A Guide to: Upcoming Art Exhibits in D.C.

When faced with the overwhelming cultural boon that is the nation's capital, it's tough to know where to start. Below you'll find a guide to current and upcoming exciting art exhibits that are now at your fingertips. 

"Close Encounters: Facing the Future"
WHERE: American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center 4400 Massachusetts Ave. N.W.
METRO: Tenleytown-AU (red line)
HOURS: currently closed; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. starting Sept. 1
WHEN: Sept. 13-Oct. 26
COST: Free

This is the sort of exhibit you would expect the most politically active university in the nation to have. "Close Encounters" features political works reflecting recent situations that are meant to provoke a reaction from the viewer. The exhibit will feature the works of such artists as Enrique Chagoya, Mildred Howard and Roger Shimomura. 

"TxtStyl3s: F4shng Id3ntty"
WHERE: National Museum of African Art 950 Independence Ave. S.W.
METRO: Smithsonian (blue and orange lines)
HOURS: 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily; opens at 9 a.m. until Sept. 1
WHEN: Now through Dec. 28
COST: Free

The intersection of the digital age with traditional African textiles makes for a culture clash as well as a clash of meaning. African garments often contain symbols indicating status, rank and other indicators of social position. These combined with the indicators of modern life and modern rank, like cell phones and other electronics, make for a complex system of identity explored in this exhibit. 

"Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Over the River"

WHERE: The Phillips Collection 1600 21st St. N.W.
METRO: Dupont Circle (red line)
HOURS: Tues.-Sat.: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun.: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Mon.: closed.
WHEN: Oct. 11, 2008-Jan. 28, 2009
COST: Special exhibition fee: $10; $8 with student ID

Known most recently for their project in Central Park, "The Gates," and most notably for "Running Fence" in California, Christo and Jeanne-Claude have been affecting space since the early 1960s. This exhibit features over 150 pictures of their current project, "Over the River." The couple has thus far spent 16 years planning and executing this enormous project, where they plan to suspend panels of silver material over the Arkansas River in Colorado to dazzling results. 

"Black Box: Semiconductor"
WHERE: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Independence Avenue and Seventh Street S.W.
METRO: Smithsonian (blue and orange lines)
HOURS: 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily
WHEN: Aug. 25-Dec. 14
COST: Free

Semiconductor, the collective name of British artists Ruth Jarman and Joseph Gerhardt, produces shorts that call into question the reality and validity of human experience. The artists bend the laws of science in their favor to reinterpret the world around them in a new and mind-blowing way, even spending time at the NASA Space Science Laboratories at UC Berkeley. The Hirshhorn Black Box theater will feature a collection of the short films. 

"Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power"
WHERE: Corcoran Gallery of Art 500 17th St. N.W.
METRO: Farragut West (blue and orange lines)
HOURS: Mon-Tues: closed; Wed: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thurs: 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri-Sun: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
WHEN: Sept. 13, 2008-Jan. 25, 2009
COST: $14; $10 with student ID

Robert Avedon's lens bore witness to a host of significant events and figures. The Corcoran's exhibit will be a retrospective of Avedon's political work from the 1950s through his death in 2004, just in time for the election. It will feature many never-before-seen works and the photographer's most significant pieces.  

"Local Color: Washington Painting at Midcentury"
WHERE: Smithsonian American Art Museum Eighth and F streets N.W.
METRO: Gallery Place-Chinatown (red, yellow and green lines)
HOURS: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. daily
WHEN: Now through Oct. 13
COST: Free

On the heels of this past spring's exhibit, "Color as Field," the American Art Museum continues to highlight the work of Washington Color School painters and their contemporaries. Read the story on the movement in this issue for more information.