Modern women, modern art close Sunday at the Women's Museum

April Banks (b. 1972, Takoma Park, Maryland), Future Ancient, 2022, fused glass, cut metal, and LED light panel. The label says the work "proposes an alternate path to self-knowledge, equally focused on past lineage and future legacy."/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The large exhibition, New Worlds: Women to Watch 2024, featuring works by 28 women from around the globe (some of whom have more than one work on display) is set to close Sunday at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and if you want a glimpse of what the younger bunch (or those generally under age 50) is thinking artwise, rush to see it, but be advised, you'll want to hold on to your mind which may be blown away by the creativity and the artists' visions of the future, the past and present.

It's beyond the wildest of imaginations and all have a theme and deeply personal message about what they've done, the purpose and why they have used the materials they chose. 

But, hope for the future? 

I couldn't find any, maybe due to my (aging) shades and perspective. What I saw was a dark and gloomy vision of the future, but that was before Kamala was nominated. (She who brings joy.) Since then, perhaps there is room for some optimism? None I found here.

Kathryn Wat, deputy director for art, programs and public engagement and chief curator at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, welcomes visitors to the exhibition, New Worlds:  Women to Watch 2024. On the left is Intra-Venus, 2019-21 in carrara marble by Marina Vargas (b. 1980, Granada, Spain)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Mona Cliff/HanukGahNé (Spotted Cloud, b. 1977, Prescott, AZ), Conjured Topography, 2022/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Prescoia seed beads, maple wood, beeswax, copal resin, pine resin, benzoin resin, and thread on plywood. The label says the "beads pay homage to nature" which required Cliff to spend "hundreds of hours adding thousands of beads to the wood surface," to honor "the labor-intensive work of women artisans."

Detail of Conjured Topography, 2022/Photo by Patricia Leslie

SHAN (sic) Wallace (b. 1991, Baltimore), Pale Blue Egun, 2024.  Flashe, gesso, paper, gouache, oil stick, shells, and crackle paste on wood/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The label says the artist "pays homage to the spectrum of Black experience in the United States" fusing "folklore and fantasy to explore belief systems and rituals related to death for the Black community. Motifs such as dice, shells, and a chicken serve as offerings for or methods of communication with the dead."

NMWA’s Women to Watch series is presented every three years and features emerging and underrepresented women artists who work in regions of the world where the museum has outreach committees.

On its website, NMWA notes that in the last decade just 11 percent of all acquisitions by "prominent American museums" were by women. With its promotion and exhibitions, NMWA hopes to draw greater attention to this dearth of female artists presence.

Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya (b. 1988, Atlanta), the primitive sign of wanting, 2024,
vintage TV screens, raspberry pis, and internet-connected receipt printers which invites viewer to interact with the work by scanning a QR code found on one of the screens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The label quotes the artist who says her work is a “'call to moral vigilance,'” inviting "viewers to consider the ethical implications of human advancement in the face of climate change and rapidly changing technology. Assembled from discarded artifacts and found objects, this interactive installation challenges visitors to confront their moral biases about issues facing us today—and to imagine the possibilities of tomorrow." 

Detail of the primitive sign of wanting, 2024/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Detail of the primitive sign of wanting, 2024/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Sophia Pompéry (b. 1984, Berlin), Fluten (Floods), 2023
Steel, perforated latex, and LED lights/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The label says "Pompéry’s practice lies at the intersection of art, science, and philosophy, investigating the artifice of constructs such as money, units of measure, and time. Fluten comprises an aerial map of recorded levels of light pollution in the Arctic Circle.  The haphazard placement of the rods implies the futility of creating records of the natural world—its time scale is beyond human comprehension."

Irene Fenara (b. 1990, Bologna, Italy), Three Thousand TIgers, 2020
Wool and silk tapestry/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The label says: "Fenara explores how technology can change our perception of reality. The artist feeds a data set of three thousand images of tigers—approximately the current number of living tigers in the wild—into a generative algorithm" resulting in "a distorted digital fauna."

She then "turned the patterns into tapestries, referring to the practice of making animal-hide rugs, and had them produced in India, where most living tigers are found."  I can't see any tigers here, but my imagination is more limited than the computer's.

Detail of Three Thousand TIgers, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Detail of Three Thousand TIgers, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Molly Vaughan (b. 1977, London) Project 42: Gwen Amber Rose Araju, Newark, CA, 2021/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Inkjet- and silkscreen-printed fabrics with headdress. The label says this "responds to violence toward transgender people in the United States. The artist and her team create garments that commemorate the lives of murdered transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals. Using Google Earth, Vaughan takes screen shots of locations where these murders have occurred. She manipulates the digital images to create abstract patterns, printing them on fabric to make into clothing that can be worn by a collaborator during an activation."

