THE
WASHINGTON
POST
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FRIDAY,MAY
27, 2022
EZ
18
and F streets NW. npg.si.edu
NATIONAL POSTAL MUSEUM “Baseball:
America’s Home Run,” through Jan. 5, 2025.
A postal perspective on the national pastime
that looks at the unlikely ways the mail
service and baseball are intertwined. 2
Massachusetts Ave. NE.
postalmuseum.si.edu.
PHILLIPS COLLECTION “Picasso: Painting
the Blue Period,” through June 12. A close
look at Picasso’s early work, leading up to
and including his Blue Period — which drew
inspiration from Old Masters and his
contemporaries. The show draws on more
than a decade of art historical and
conservation research that has revealed
compositions beneath the surface of major
works, including “The Blue Room,” from the
Phillips Collection.
*RENWICK GALLERY “This Present
Moment: Crafting a Better World,” through
April 2. A showcase of American craft in
honor of the gallery’s 50th anniversary that
includes 135 recent acquisitions that will be
displayed at the Renwick for the first time in
an effort to highlight overlooked histories,
and contributions from women, people of
color and other marginalized groups.
americanart.si.edu
*SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM
“A rtist to Artist,” through Sept. 3, 2023. A
small exhibit that pairs works representing
two influential art figures whose careers
intersected at vital moments, such as Yayoi
Kusama and Joseph Cornell as well as
Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock. G
and Eighth Streets NW. americanart.si.edu
*SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF
NATURAL HISTORY “Outbreak: Epidemics
in a Connected World,” through October. An
exhibition that follows epidemiologists,
veterinarians, public health workers and
citizens as they respond to infectious
diseases, such as HIV/A IDS, the Ebola virus,
influenza and the Zika virus. 10th Street and
Constitution Avenue NW.
naturalhistory.si.edu- An exhibition of paintings and objects
from Egypt, China and elsewhere offer a
glimpse into the world of falcons, which were
associated with the god of the heavens in
Egypt and trained to hunt prey across the
Islamic world. 1050 Independence Ave. SW.
freersackler.si.edu
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN
INDIAN “Preston Singletary: Raven and the
Box of Daylight,” through Jan. 29. Tlingit
artist Preston Singletary tells the story of
Raven, the Tlingit creator of the world,
through an immersive exhibition of glass
artwork and projected images paired with
original music and Pacific Northwest
soundscapes.
“Our Universes: Tr aditional Knowledge
Shapes Our World,” through spring. The
exhibition focuses on Indigenous
cosmologies and philosophies about the
creation and order of the universe and the
spiritual relationship between humankind
and the natural world. Fourth Street and
Independence Avenue SW.
americanindian.si.edu
NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY “The
Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today,”
through Feb. 26. Work by finalists in the
sixth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait
Competition, who have been selected for
democratizing p ortraiture and highlighting
the genre’s ability to tell once-unknown
stories, will be presented.
“ Watergate: Portraiture and Intrigue,”
through Sept. 5. Fifty years after the
Watergate break-in, the Portrait Gallery
presents photographs, paintings,
sculptures, and works on paper from the
collection t hat introduce visitors to the
scandal’s cast of characters.
“Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands,”
through May 30. The first major East Coast
exhibition of work by Chinese-born
American artist Hung Liu, whose
multilayered portrait paintings elevate
common people — refugees, migrant
laborers, orphaned children — who
historically have been overlooked. Eighth
unlawful incarcerations and lynchings. An
examination of what historians regard as
one of the least understood periods in
American history through a major exhibition
of 175 objects, 300 images and 14 media
programs. 14th Street and Constitution
Avenue NW. nmaahc.si.edu
*NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART
“Iké Udé: Nollywood Portraits,” through
February. Known for his vibrant
compositions, multimedia artist Iké Udé
portrays the people behind Nigeria’s
$3 billion film industry, Nollywood, in
elegant, bold portraits. 950 Independence
Ave. SW. africa.si.edu
*NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN
HISTORY “Really BIG Money.” A show
highlighting some of the most surprising
objects in the museum’s numismatic
collection including an origami bird made
from Venezuelan bolívar bank notes and
ancient Chinese knife money.
