npg day
a wooooonderful day at the national portrait gallery/smithsonian american art museum. almost never start in the npg half of the building (SAAM on the other side), but yes today. and the exhibits are so good right now. only made it through the first floor, which had an exhibit about artist buds, a couple about women, and a super one about venice. really fun.
“artist to artist” exhibited pieces by ten or so pairs of artists, with some relationship to each other, and their art. similarities/differences/jumping off points between them. most of the pairs, i only really liked one of the pieces (if at all), but it was cool learning about the friendships and how each rippled out. pairs included frank o’hara and grace hartigan, thomas hart benton and jackson pollock, etc.
and then the art and glass of venice was pretty cool. super job by the curator, exhibit flowed (even with so many artists and subjects), descriptions helped you understand where things originated and how they evolved. really neat. and even though it didn’t resemble the venice i know, i got a sense for how it may once have been.
took a back/lunch break a couple streets over at daikaya, yummy veggie ramen. and then back through to the museum’s first floor “Her Story: A Century of Women Writers” exhibit. and finally “Storied Women of the Civil War Era.”
strolled into the courtyard, lay down across a marble bench, and stared up through the undulating glass ceiling to the sky and clouds. eating a giant double chocolate chip cookie from the small cafe. perfection.
didn’t make it to “Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands.” back soon.