Georg Baselitz, The Brücke Chorus (Der Brückechor), 1983. Oil on canvas, 280 x 450 cm. © Georg Baselitz 2018. Private collection. ©2014 (Courtesy of Christie’s Images Limited)
BASELITZ: SIX DECADES @ HIRSHHORN
“An object painted upside down is suitable for painting because it is unsuitable as an object,” says German artist Georg Baselitz, who turned 80 this year. He began painting his subjects upside down in 1969 to subvert conventional representation, and such raw, dizzying canvases are among his best-known pieces. The Hirshhorn, which hosted Baselitz’s first-ever career survey in 1996, offers the first major U.S. survey of his work in more than 20 years, spanning six decades from the 1950s to today. Exhibition highlights include the 1962 work The Naked Man, whose graphic figure was so shocking it was confiscated by authorities. Baselitz will appear in person for a free artist talk on June 20, and although all advance tickets have been claimed, walk-ups will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis.
June 21-September 16, 2018 at the Hirshhorn. Free.
Carolina Sardi, Grandfather, Cricket and I, 2016; Plated steel over painted wall, 91 x 156 x 2 in.; (Courtesy of the artist and Panamerican Art Projects Miami; © Carolina Sardi; photo by Mariano Costa Peuser)
HEAVY METAL—WOMEN TO WATCH @ NMWA
The National Museum of Women in the Arts presents the fifth installment of a series dedicated to contemporary artists working in metal. The exhibition features both large-scale installations and intimate pieces of jewelry, with items crafted from a variety of precious and raw materials. Heavy Metal “seeks to disrupt the predominantly masculine narrative that surrounds metalworking and demonstrate that contemporary women artists carry on a vibrant legacy in the field.” A pop-up shop full of metal decor and accessories will take place on June 27 to celebrate the opening of the show.
June 28-September 16, 2018 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. $8-$10.
P.T. Barnum and General Tom Thumb. Attribution: Samuel Root, Marcus Aurelius Root. c. 1850, Half-plate daguerreotype (Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery)
DAGUERREOTYPES: FIVE DECADES OF COLLECTING @ NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
Remnants of the birth of photography, daguerreotypes have a delicate, luminous quality that can’t be fully captured in reproduction. The National Portrait Gallery, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, presents an intimate exhibition of 13 small-scale portraits, including an 1849 image of nurse, activist, and mental health advocate Dorothea Lynde Dix, and an 1850 portrait of showman P. T. Barnum with three-foot four-inch performer Tom Thumb.
June 15, 2018-June 2, 2019 at the National Portrait Gallery. Free.
Courtesy CulturalDC
IN A WORD: AMY WIKE @ CULTURAL DC’s MOBILE ART GALLERY
Cultural DC’s mobile art gallery, which promises to bring art to all eight wards, opened in Truxton Circle this month with an interactive installation by Amy Wike that asks participants to answer the question, “What one word would you use to describe Washington, D.C.?” (Did anyone answer DCist?) Wike, a fiber artists and “lifelong knitter,” uses Morse Code to transform these answers into an intricate web that visitors to the converted shipping container must navigate.
Through July 29, 2018 at 1600 N Capitol Street, NW. Open Thursday-Friday, 5-9 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday noon-8 p.m. Free.
WWAC Members standing in front of its original headquarters on Q St. NW, winter 1978-79. Photo by Gail Rebhan.
LATITUDE: THE WASHINGTON WOMEN’S ART CENTER 1975-1987 @ AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
The latest exhibition from American University’s Alper Initiative for Washington Art celebrates a non-profit organization that supported women in the arts. Originally located north of Dupont Circle before relocating to the Lansburgh Cultural Center (when the 7th Street revitalization was but a futuristic dream), the Washington Women’s Art Center published journals and helped to promote the work of female artists nationwide. The exhibition features over 90 works by dozens of artists who were members of this pioneering group.
June 16-August 12, 2018 at the American University Museum. Free.
(Courtesy of Transformer)
CROCHET JAM @ TRANSFORMER
In conjunction with the Golden Triangle BID’s Farragut Fridays, and Halcyon’s By The People Festival, Transformer presents this public art event created by San Francisco-based textile artist Ramekon O’Arwisters in 2012, inspired by his experience helping his grandmother make quilts when he was growing up in rural North Carolina. Crochet Jam attempts to recreate that experience in public … with strangers.
Friday, June 22 from 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. at Farragut Square Park. Rain location: Shop Made in D.C., Free.
Note: this article originally stated that the daguerreotype exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery includes glass negatives made by Civil War photographer Mathew Brady. Those items are indeed in the gallery’s permanent collection, but are not part of this special exhibition.