“Discovery and Revelation: Religion,
Science, and Making Sense of Things,”
through March. An exhibition exploring the
relationship between technological
innovation and religion that stretches from a
1721 controversy about smallpox and
Puritan ideas of divine judgment to how
religious belief functions in the digital age.
Constitution Avenue NW, between 12th and
14th Streets. americanhistory.si.edu.
*NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ASIAN ART “Mind
Over Matter: Zen in Medieval Japan,”
through July 24. The exhibit highlights the
museum’s extensive medieval Zen
collections, including works from Japan and
China that capture the philosophical
underpinnings of Zen, such as spontaneous
monochrome ink paintings by Zen monks.
“Underdogs and Antiheroes: Japanese
Prints from the Moskowitz Collection,”
through Jan. 29. An exhibition of Japanese
prints focusing on the stories of bandits,
firemen, Kabuki theater members and other
eccentric individuals, many of whom lived on
the fringes of society in early modern Japan.
“Falcons: The Art of the Hunt,” through Julythrough Sept. 26. Made in collaboration with
the public institution in charge of conserving
and restoring Notre Dame and marking the
third anniversary of the fire that ravaged the
Paris landmark, an augmented-reality
experience explores the restoration of the
cathedral.
“The Wall/El Muro: What Is a Border Wall?”
through Nov. 6. An immersive exhibition of
photography, video and artifacts that
examines the U.S.-Mexico border wall from a
built environment perspective and
addresses the role of design in national
security and geopolitics. 401 F St. NW.
nbm.org
*NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART “A merican
Silence: The Photographs of Robert Adams,”
open May 29 through Oct. 2. Adams shows
the quiet harmony of the American West’s
landscape and the insidious devastation of
our response to it through dozens of
photographs of sprawling suburbs and strip
malls and expansive skies and horizon lines.
“ Afro-Atlantic Histories,” through July 17. The
complex histories of the African Diaspora
and the transatlantic slave trade are told
through 130 works of art from the 17th
century to the present, including that of
Aaron Douglas, Kerry James Marshall, Jacob
Lawrence and other artists whose work
evokes the tenacity of Black communities
across four continents.
“J ames Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A
Portrait of Harlem,” through May 30. A
glimpse into life in 1920s and ’30s Harlem
through 40 of Van Der Zee’s studio portraits
and photographs of nightclubs, storefronts
and community groups from the National
Gallery’s collection. Sixth Street and
Constitution Avenue NW. nga.gov
*NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN
AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE “Make
Good the Promises: Reconstruction and Its
Legacies,” through Aug. 21. After the Civil
War, the Reconstruction era saw both
constitutional amendments outlawing
slavery and giving Black men voting rights,
as well as anti-Black violence in the form ofThe following special exhibitions are on view at
area museums. For a complete list of all
permanent, indefinite and long-term
exhibitions, please consult individual museum
websites. Museums marked with an * are free.
Note: The National Air and Space Museum,
National Gallery of Art’s East Building and
National Museum of Women in the Arts are
temporarily closed for renovations.
*ARTS AND INDUSTRIES BUILDING
“Futures,” through July 6. In celebration of
its 175th anniversary, the Smithsonian
opens the long-shuttered Arts and Industries
Building for a multidisciplinary exhibition
that pulls from several Smithsonian
collections. It enlists innovators in arts and
sciences to offer glimpses of the future
through interactive artworks, speculative
objects, new technologies and more. 900
Jefferson Dr. SW. aib.si.edu
*DUMBARTON OAKS “Lasting Impressions:
People, Power, Piety,” through November. An
exploration of Byzantine life told through
lead seals, which were custom-designed
with intricate inscriptions that reflect
information about status, piety, personal
interests and family histories. 1703 32nd St.
NW. doaks.org
*GLENSTONE “Doris Salcedo.” A selection of
sculptures by the Bogotá-based artist, whose
work is based on interviews with survivors of
political and domestic violence, featuring a
recent work, “Disremembered X,” which was
shaped by conversations Salcedo had with
American mothers of children lost to gun
violence.
