Marlo Pascual, Untitled, 2014; National Museum of Women in the Arts, gift of Tony Podesta Collection/By Patricia Leslie
Another view of Pascual's Untitled, 2014, showing the scale/By Patricia Leslie
The National Museum of Women in the Arts has something for everyone and coming up are free days, Sept. 6 and Sept. 9, the first Sunday and the second Wednesday of the month, when there's no charge for admission.
From large photographs of Marlo Pascual’s renderings of a woman’s face encased inside a broken cracked glass or another woman's face covered by cardboard, to more traditional fare like Lavinia Fontana’s 16th century portrait of a wealthy bride, guests find much to trigger interest and conversations.
From Remix: The Collection, Lavinia Fontana, Marriage Portrait of a Bolognese Noblewoman, (Livia de'Medici Bandini?), c. 1599, oil on canvas, National Museum of Women in the Arts, gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay; frame funding by Texas State Committee.
Marlo Pascual, Untitled, 2009; National Museum of Women in the Arts, gift of Heather and Tony Podesta Collection/By Patricia Leslie
Marlo Pascual, Untitled, 2014; National Museum of Women in the Arts, gift of Tony Podesta Collection/By Patricia Leslie
In addition to Pascual, the museum features Burnished: Pueblo Pottery, 24 clay ollas, seed jars and bowls from the museum’s growing collection of American Southwest pottery (but hurry up since this exhibition closes Sept. 27, 2026; on the first floor).
And, in several galleries on the third floor are old and new NMWA accessions in Remix, with Fontana's portrait and many more, through Jan. 16, 2028.
From: Remix: The Collection, Berthe Morisot (1841-1895), Jeune femme en mauve (Young Woman in Mauve), 1880, gift of Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long
From: Remix: The Collection, Suzanne Valadon (1865- 1938) Girl on a Small Wall, 1930, National Museum of Women in the Arts, gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay
From: Remix: The Collection, Sarah Bernhardt, (1844-1923), Apres la Tempete (After the Storm), c. 1876, marble, National Museum of Women in the Arts, gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay/By Patricia Leslie
From Remix: The Collection, Beverly Penn, (b. 1955), Maelstrom, 2011; bronze; National Museum of Women in the Arts, funds provided by the Geiger Family Foundation/By Patricia Leslie
Detail of Beverly Penn, (b. 1955), Maelstrom, 2011/By Patricia Leslie
Pascual mingled used photos (none she took herself) with various household products (candlesticks, glass, cardboard, lamps, lumber) to produce her unusual sculptures. (I call word "recycling," but nowhere on any web site about her works did the word appear, I am guessing because it is not refined or sophisticated enough for the art world. Please correct misimpressions.)
Initially, none of her pieces works uplifted or inspired me who found them profoundly depressing, but the more I read about Pascual, and given my propensity to recycle as much as I can, I grew to admire her art.
My interpretation focused too literally on the subjects, like two actual candle sticks protruding from a nondescript black and white photo of two emotionless women.
As Pascual explained her approach to found objects, “I’m not destroying them. I like to think I’m giving them a new life.” (Recycle, anyone?)
Ms. Treanor goes on: “The exhibition not only introduces visitors to the work of this visionary artist but also preserves Pascual’s legacy."
From: Remix: The Collection, Lois Mailou Jones, Arreau, Hautes-Pyrenees, 1949, oil on canvas, National Museum of Women in the Arts, gift of Gladys P. Payne.
The museum’s permanent collection supplies the featured presentation, Marlo Pascual: Making Something Out of Something, in the small galleries on the second floor with 17 works by Pascual (1972-2020) which she made between 2009 and 2014 using “found” materials she obtained from vintage shops and from Ebay.
It's the first solo show in 15 years of Pascual's works, the artist's life cut short by cancer at age 47.
