Renwick Gallery

The Renwick is our favorite DC museum because of its excellent collection and smaller size.  The house that is now the gallery was built for William Corcoran by the architect James Renwick.  When Corcoran’s collection exceeded the floor space, he opened the Corcoran Gallery of Art.  The Corcoran is now closed, and those pieces are at the National Gallery of Art (to the disappointment of the Renwick). 

We can see both floors of the Renwick and not suffer from “museum fatigue.”  It is the American craft museum.  American artists qualify by being born here, moving here or working here.  However you define it, all the artists are outstanding.  The gallery has been closed for remodeling for the last two years and, now that it is reopened,  we were eager to visit again.

According to the exhibit's curator: "The idea of wonder--that moment of awe in the face of something new that transports us beyond the everyday--is inherent in the experience of art."

The only downside of this visit was that the art we loved to see on earlier visits is now in storage replaced by some amazing new installations. Enjoy your virtual “visit.”

These towers are made by Tara Donovan from millions of plastic cards supported by a steel frame.

These are created by Chakaia Booker from used racing car tires.

This Greek slave is a 3D print which was made by creating a digital scan from a plaster cast of a marble statue.

These are made from twigs by Patrick Dougherty.  His installations are frequently outdoors and left to return to the earth from which they grew.

This hemlock tree by John Grade will  be taken back to its origins east of Seattle when the exhibit is finished to decay.

 This installation by Janet Echelman, suspended from the ceiling, changed colors as time passed.  It filled the room.

Another installation by Gabriel Dawe consisted of multi-colored threads running floor to the high ceiling.  They  appeared as a rainbow wherever you looked at them but particularly when you were under it looking up.

An exhibit by Maya Lin, who did the Vietnam memorial, is this map of the Chesapeake Bay with glass balls on the walls and floor.  It was very difficult to photograph.

The last exhibit, by Jennifer Angus, was made up of farmed insects that reminded us of the Day of the Dead displays that we saw in New Mexico a few months ago.