New Museums

One of the things I set out to do this spring was visit a few of the museums in town that thus far I've failed to see. The first is a bit of a cheat; I've been to the Renwick Gallery many times (part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, for American craft) but they just reopened this spring after several years of renovation. The opening exhibition, Wonder, did not disappoint.

 Nine featured artists, each with an exhibition in one of the grand rooms. This room is in installation by Jennifer Angus, some of which remind me of Day of the Dead.

Except that all the designs are made of insects. And the pink on the walls? Insects again, this time from cochineal. The exhibition has different ends dates; this particular installation is now gone. 

Insects are not my thing but there is a beauty to these.

This was beautiful in a different way, an amazing representation of the Chesapeake Bay region in marbles, by famed architect Maya Lin. 

 I really liked this installation by John Grade. He made plaster casts of an old-growth hemlock in the Cascade Mountains, then recreated it with reclaimed old-growth cedar.

 This work is there indefinitely- Janet Echelman's fiber net, which uses fans and lights to modulate and change color, and reflect the (I think) Indonesian tsunami.

 This was my favorite installation: willow saplings turned into large hide-and-seek sculptures by John Dougherty. They were incredibly beautiful, and great fun too.

Casey Trees is an organization I've admired for a while. They've done a great deal of work in DC, both tree planting and tree maintenance. They also have a wonderful site that is a map of the city so if you pull up where you are, you can find out what kind of tree is in front of you. They had a program that was a tour of the gardens/woods at the Kreeger Museum, one of those museums I'd heard about but never visited. I figured this was a great way to see the museum finally and do something with this organization. What great fun it was!

The outside of the museum. This was the home of the Kreegers.

The gardens are quite lovely, with some pretty wonderful sculptures.

I really liked this one up the side of the building.

The collection is astounding too. Yes, this is a Picasso. They have about ten Picassos on display, along with probably eight Monets, several Kandinskys, Bonards, Brachs, Cezannes, van Goghs, Mondrians, Gorkys, etc. 

And a Calder! I'd had no idea and this made me quite happy.

The outdoor sculptures were fun too. 

And last weekend I finally made it over to Hillwood. This was the home of Marjorie Merriweather Post. I really didn't care for the house and main collection--it's much too opulent for my taste and I've seen more than my share of old Russian treasures--but that doesn't mean the collection isn't stunning. I was much more interested in the famed gardens, and they were just opening a traveling exhibition on Art Deco in Japan. 

The exhibition was really interesting. I like the kimono and some of the ceramics, but this peacock was exquisite.

The gardens, however, are remarkable. There's an orchid house and a cutting garden, a parterre and a rose garden, a walking path and my favorite, a Japanese garden.

I spent quite some time wandering all the paths....

including traversing all the bridges and stone walks.

And then I sat and read for a while. It was shady and cool and utterly pleasant.

And I can't wait to go back and do the gardens again. And there are still more museums in town I haven't visited, or at least, not in a while. I think Dumbarton Oaks, which also has great gardens, might be next on the list. When I do leave DC, I will miss this bounty.