Nicki Green (b. 1986, Boston), 
Anointed (double bidet basin with faucets), 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Glazed vitreous china with epoxy. The label says Green "interrogates gendered binaries of Judaic ritual baths that complicate participation for trans individuals. Drawing from her Jewish background and gender politics, she transforms urinals and bidets into sacred wash basins that can affirm the holiness of trans bodies." This is one of two works on this theme by Green in the exhibition.

Ana María Hernando (b. 1959, Buenos Aires), detail of 
Nadar en el diluvio de aguas caldas (To Swim in the Deluge of Warm Waters), 2024/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Tulle, wood, metal lattice, and felt.
The label says the artist includes "association with feminine clothing and sewing" to create "monuments that celebrate the collective work of generations of unacknowledged women. Her works manifest the feminine as joyful and inexorable."

Works pictured above are those which were of the most interest to me, but all of them produced interest and awe.  You'll see!

Two local artists (April Banks, Takoma Park, MD, and SHAN (sic) Wallace, Baltimore) are represented.

A soft cover exhibition catalog of 100 pages is available in the shop or online for $23.95.

What: New Worlds:  Women to Watch, 2024


When: Closing Sunday, August 11, 2024. 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 70; free admission for members, those under age 21, and disabled persons and attendant. Free for all on the first Sunday and second Wednesday of every month.

For more information: 202-783-5000 or 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

Ursula's sculptures leave Women's Museum

Ursula von Rydingsvard on March 20, 2019 at the opening of her Contour of Feeling at the National Museum of Women in the Arts with Untitled (nine cones), 1976/photo by Patricia Leslie

Ursula von Rydingsvard, Tak, 2015, cedar, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, gift of Wilhelmina Cole Holladay/photo by Patricia Leslie

Ursula von Rydingsvard on March 20, 2019 at the opening of her Contour of Feeling at the National Museum of Women in the Arts with her little nothings (2000-2015)/photo by Patricia Leslie

Ursula von Rydingsvard, little nothings (2000-2015) "experiments" that she collects and finds inspirational, sometimes leading to large projects. Among these elements are roots, corn, "knitting with pig intestines," a hat worn by her father in Ukraine, stomachs of cows (aided in one, by mice), a cutting from her brother's hair when he was three, and in the lower left corner, portions of a costume she wore on her arms to a party "with the nails being consequential"/photo by Patricia Leslie

Ursula von Rydingsvard on March 20, 2019 at the opening of her Contour of Feeling at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, standing beside her Zakopane, 1987/photo by Patricia Leslie

Ursula von Rydingsvard on March 20, 2019 at the opening of her Contour of Feeling at the National Museum of Women in the Arts with her Zakopane, 1987, courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co. The pain of memory may cause her grimace, but art helps her conquer her pain/photo by Patricia Leslie

Ursula von Rydingsvard, detail of Thread Terror, 2016, cedar and graphite, courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co,/photo by Patricia Leslie

Ursula von Rydingsvard, OCEAN VOICES, 2011-2012, cedar and graphite, courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co./photo by Patricia Leslie

Ursula von Rydingsvard on March 20, 2019 at the opening of her Contour of Feeling at the National Museum of Women in the Arts with her Droga, 2009, cedar and graphite, courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co/photo by Patricia Leslie

Ursula von Rydingsvard on March 20, 2019 at the opening of her Contour of Feeling at the National Museum of Women in the Arts/photo by Patricia Leslie

Ursula von Rydingsvard, Book with no words II, 2017-18, cedar, linen, and leather, courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co, /photo by Patricia Leslie

Ursula von Rydingsvard, PODERWAC, 2017, leather, cotton, steel and polyester batting, courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co.This is about 10.5 feet high x 8.5 feet wide/photo by Patricia Leslie

Ursula von Rydingsvard on March 20, 2019 at the opening of her Contour of Feeling at the National Museum of Women in the Arts with her Collar with Dots, 2008, cedar and pigment, courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co/photo by Patricia Leslie

Compared to her favorite medium, cedar, Ursula von Rydingsvard is warm, vivacious and very much alive, adjectives which can also be applied to her cedar which is separated from its lifeblood, soil, when Ms. Rydingsvard works with it, enlivening it when she cuts, carves, slices, and glues it to fashion large-scale sculptures which can take a year to finish.

Cedar is Ms. Rydingsvard's lifeblood which she embues with her spirit and poetry to express her innermost feelings and emotions.  

She makes art for many reasons, including:

To survive living and all of its implied layers.

To ease my high anxiety, to numb myself with the labor and the focus of building my work.

