Welcome to Artful Weekend, our guide to fun and interesting ways to enjoy art in person or virtually.
This is the final weekend to see Line by Line: Artists Interpret Poetry, our March themed exhibit. League artists interpreted what poetry means to them using prose, song lyrics, scripture, nursery rhymes, and famous quotes, to traditional and contemporary poetry. Says Haven Ashely, our assistant gallery director, “Some artists even paired their work with original writing of their own.” It is juried by artist Jordann Wine.
Painter Gustavo Forselledo captures the vibrancy of Washington, D.C. and other cities worldwide in his solo exhibit Urban Soul. Inspired by impressionist masters Carols Paez Vilaró and Joaquín Torres García of his home country Uruguay, Forselledo’s acrylic and ink images on canvas and hardboard suggest movement that captures the rhythm and soul of the cities depicted; on view through April 30 by appointment at Gallery Underground, 2100 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA. Call (571) 483-0652 or email [email protected] for appointments.
Washington, DC-based artist Nekisha Durrett seeks to hold space for Black women to not only be seen, but celebrated as worthy of justice, gender parity, and inclusion in the narratives they so profoundly inform. In Magnolia, the artist presents a more intimate experience, calling viewers to engage with the stories and lives of 30 women murdered by law enforcement, using the magnolia leaf as metaphor. Says the artist, “Golden brown and tough as leather on one side, velvety soft on the other, fallen magnolia leaves possess an often uncelebrated radiance and resilience… Even after death, the leaf refuses to be erased and forgotten.” Magnolia is on view through April 16 by appointment at Cody Gallery of Marymount University, 1000 North Glebe Road, 2nd Floor, Arlington, VA. See Magnolia: An Intimate Conversation with Durrett and curator Endia Beal.
Hemphill features two concurrent exhibits by artists whose recent works serve as a reflection on the chaotic events of 2020. 19 Paintings, artist Robin Rose’s series of colorful encaustic abstracts, expresses his response to the conditions created by the pandemic and the political madness of the past year.
During quarantine, Hedieh Javanshir Ilchi found solace and inspiration in the company of nature. Each piece in her exhibit Listen to the night as it makes itself hollow resembles an abstracted landscape, with suggestions of space and topographical imagery. Both exhibits are on view through May 28 at Hemphill, 434 K Street, NW.
The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH) presents a new online art exhibition titled, Our City, Ourselves: Women Photograph Washington, featuring 52 photographs by 25 women artists who capture the people, places, and interactions that define the District. The exhibition is presented online using a virtual gallery platform that replicates CAH’s physical gallery at 200 I (Eye) Street SE. Throughout the run of Our City, Ourselves, CAH invites the public to take pictures across all eight wards of the District and share them on social media. Use the hashtag #OurCityCAH and tag the ward in which the picture was taken. The exhibition’s closing event the evening of May 20 will showcase some of the most powerful images with remarks from their creators; on view through May 21.
Enjoy the weekend. Wear your mask.
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