My husband took me to the Renwick Gallery on opening day of the Wonder exhibit and I forgot to post the photos until now! (Seriously, it was like back in November)
The Renwick Gallery is located very close to the White House in D.C. and was closed prior to this exhibit for two years for renovations and, if you remember, November was freakishly warm so it was a madhouse in there. (also, as a part of the Smithsonian Institution, admission is FREE)
Wonder is a collection of installations by nine major contemporary artists: John Grade, Maya Lin, Jennifer Angus, Chakaia Booker, Tara Donovan, Gabriel Dawe, Patrick Doherty, Janet Echelman, and Leo Villareal. (women artists represent!)
I don't have photos from every exhibit as it was crazy crowded in there, but here are a few that I did get.
Untitled by Tara Donovan
I wish I had gotten a better photo of the entire room, but these were "mountains" made from stacked index cards. Like... trillions of them? I don't even know. They were huge - way above my head. The gentle ridges and texture were fascinating and overwhelming.
Plexus A1 by Gabriel Dawe
I'd seen photos of Dawe's thread sculptures before, but it was really amazing to see in person. Viewers mostly just stood in wonder and took it all in. It was beautiful, and really interesting how, if you shifted even a little, the colors would shift from more opaque to more transparent.
There was also a viewing room that showed Dawe creating his thread sculptures -- he creates them in giant warehouses and uses a long rod to string each thread from floor to ceiling. Definitely my favorite piece of the show.
Shindig by Patrick Doughtery
(sorry, random tourists I caught on film)
In the next room was Patrick Dougherty's room filled with these crazy sculptures made of woven sticks that you could actually enter. (Walking into them was encouraged.) He builds his pieces on-site, and the shape is dictated by the space and the materials.
As you can see by these people standing next to them, they were quite large. I also got a familiar feeling about them and, after looking online to confirm, realized I had seen one of his scupltures in the botanical gardens at Clemson University about 10 years prior - it was a giant human-sized bird nest built into the ground that you could step into.
Folding the Chesapeake by Maya Lin
The final piece that I was able to photograph was a glass marble-filled room by Maya Lin (of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial-fame).
The marbles read like cracks in the wall, but were actually a topographical map of the Chesapeake River. It was interesting, and I have no idea how she got the marbles to behave for her - I would imagine that's an incredibly stressful medium in which to work!
My only regret is that I didn't get into Jennifer Angus' room In the Midnight Garden because the line was winding through several other rooms, and it was just too much, so I only got a peek.
Some of the exhibits are starting to close May 8, so hurry if you want to see them!
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