Welcome to Artful Weekend, our listing of area art exhibits and events.

This weekend: The September Open Exhibit and Impact: Reflections on 9/11 by George Robert Overhiser Jr. at the League; Modern Illuminations – Knowledge and Power at Reston Art Gallery; Christina Haslinger’s abstracts and Shadows by Jeremy Wright at Montpelier Arts Center; Memory is a Funny Thing at Foundry Gallery; and Open Life: Maya Lin at the National Portrait Gallery.

September 2022 Open Exhibit

Diverse works in different mediums are the feature of Open Exhibits at The Art League. This month’s exhibit features 103 artworks in oil, acrylic, watercolor, ceramic, photography, printmaking and more. It was juried by painter Aaron Morgan Brown. The September 2022 Open Exhibit is on view through October 2.

Impact: Reflections of 9/11 by George Robert Overhiser Jr.

After escaping from the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001, painter George Robert Overhiser Jr. witnessed the carnage as he stood before a vendor’s cart three and a half blocks away. Overhiser expresses the mayhem of that tragic day in Impact: Reflections of 9/11, an exhibit of 20 pieces that include stylized gouache on canvas; oil paints on the faceted stainless steel from which vendor carts are made; gouache-painted canvas applied to the diamonds pattern on the carts; and curved stainless steel, oil-painted with mixed media mobiles.

Modern Illuminations – Knowledge and Power

Rosemarie Forsythe’s intricately detailed paintings depicting symbols of knowledge, strength, hope and resilience comprise Modern Illuminations – Knowledge and Power, at Reston Art Gallery and Studios. Inspired by illuminated manuscripts of the 15th – 17th centuries, the  modern twist in Forsythe’s paintings is the inclusion of math and physics equations. Many pieces also include horses, which she considers “wonderful symbols of power and resilience.” Modern Illuminations – Knowledge and Power is on view Saturday, October 1 – 30. Meet Forsythe during the show’s opening weekend, Saturday and Sunday, October 1 and 2, from 12:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.; 11400 Washington Plaza West, Reston, VA. 

Christina Haslinger and Jeremy Wright: Shadows

A double feature in art opens this weekend at Montpelier Arts Center: Christina Haslinger creates abstract paintings that are inspired by color, texture, and space found in nature. Using a mixture of watercolor, water mediums, and acrylic mediums, she plays with light and transparency through layers and textures. Her paintings, on view through October 30, exude energy through brush strokes and splatters of paint.

In Shadows, Jeremy Wright entices you to explore the world of the kachina. You will be invited into a “Square Ground” surrounded by clay figures. Looking at the large dolls, they are more than just their physical form. Each one will be casting a shadow that paints the true spirit of the kachina. Shadows is on view through October 16. 

Meet both artists Saturday, October 1 from 2 – 4 p.m., during a reception at Montpelier Arts Center, 9652 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, MD.

Memory is a Funny Thing

Says painter Sheila Blake, “I’ve begun to paint my memoir. I invited the spirits of my former life and trusted that I would have a chance of touching on what Wallace Stevens called the essential poem at the center of things.” In Memory is a Funny Thing at Foundry Gallery, Blake contemplates childhood and family in a series of paintings inspired by old family snapshots. It is on view through October 30. Meet Blake at an opening reception Saturday, October 1, from 4 – 7:30 p.m.; 2118 8th Street, NW.

One Life: Maya Lin

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery presents One Life: Maya Lin, the first biographical exhibition dedicated to the architect, sculptor, environmentalist, and designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Tracing Lin’s life from childhood to the present, this latest edition of the museum’s “One Life” series highlights the development of the artist’s approaches and processes through a variety of three-dimensional models, sculptures, sketchbooks and photographs. The exhibition brings together a carefully selected assortment of Lin’s family photographs and personal ephemera to offer additional insight into Lin’s remarkable career. It is on view through April 16, 2023; 8th and G Streets, NW.

Enjoy the weekend and stay dry!