     Because it's a place to put my pain,   my sadness.

Because there's a constant hope inside of me that this process will heal me, my family, and the world.

      Because it helps fight my inertia. 

For several months the National Museum of Women in the Arts has been the home of 26 of Ms. Von Rydingsvard's sculptures, nine works on paper, and a wall display. 

At the opening of the show, The Contour of Feeling, she led guests through a parade of her creations, large and sinuous, inviting observation and reflection upon her life which began in Deensen, Germany and continued in Poland where she, her five siblings, and parents lived in eight refugee camps over five years at the end of World War II.

After the war, the family was one of many rescued by the U.S. Marshall Plan  and Catholic charities, which brought the family to the shores of the U.S. and  helped it settle in Connecticut.

Art is a reflection of the lives of many artists, and Ms. Von Rydingsvard is no exception.  From her subconscious and memories of life in the refugee camps and the wooden barracks, it is no surprise that she uses wood to sculpt and release experiences which have shaped her life.

I believe most artists want viewers to interpret art for what it represents and means to viewers, not what it represents and means to the creators, a sentiment shared by Ms. Von Rydingsvard.  

On its web page, the museum quotes Mark Rosenthal, the guest curator and author of the exhibition catalogue who interviewed Ms. Von Rydingsvard:

Let it float and tell you what the piece needs to tell you, not what the curators are saying and not what the teachers are saying.

This is the her first solo exhibition in Washington and "the most ambitious" of her exhibitions to date, according to the museum. Her work is found in major museums throughout the U.S.

She received a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Miami and a M.F.A. from Columbia University.

The show was organized by the Fabric Workshop and Museum.
Happy late Birthday to Ursula von Rydingsvard who turned 77 on July 26.

What: Ursula von Rydingsvard: The Contour of Feeling
 
When: Closing Sunday, July 28, 2019. The museum is open Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and on Sundays, 12 - 5 p.m.

Where: The National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005
 
For more information: 202-783-5000 or visit nmwa.org.

Metro stations: Metro Center (exit at 13th Street and walk two blocks north) or walk a short distance from McPherson Square.

patricialesli@gmail.com

Today is the last day for 'Heavy Metal' at the Women's Museum

This expresses how I feel many days! It is Self-portrait 4, 2005 by Carolina Rieckhof Brommer (b. 1979, Lima, Peru). Read more about her below/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Hurry!  

It's a feast for bored art eyes ending today at the National Museum of Women in the Arts at 5 p.m.  

Metal is the medium of choice for women artists who have "heavy metal" in the show.

My hair in the morning?  No, it's Self-portrait 3, 2004 by Carolina Rieckhof Brommer (b. 1979, Lima, Peru). The artist's experience as a costume designer made her aware of restricted and uncomfortable clothing many women wear. This is an example of wearable art which can be "empowering and protective-often all at the same time," according to label copy/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A museum press release says one purpose of the exhibition is to disrupt the common believe that metal belongs to men only, despite women working in the field for centuries.
 
The presentation is the fifth of the Museum's Women to Watch series, shown every two to five years which features works by underrepresented artists from states and countries where NMWA has outreach committees.

To gain more attention at that next party, wrap this snake around your neck and record your responses. Made of stainless steel, 14-karat gold solder and Mediterranean coral, it's titled sacredheartknot, 2015 by Lois Brooks (b. 1969, Ann Arbor, Michigan).  The label says Ms. Brooks tries to create a sense of unease and finds inspiration in fairy tales and nursery rhymes "which often have macabre undertones."/Photo by Patricia Leslie

This reminds me of the Titanic, but this creation depicts a smaller iceberg  above the ship, not below, and this, on second glance, looks to be a city in the hull of a helmet. Somewhere there is oil, so maybe this is the Titanic in Texas? Or, the evolution of a city in Texas. Kelsey Wishik (b. 1990, Charleston, S.C.)  is the artist who made Space City, 2012 of mild steel/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Ho hum, unlike most who are smarter than I, I still do this! Holly Laws (b. 1963, Savannah, Georgia) says the caging unfolds the story of this domestic chore, mostly done by women. It is a respectful presentation of notorious "women's work," which many resent (ahem) having to perform.  The titles are (from left) Placeholder and Three Eastern Bluebirds, both, 2017/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From committees' submissions, NMWA curators selected 50 works from 20 artists including Cheryl Eve Acosta (b. 1980, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico) who has 17 different pieces of jewelry on display.

Some of the artists used recycled materials such as can tabs (Alice Hope).  Charlotte Charbonnel used iron filings and a singular sound from the Pacific Ocean (not metal), however, the sound echoed that of a train (which qualifies) and is titled Train End. Leila Khoury makes monuments to places affected by the war in Syria. Artists used tin, aluminum, steel, bronze, brass, pewter, silver, and gold.

