are united as one rather than divided.” Within the confines of a one-foot square panel, each participating artist tells the story of an ancestor who came to this country—or in the case of Native Americans, was already here.
November 3-25, at Touchstone Gallery, 901 New York Avenue NW. Opening reception is Friday, November 3 from 6-8:30 p.m.
From FOTOWEEK competition winner Dakota Fine
FOTOWEEK @ VARIOUS LOCATIONS
Now in its 10th year, this sprawling celebration of photography features two major anchor shows, with agencies Magnum and World Press Photo exhibiting in Washington for the first time. Photo-themed films will be screened at the Hirshhorn and Suns Cinema, and a variety of programming will be held in spaces from the Former Residence of the Ambassadors of Spain on 16th Street to a pop-up space in Georgetown. See a full list of events here.
November 11-19 at locations around town.
(Hasnain Bhatti)
KINGDOM OF COLORS @ ARTECHOUSE
The vast walls of ARTECHOUSE host a vividly immersive new show when Kingdom of Colors, by French filmmaker Thomas Blanchard and artist Oilhack, opens on November 10. And it wouldn’t be ARTECHOUSE without augmented reality cocktails and interactive art, the latter of which will be provided by NOIRFLUX (returning from Spirit of Autumn, on view through November 5) and Tim Thompson.
November 10-26 at ARTECHOUSE, 1238 Maryland Ave. SW. Artist talk is on Thursday, November 9 from 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
