Art Walk: Logan Circle

Hamiltonian Gallery
1353 U St., NW
www.HamiltonianGallery.com
Hamiltonian Fellows Jerry Truong and ?Annette Isham are two artists that ask?viewers to reconsider the social and?political fabric of their formative years?in Social Studies, an exhibition running Feb. 16 through March 23, with an?artist talk on Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. Truong’s?work examines the political implications of the education system through an?installation based on visuals commonly?associated with the American grade?school classroom. Subverting materials?such as stackable plastic chairs, blackboards and overhead projectors, he offering a critique of the education system as one that aims to encourage free thinkers but produces compliant members of society instead. In Isham’s latest video and photographic work, the artist portrays clumsy, vulnerable adolescent characters based loosely on her personal experience. Revisiting themes such as premature sexual activity, hallway fights and the importance of fashion branding, Isham reenacts the raw dilemmas that adolescents face during the process of self-discovery.

Project 4 Gallery?
1353 U St., NW
www.Project4Gallery.com
“Adaptation,” an exhibit of the works of three female installation and multimedia artists, will show at Project 4 Gallery from Feb. 15 to March 9, with an opening reception on Friday, Feb. 15, from 6 p.m to 8:30 p.m. Featuring the work of Victoria Greising, Lisa Kellner, and Caitlin Masley, Adaptation features site-specific works from each of the three artists in the Gallery’s three spaces, as they react and adapt to their individual environments and each other. There are common threads throughout the artists’ works: all of them use mundane, everyday materials and transform them beyond their perceived functions—such as Kellner’s hand formed and painted silk pods (seen here from a previous exhibit). Masley and Greising appropriate used clothing to create personal connections through material, and Caitlin sources different housing and architectural elements, derived from low-income and government housing projects, all speaking towards the transcendence of space despite limited resources.

Adamson Gallery 1
515 14th St., NW
www.AdamsonGallery.org
On March 23, Adamson Gallery will open an exhibit of?the photography of Gordon Parks. Parks was a Renaissance man, and a seminal figure of twentieth century?photography. A humanitarian with a deep commitment?to social justice, he left behind a body of work that documents many of the most important aspects of American?culture from the early 1940s up until his death in 2006,?with a focus on race relations, poverty, Civil Rights, and?urban life. In addition, Parks was also a celebrated com-?poser, author, and filmmaker (he directed the original?movie version of Shaft, with Richard Roundtree) who?interacted with many of the most prominent people of?his era—from politicians and artists to celebrities and?athletes. Most of all, he was known for his beautiful and socially poignant photography.

Hemphill Fine Arts
1515 14th St., NW
www.HemphillFineArts.com
“Rewilding” is Washington, D.C., artist Julie Wolfe’s second exhibition with Hemphill Fine Arts, which runs from March 23 to May 18. Featuring new paintings and installations, Wolfe continues her exploration of what occurs when ecological order is disturbed. Her works bring to mind cellular and biological reactions, as when organisms are extracted from their natural environments and placed in foreign surroundings—like in a Petri dish and beneath a microscope. Yet there is a playfulness and softness to Wolfe’s work that resists dismissive or overtly disparaging sentiments. There is hope and wonder in it surrounding the same source of natural order, as peaceful and awe-inspiring as a magnified droplet of water or the unblemished perspective through the eyes of a child.

Gallery Plan B?
1530 14th St., NW
www.GalleryPlanB.com
Marilee H. Shapiro has?lived in Washington, D.C., since 1943. She studied at the Corcoran College of?Art, and has spent most of her life as a sculpture and mixed media artist in the District. When she was 89, she took a computer graphics course, and she continues to produce compelling work in digital and traditional media, working unique with a vocabulary all her own. As she enters her second century, Shapiro continues her creative process and exploration of various materials. From Feb. 20 to March 31, Gallery Plan B will host an exhibit of her work, “100 Years in the Making.” Although this exhibition focuses primarily on works produced over the past few years, it includes pieces created throughout her eight-decade career. This show is one for the Washingtonian history books.