MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
Two major shows run concurrently at the Phillips Collection this month. “Jasper Johns: Variations on a Theme” displays some 100-plus prints by Johns, known for his bold representations of iconic images such as the American flag. Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 for his contributions to the arts, he’s estimated to be the most expensive living American artist.
Less famous in the United States, sculptor Antony Gormley is well known in his native Britain for his public art installations. “Antony Gormley: Drawing Space” is the first major American exhibit of his works on paper, exploring environments in and around the human body. Both exhibitions run June 2 through September 9.
Photographer Paul Feinberg has chronicled Washington’s art scene for more than three decades. His show “The Constant Artist,” opening at American University’s Katzen Arts Center June 9, features early and recent photographs of nine local artists—including Sam Gilliam, Manon Cleary, Lisa Brotman, and Clark Fox—as well as interviews with the artists and examples of their work. Through August 12.
Opening June 10 is the National Gallery’s ginormous George Bellows retrospective, taking a comprehensive look at the American painter’s career. The show includes some of Bellows’s signature boxing paintings, as well as lesser-known landscapes and portraits. Through October 8 in the West Building.
Opening on the same day in the East Building is “In the Tower: Barnett Newman,” which includes 26 works taken mostly from the gallery’s permanent collection, including the iconic “Stations of the Cross.”
“Kevin Roche: Architecture as Environment” opens June 16 at the National Building Museum. The show takes a comprehensive look at the modernist architect’s career. Through December 2.
“Prêt à Papier: The Exquisite Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave,” opening at the Hillwood Museum June 16, features the Belgian artist’s paper sculptures of period costumes. Inspired by European fashions from the late 17th to early 20th centuries, de Borchgrave uses crumpled and painted paper to create life-size clothing and accessories. Through December 30.
“Constellations: Constructivism, Internationalism, and the Inter-American Avant Garde” is at the Art Museum of the Americas June 21 through September 23. The show draws from the museum’s permanent collection to look at geometric abstract artists such as Joaquin Torres-Garcia.
Opening at the Corcoran June 30 is “Richard Diebenkorn: The Ocean Park Series,” which includes 80-plus works from the American abstract painter’s most famous series, inspired by the Santa Monica neighborhood he lived in. The show includes colorful large-scale paintings in blue and green along with drawings and prints. Through September 23. Saturdays through Labor Day, admission to the museum is free.
GALLERY SHOWS
Honfleur Gallery’s featured artist through mid-June is Arie Mandelbaum. The Belgian painter incorporates his childhood experiences as a young Jewish boy growing up in the shadow of World War II into his large-scale works.
Running through June 29 at Industry is “Spun,” an installation by avant-garde Danish designer Mathias Bengtsson.
“Megan Mueller: I Built This for You” runs June 8 through July 14 at Flashpoint. Mueller’s three-dimensional works combine drawing, watercolor, collage, and sculpture to convey natural landscapes and horizons.
Hemphill Fine Arts has two shows running June 8 through July 28. “William Willis: Keeping It Alive” displays the artist’s primitive, elemental paintings. “Steven Cushner: Works on Paper” features Cushner’s exploration of color, shape, and form. The two artists were also featured in a Hemphill show in 2010, which included Cushner’s paintings and Willis’s works on paper.
June 9 through July 7, Transformer has the first US exhibition of work by Irish artist Sean Lynch, featuring photographs and installations exploring history and cultural identity.
“Ensembles: Landscapes in Transition III,” an exhibition of large-scale woodcuts by Eve Stockton, runs June 14 through July 15 at Longview Gallery.
June 20 through July 14, the Studio Gallery hosts “De Minimis,” an exhibition of abstract works by Jan Willem van der Vossen, who uses boldly colored lines to create different landscapes.
ART EVENTS
This Saturday, June 2, is Meet the Artists night at Artomatic.
The Bethesda Art Walk returns June 8.
The Annapolis Arts and Crafts Festival comes to the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium June 9 and 10.
Make It Mount Pleasant, an event including crafts, performance art, live music, and sidewalk sales, is June 10.
Charles Brock, curator of the National Gallery’s epic George Bellows show, gives a lecture about the exhibition June 10.
June 20, the National Portrait Gallery hosts a trivia event based around the museum’s collection of portraits taken from the cover of Time magazine.
Gerhard Richter Painting, a documentary about the enigmatic German artist, screens in the NGA’s East Building Auditorium June 30.
