RALPH STEADMAN: A RETROSPECTIVE
American University Museum at the Katzen
June 16 – August 12
The upcoming Ralph Steadman retrospective at the American University Museum will offer a glimpse into the beautiful, twisted mind of one of our most acclaimed illustrators, cartoonists and artists. The exhibition will journey through Steadman’s prolific career, from the sketches he created as a student in the 1950s to the present day. On view will be works from Steadman’s collaborations with gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, his illustrated literary classics, the inventive books he authored — such as “I Leonardo,” “The Big I Am” and children’s books “No Room to Swing a Cat” and “That’s My Dad” — plus artworks from his travels with Oddbins Wine Merchants and his packaging for Flying Dog Brewery.
“Ships in Distress off a Rocky Coast,” 1667. Ludolf Backhuysen. Courtesy NGA.
WATER, WIND, AND WAVES: MARINE PAINTINGS FROM THE DUTCH GOLDEN AGE
National Gallery of Art
July 1 – November 25
During the 17thcentury, the Dutch became leaders in marine travel, transport, commerce and security as their massive cargo carriers and warships traversed oceans and their small vessels and fishing boats navigated inland and coastal waterways. Water was central to their economic and naval successes, but was also a source of pleasure and enjoyment. Drawn largely from the National Gallery’s own collection, this exhibition will feature nearly 50 paintings, prints, drawings, rare books and ship models, exploring the deep, multifaceted relationship the Dutch had with the water.
Jimi Hendrix. Unidentified Artist. Color photolithographic poster on paper.
ONE YEAR: 1968, AN AMERICAN ODYSSEY
National Portrait Gallery
Opens June 29
“One Year: 1968, An American Odyssey” is a one-room exhibition that relies on some 30 portraits to tell the story of 1968, the year when the Vietnam War reached a turning point, the Civil Rights Act was signed into law and television sets displayed everything from the Olympic Games to the first manned orbit of the moon. It was also the year that the National Portrait Gallery first opened its doors. Among the subjects featured in the exhibition, on view through May 19, 2019, are Martin Luther King Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, the Apollo 8 astronauts and cultural figures such as Peggy Fleming, Arthur Ashe, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.
CARNE Y ARENA
1611 Benning Road NE
Through August 31
An immersive, conceptual virtual reality installation by Academy Award-winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, “Carne y Arena (Virtually present, Physically invisible)” explores the human condition of immigrants and refugees. Based on true accounts from Central American and Mexican refugees, it blurs and binds together the lines between subject and bystander, allowing individuals to walk in a vast space and live a fragment of a refugee’s personal journey. Awarded a special Oscar last year, the six-and-a-half-minute solo experience premiered at the 70th Cannes Film Festival, the first virtual reality project to be featured in the festival’s history. For reservations (required), visit carneyarenadc.
Sandra Rocha. Untitled (DR – Um Diário da República, 2012), 2014.
SECOND NATURE: PORTUGUESE CONTEMPORARY ART
The Kreeger Museum
June 12 – July 31
The first group exhibition of 21st-century Portuguese art to be presented in the U.S., “Second Nature” is both a portrait of recent artistic production in Portugal and an exploration of the relationship between human culture and the environment. The exhibition, the first to go on tour from Lisbon’s new Museum of Art, Architecture, and Technology, brings together approximately 30 works created over the past two decades by 16 artists from different generations, working in media ranging from watercolor to photography to video. Each employs modern technology and materials to capture, filter and reinvent the natural world, thereby generating a “second nature.”
HEAVY METAL: WOMEN TO WATCH 2018
National Museum of Women in the Arts
June 28 – September 16
The fifth installment in the “Women to Watch” series at the National Museum of Women in the Arts will showcase contemporary artists working in metal. Featured artists in “Heavy Metal” investigate the physical properties and expressive possibilities of metalwork through a wide variety of objects, including sculpture, jewelry and conceptual forms. Works in the exhibition range from large-scale installations to small objects intended for personal adornment. The exhibition seeks to disrupt the predominantly masculine narrative that surrounds metalworking and demonstrate that contemporary women artists carry on a vibrant legacy in the field.