“Vija Celmins,” through June 19. Known for
painstakingly detailed depictions of the
natural world, Vija Celmins has taken forest
fires, spiderwebs and the ocean’s surface as
subject matter. A selection of her paintings,
drawings, mezzotints and sculptures feature in
her first solo D.C.-area show in more than 40
years. 12100 Glen Rd., Potomac. glenstone.org
HILLWOOD ESTATE, MUSEUM AND
GARDEN “The Luxury of Clay: Porcelain Past
and Present,” through June 26. A show
tracing porcelain’s history from its origins in
9th-century China to its discovery in 18th-
century Europe to contemporary work
through 140 objects including vases,
teapots, figurines and dishes. 4155
Linnaean Ave NW. hillwoodmuseum.org
*HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE
GARDEN “Sam Gilliam: Full Circle,” through
Sept. 11. The D.C. native and abstract artist
will fill the museum’s second-floor inner
gallery with new circular paintings known as
“tondos” that, in Gilliam’s words,
“encapsulate many of the ideas that I have
been developing throughout my career,”
alongside “Rail,” a pivotal, large-scale work
that was made in 1977.
“One with Eternity: Yayoi Kusama in the
Hirshhorn Collection,” through Nov. 27.
Yayoi Kusama’s visions of eternity return to
the Hirshhorn with an exhibition of five
Kusama works from the museum’s
collection, including two of Kusama’s
popular “Infinity Mirror” rooms. (Free same-
day timed passes will be distributed at 9:30
a.m. daily on the museum plaza.)
“Laurie Anderson: The Weather,” through
July 31. An immersive audiovisual exhibition
of work by the Grammy Award-winning
musician, performer and artist. The largest
U.S. presentation of Anderson’s work to
date, the exhibition includes “Habeas
Corpus,” a large-scale video sculpture that
tells the story of Guantánamo Bay detainee
Mohammed el Gharani; video excerpts from
virtual reality pieces such as “Chalk Room”;
and several new multimedia works, such as
“Salute,” a moving installation featuring
robotic flagpoles. Seventh Street and
Independence Avenue SW. hirshhorn.si.edu
*LIBRARY OF CONGRESS “Not an Ostrich:
And Other Images Fr om America’s Library,”
through fall 2024. Four hundred images
from 1839 to the present day, selected from
the library’s collection of 14 million
photographs, trace the medium’s evolution
from daguerreotypes to digital images with
an emphasis on the range of subjects in the
collection and moments in history described
as glorious, gut-wrenching and more.
Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE.
loc.gov
MUSEUM OF THE BIBLE “Mystery & Faith:
The Shroud of Tu rin,” through July 31. A five-
section exhibit with interactives that tells the
history of the Shroud of Tu rin, which is
located in the Cathedral of St. John the
Baptist in Tu rin, Italy, and which millions of
Christians believe is the burial cloth of Jesus.
400 Fourth St. SW. museumofthebible.org
NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM “Notre-
Dame de Paris: The Augmented Exhibition,”On Exhibit
MUSEUMS
Three years after Paris’s Notre Dame Ca-
thedral burned during a restoration of the
spire, the National Building Museum has
opened an exhibition in commemoration of
the tragedy that looks at the history of the
cathedral, its architecture and the building
techniques that made the gem of the French
Gothic style possible. Using a tablet device
called a HistoPad, viewers can see animationsof medieval laborers working on the structure
in the 12th century and key moments in the
cathedral’s history, such as Napoleon’s coro-
nation. These technological components are
meant to bring us closer to the cathedral,
which will remain closed to the public until- Perhaps we can feel even closer to it by
looking at this photograph of the restoration
team in Paris. Here, we see those who get to be
up close with the iconic cathedral in its
current vulnerable state, standing amid scaf-
folding and looking at one of the 3D render-
ings that are on view in Washington. While
many exhibitions in the style of “immersive
experience” employ technology just to create a
buzz, in this show, you’ll find some technology
with a purpose.
— Kelsey AblesRestoring Notre Dame
HISTOVERY/NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM