Cultural Events & Performances
Heroes & Losers: The Edification of Luis Lorenzana
Now through March 15
AU Katzen Museum
Luis Lorenzana is a self-taught Filipino artist whose background in politics has infused his work with a cynicism that belies his longing for a kinder, more equitable world. The exhibition touches on the themes of a desperate kind of selfless heroism – and the all-too familiar failure of a democratic political system. These works will have relevance to the current American landscape and, indeed, to anywhere in the world.
Communicating Vessels: Ed Bisese, Elyse Harrison, Wayne Paige
Now through March 15
AU Katzen Museum
The title of this exhibition is borrowed from a book written in 1932 by Surrealist poet André Breton, who in turn borrowed it from a scientific experiment of the same name. The experiment shows that in two vessels joined by a tube, a gas or liquid passing from one to the other rises to the same level, whatever the shape of the vessel. For Breton, the phrase refers to the artist, whether literary or visual, whose work results from communication between the inner life of the mind, emotions, and dreams, and the waking perception of the exterior world. The three artists in this exhibition all work from this premise, although with individual styles and imagery. While their work shows continuity with Surrealist ideas of the 1930s and ‘40s, it also relates to the Chicago Imagists of the 1960s and ‘70s, reflecting the prevalence of surrealist imagery in contemporary visual art.
Landscape in an Eroded Field
Now through March 15
AU Katzen Museum
This exhibit brings together three women artists whose work reflects the evolution of the pictorial landscape tradition in the Anthropocene Era. Carol Barsha’s closely-observed nature studies and flowery landscapes are paired with Artemis Herber’s mythically-themed architectonic reliefs. These immersive paintings surround a site-specific installation and soundscape designed by Heather Theresa Clark, utilizing her environmental planning background. Depicting nature and the environment is one of the most ancient and elemental expressions of art. From cave painting to Dutch still lifes to social practice incorporating life forms, artists always have been attentive and responsive to the world around them. This exhibition spans landscape painting that takes no social or political stance to multi-media painting and sculpture that puts climate change at the center of its meaning.
Vokmar Wentz
Now through March 15
AU Katzen Museum
This exhibit shows the works of Volkmar Kurt Wentzel who arrived in Washington, DC, in the early 1930s. When the Great Depression led to prohibitive housing costs in DC, he moved to Aurora, West Virginia to join a community with Robert Gates and several other artists who had become close friends. In 1937, back in Washington, architect Erik Menke introduced Volkmar to a book titled Paris De Nuit (1933) by Brassaï, a French photographer. Volkmar was enchanted. He purchased a new camera and began photographing the series Washington by Night. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, out for a stroll one evening, encountered Volkmar and purchased several of his Washington pictures. Volkmar completed his Washington photographs and brought them to National Geographic. He was hired immediately. The event led to his 48-year photographic career as a National Geographic photographer.
Robert Franklin Gates: Paint What You See
Now through March 15
AU Katzen Museum
This exhibit showcases an adventurous artist who influenced greatly the course of Washington art from his arrival from Detroit in 1930, at the age of 24, until his death in 1982 as an AU Professor Emeritus. He was a muralist, painter, printmaker, draftsman, and professor at the Phillips Gallery School and then American University for more than forty years. His watercolors earned him early acclaim, signaled by their inclusion in the first very exhibition held at the National Gallery of Art when it opened in 1941. Gates’ paintings can be found in The Phillips Collection, the Baltimore Museum of Art, Dumbarton Oaks, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Corcoran Legacy Collection, and the Watkins Memorial Collection at the American University Museum.
Good Form, Decorum, and in the Manner
Now through March 15
AU Katzen Museum
Portraits are usually understood in one of two ways: as the depiction of the face of a person, or a representation of someone's impression of a person. This exhibition comprises many works that could be thought of as conventional portraits of individuals in a wide range of media, including woodblock and wood engravings, intaglio prints, mezzotints, monoprints, photography, collage, and an assemblage made with found objects. The show also pushes the boundaries of portraiture by including works that capture the likenesses of animals, places, memories, and events.
Good Form, Decorum, and in the Manner can also be considered a snapshot of the Washington Print Club today by celebrating the prized pieces its members have chosen to highlight. My curatorial interest also lies in the resulting overlaps, intersections, gaps, and dialogues between collectors' collections.
Katzen Docent-led Tour
March 7, 15, 22, 29, 2 – 3 p.m.
Katzen AU Museum
A docent-led tour of one or more of our current exhibitions. No RSVP required. Please meet at the front desk.
Yoga in the Galleries
March 11, 18, 25, 10 a.m.
AU Katzen Museum
Led by certified Kripalu Yoga teacher Eva Blutinger, this yoga class provides mental clarity and relaxation in the peaceful surroundings of our art galleries. Please bring a mat. Cost is $10 for non-members, $5 for museum members, and free for members at the Associates level and above. www.tinyurl.com/aumtickets.
AU Farmers' Market
March 11, 18, 25, 10 a.m.
Quad Space in front of Mary Graydon Center
Every Wednesday, the quad space around the Mary Graydon building buzzes with activity as students, faculty, staff, and neighbors browse goods ranging from farm-fresh vegetables to homemade breads and desserts at the AU Farmers' Market. The market is a coordinated effort between AU and Pennsylvania-based Agora Farms. Girardot's Crumbs Bakery also offers a variety of fresh breads as well as chocolate chip cookies, mini pies, and cobblers.
Free Parking: Communicating Vessels
March 5, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
AU Katzen Museum
Curator Claudia Rousseau will join the three DC-based, Surrealist-inspired artists who created the Communicating Vessels exhibit.
The 2020 Nancy Weiser Ignatius Lecture on the Environment: Rhea Suh
March 17, 6 – 8 p.m.
AU School of International Service
As part of this lecture series, former president of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) will deliver keynote remarks. She will discuss the effectiveness and trajectory of the US environmental movement, particularly as it relates to the emerging youth climate movement. During her tenure with the NRDC, Suh helped steer high-level discussions that led to the historic global climate agreement in Paris; championed a precedent-setting settlement for the residents of Flint, Michigan to ensure an end to the city’s toxic drinking water crisis; and was a featured speaker at the 2017 Women’s March on Washington, DC. A light reception will follow this event. Free to attend. RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2020-ignatius-lecture-rhea-suh-tickets-94013720569
Films at Founders: What Lies Upstream
March 19, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
AU School of International Service
As the final screening in the “Films at Founders” series for the 2019-2020 school year, What Lies Upstream is a classic detective story, as investigative filmmaker Cullen Hoback travels to West Virginia to uncover the truth behind a massive chemical spill that left 300,000 people without drinking water for months. When Hoback discovers an obscene collusion between chemical corporations and the highest levels of government, the investigation spirals in a terrifying direction, as the frightening truth about “what lies upstream” for us all. Free to attend. RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/films-at-founders-what-lies-upstream-tickets-94900330443