From: Remix: The Collection, Alison Saar (b. 1956) Scorch Song, 2022 of wood, found mini skillets, nails and tar and Lavinia Fontana's Marriage Portrait of a Bolognese Noblewoman, (Livia de'Medici Bandini?), c. 1599, both from the collection of National Museum of Women in the Arts/By Patricia Leslie
Lisa Holt and Harlan Reano, Jar, 2025; Natural clay with acrylic paint; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Bequest of Sandra A. Kruzman. This exhibition closes Sept. 27, 2026/By Patricia Leslie
Pascual mingled used photos (none she took herself) with various household products (candlesticks, glass, cardboard, lamps, lumber) to produce her unusual sculptures. (I call word "recycling," but nowhere on any web site about her works did the word appear, I am guessing because it is not refined or sophisticated enough for the art world. Please correct misimpressions.)
Initially, none of her pieces works uplifted or inspired me who found them profoundly depressing, but the more I read about Pascual, and given my propensity to recycle as much as I can, I grew to admire her art.
It took a while.
As many of Pascual’s images are of women, Virginia Treanor, NMWA senior curator, says on the museum website that "it is hard not to view her works as commentary on the objectification of women that such 'overtly constructed' [the artist's words] imagery sustains."
As many of Pascual’s images are of women, Virginia Treanor, NMWA senior curator, says on the museum website that "it is hard not to view her works as commentary on the objectification of women that such 'overtly constructed' [the artist's words] imagery sustains."
(None of the 17 pieces on view that I recall contained a man or a boy or either of their images.)
Treanor continues: “The transformation of the images into large, stationary objects, which often serve as support for domestic objects like lamps or candleholders, seems to bring the absurdity of ‘woman as object’ to its inevitable, irrational conclusion."
From a different generation from Ms. Pascual, I could not help but think: IF she thought today’s woman in a man’s world is tough, she shudda lived in the 70s! And, of course, eons prior to that. No doubt, our progeny will look back on these eras of sexism and wonder what artists were talking about. (Applause.)
The museum says some of her works are humorous.
Which ones? I suppose I took them all too seriously.
Treanor continues: “The transformation of the images into large, stationary objects, which often serve as support for domestic objects like lamps or candleholders, seems to bring the absurdity of ‘woman as object’ to its inevitable, irrational conclusion."
From a different generation from Ms. Pascual, I could not help but think: IF she thought today’s woman in a man’s world is tough, she shudda lived in the 70s! And, of course, eons prior to that. No doubt, our progeny will look back on these eras of sexism and wonder what artists were talking about. (Applause.)
The museum says some of her works are humorous.
Which ones? I suppose I took them all too seriously.
NMWA does caution that Pascual's "process...can be unsettling, as viewers perceive an emotional tension between beauty and destruction."
My interpretation focused too literally on the subjects, like two actual candle sticks protruding from a nondescript black and white photo of two emotionless women.
As Pascual explained her approach to found objects, “I’m not destroying them. I like to think I’m giving them a new life.” (Recycle, anyone?)
Ms. Treanor goes on: “The exhibition not only introduces visitors to the work of this visionary artist but also preserves Pascual’s legacy."
Please, write soon and tell me what you think!
What: Marlo Pascual: Making Something Out of Something. See the website for programs and talks.
When: Now through Feb. 28, 2027. The museum is open Tuesday through Sundays, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Where: The National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005
Admission: $16, adults; $13, D.C. residents and those over age 65; free admission for members, those under age 21, and disabled persons and attendant. Free admission on the first Sunday and second Wednesday of every month.
For more information: 202-783-5000 or 800-222-7270 and visit nmwa.org.
Metro stations: Metro Center (exit at 13th Street and walk two blocks north) or (better) walk a short distance from McPherson Square.
What: Marlo Pascual: Making Something Out of Something. See the website for programs and talks.
When: Now through Feb. 28, 2027. The museum is open Tuesday through Sundays, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Where: The National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005
Admission: $16, adults; $13, D.C. residents and those over age 65; free admission for members, those under age 21, and disabled persons and attendant. Free admission on the first Sunday and second Wednesday of every month.
For more information: 202-783-5000 or 800-222-7270 and visit nmwa.org.
Metro stations: Metro Center (exit at 13th Street and walk two blocks north) or (better) walk a short distance from McPherson Square.
patricialesli@gmail.com
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