A survey exhibition titled "Women Artists of the DMV: A Survey Exhibition" at the American University Museum in Washington, D.C., showcases 63 works by women artists from the region. The show, reviewed by Mark Jenkins, features depictions of women as everyday people, archetypes, allegorical figures, and goddesses, alongside some abstract pieces, with a preference for representational art.
Art critic Sebastian Smee embarked on a summer road trip to visit seven major art museums across five Midwestern cities over five days. The column reflects on how the rapid succession of artworks and ideas from these institutions—ranging from the Art Institute of Chicago to the Cleveland Museum of Art—creates oblique connections and correspondences, both among the works themselves and between art and the outside world. Smee describes the experience as anything but an escape, as the art continually mirrors real-world events and emotions.
The Walters Art Museum has unveiled new Latin American galleries, opening with a work by Peruvian-born artist Kukuli Velarde titled "Wak'a del Agua" (2022-2023). The ceramic piece, inspired by the Inca tradition of stacking stones to mark sacred spaces, features five stacked forms painted in diverse styles that reflect different periods of Peruvian history, from ancient textile patterns to neon-colored figures.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington presents 'Portals,' an exhibition curated by Donna Honarpisheh featuring three rising female artists—Aryana Minai, Shyama Golden, and Aiza Ahmed—who explore the concept of liminality through dreamscapes and half-seen worlds. Minai’s works use handmade paper, bricks, and skeleton leaves to create tactile portals and altars; Golden’s oil and acrylic paintings depict a surreal journey into a subconscious dream world inspired by 'Alice in Wonderland' and Sri Lankan folklore.
Columnist Sebastian Smee highlights nine art exhibitions opening this fall, noting that museum curators plan major shows two to five years in advance, and the cultural mood can shift dramatically between conception and execution. The article reflects on how exhibitions that once felt timely may now feel dissonant or precarious upon opening.