This is a portion of Grandfather, Cricket and I, 2016 by Carolina Sardi (b. 1967, La Plata, Argentina) which is plated steel over a painted wall which look like luscious jewel pieces to me (earrings, necklace, brooch, anyone?)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A beehive of porcupine quills? Or, a fancy chandelier made for the lobby of the World Wildlife Fund or other animal lover? Not to make light of any of these pieces but just to show what they can suggest! Alice Hope (b. 1966, Hong Kong) made this untitled piece last year of steel ball chain, used fishing tackle, and found netting, one of three works she has in the show. The wall label says the artist repeats processes in making art, like that required in "women's work" (sewing), all ending in "deep texture and movement."/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Does this suggest slinkys to you? They are still available on the Web.  The Second Part, 2014, one of four works in the show by Paula Castillo (b. 1961, Belen, New Mexico), is made of fencing nails and auto-body finish.  Ms. Castillo "finds beauty" in industrial remains which help her visualize "how human-made and natural forces perpetually remake the world we inhabit," according to the wall copy/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A close-up of another by Alice Hope (b. 1966, Hong Kong), also untitled and made in 2004/Photo by Patricia Leslie

It is fun to admire the ingenuity of these artists and wonder about the sources of their inspirations. The museum is an excellent place to bring children who can join their parents to admire the wonders of creativity, and come up with their own ideas about just exactly what is here and what they can make from it.

A catalogue ($21.95) is available in the shop or online.  

What: Heavy Metal-Women to Watch 2018
 
When: Through today. The National Museum of Women in the Arts is open Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sundays, 12-5 p.m.
 
Where: The National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005
 
Admission: Free on the first Sunday each month. Otherwise, fees are $10, adults; $8, seniors and students; and free for members and children, 18 and under.

For more information: 202-783-5000
 
Metro station: Metro Center. Exit at 13th Street and walk two blocks north. 

Patricialesli@gmail.com



 

Lesley Gore and guests star at National Museum of Women in the Arts

Photo by Patricia Leslie

You remember Lesley Gore, don't you?  Well, if you are between 40 and 80 (according to an informal survey Friday night), it's likely you do.  She sang at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in a glorious night to celebrate doubling the museum's endowment growth to $50 million during its 25th anniversary year.

NMWA is the world's only museum "exclusively dedicated to showcasing the work of women artists."  Although 51 percent of today's artists are women, only five percent of the art seen in U.S. museums is by women, according to a museum statement. 

NMWA founder Wilhelmina Cole Holladay welcomed guests.

Lesley Gore sang several numbers including two of her top hits, "It's My Party" and "You Don't Own Me" to the delight of the crowd who sang along with her.  Lesley, 67,  said she was celebrating her own anniversary, too:  Her 50th in the music business.  And her voice was no different from way back when/Photo by Patricia Leslie 

 Some of the guests who listened to Lesley Gore drifted back to days of yore. NWMA presented Lesley with its Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Over at Table 14 Claudia Koerbler from the Kingdom of the Netherlands welcomed tablemates and celebrated the beginnings of a perfect meal with the first course of tomatoes, arugula, Camembert, and a choice of breads. Gold trim framed the plates/Photo by Patricia Leslie

650 donors gave to the endowment campaign/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Meanwhile, back at Table 14, women discussed the meanings of surrealism while handsome male tablemates went off to find more bubbly. From the left are Claudia Koerbler from the Kingdom of the Netherlands and third from right is Kathleen M. Burns, a George Mason University professor of journalism/Photo by a handsome lad

 Her gold skirt (left) matched the tablecloths featuring handsewn individual leaves in gilded gold (right)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A Washington surprise at the museum fete Friday night was the most popular color: black/Photo by Patricia Leslie

There were quite a few "horsepeople" at the museum party including "Andrew" from the U.K.,  "Christopher," a Georgetown commercial investment real estate guru, formerly of Kentucky, "Gladys," a Kentucky farm owner (no relation), "Nancy," and "Liz" who just bought 3,000 acres in North Dakota (?)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

What could be finer than chocolate and champagne?  The dessert buffet overfloweth:  chocolate triangles so rich I almost married them, dainty chocolate cupcakes, chocolate mousse with shavings, fresh fruit (Really? Yes, a few skinny persons were seen placing pieces on dessert dishes to be left on tables, uneaten), and lemon tarts, among other delicacies/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Alas, it's time to say good night and order a coffee for the road/Photo by Patricia Leslie

patricialesli@gmail.com