There is more to see as spring rears its head than most people can take in, artistically speaking, let alone the blossoming outdoor wonderland. As our spirits and energy thaw after preserving itself through the winter, it is an all-encompassing blessing of April to be suddenly surrounded by great beauty at ever corner. Within Washington’s art galleries, the work is vibrant, robust and very much alive, bolstering the rejuvenated spirits of the city. The galleries on Book Hill, nestled together on Wisconsin at the top of Georgetown, have arranged a collection of unforgettable exhibits to welcome in the spring season. Here is a look at what they are offering.
Addison/Ripley Fine Art
1670 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Through April 27, Addison/Ripley will be featuring the work of Amy Linn, an artist whose distinctive, vibrant and ambitious drawings balance precision with an elegant chaos. The works explore cultural diffusion, inspired by time Linn spent in Singa- pore and Russia. Her pencil marks fly and flare on pristine white surfaces, constellations of lines and points that pulsate like microscopic organisms or the Northern Lights. The growing complexity of her compositions and her deep commitment to her task, expanding weaves of tiny points of colored pencil in exuberant arrangements, can barely be contained on the paper. There is a lightness and balance that grounds her work, that can only be described as a soul. www.AddisonRipleyFineArt.com
Robert Brown Gallery
1662 33rd St., NW
Robert Brown Gallery’s current exhibit, “Window on Weimar,” on?display through May 24, includes etchings, lithographs, woodcuts, drypoints and char- coal drawings by some of the most renowned German artists of the early 20th century: Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, George Grosz, Kathe Kollwitz, Lea Grundig, Max Pechstein and William Sharp. Many German artists in the 1920s valued content above form, using printmaking as an expression of immediacy, intimacy and a wider means of communica- tion with their audience. With the rapidly evolving political landscape as a backdrop, each artist offered their unique view of the human experience as effected by the Weimer era in Germany after WWI. With first hand experience of the destruction and suffering of war, artists in the Weimar Republic became distinguishable as advocates for social justice in addition to artistic creativity. www.RobertBrownGallery.com
Susan Calloway Fine Art
1643 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Causality is the relationship between events, where the second event is understood as a consequence of the first. This concept is explored within the boundaries of color and space in Washington-based artist Shaun Rabah’s exhibition Color Causality, through May 4 at Susan Calloway Fine Art. Each painting is composed of minimal layers of color, each a response to its predecessor, in an overall pursuit of beauty and purity. To truly see one of Rabah’s pieces, one must look beyond the surface layer to the numerous sub-layers and textures that together compose the final vision of the artist. In every piece, it is his intention to expose the life-cycle of each work, from the first brush stroke to its final manifestation. There will be an opening reception for the exhibit on April 12. www.CallowayArt.com
Heiner Contemporary
1675 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Heiner Contemporary is exhibiting “Concrete Abstract,” a group exhibition curated by Matthew Smith that explores the confluence of abstraction with the everyday, through April 20. Featuring work by a group of nine artists, the works in the show cultivate?a non-representational?visual language that?emerges from familiar?ready-made objects,?whether they are found?or alluded to compositionally. These ultimately balance the functional with the abstract, pushing and pulling out of context with the real, concrete world. Highlights include the Joseph Albers-like, neatly color-woven paintings of Jeremy Flick, and the real and suggested quilted surfaces of Matthew Smith and Becca Kallem. There is a discussion with the curator on April 20, open to the public. www.HeinerContemporary.com
Maurine Littleton Gallery
1667 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Maurine Littleton Gallery has been exhibiting and represent-?ing leading contemporary artists in glass, metal and ceramics?since 1984. Their current exhibited work includes the work of Washington-based artist Drew Storm Graham, whose mixed media paintings composed on stacked layers of wood extend off the walls by as much as a foot. Inspired by the countercultural movements of graffiti and tattoo art, his work aims to embody the bold and impetuous attitudes rooted in these cultures. Despite their unruly exterior, the artist notes, this type of art is itself impermanent and ephemeral, existing within a frame of time before its canvas is painted over by city officials or deceased. By creating a solid three-dimensional reality, Graham’s art reinvents its subject with physical permanence. www.LittletonGallery.com
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- Jordan Wright
