Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

"Pink Gesture" (Glass Vessel)

Admire collaborating artists Margie Jervis and Susie Krasnican's fused successive layers of colored enamel on their sculptural glass vessel, enhancing the medium's ability to reflect color and light.

March 5, 1982 – April 25, 1982

Renwick Gallery

200 Years of Royal Copenhagen Porcelain

See a selection of 137 porcelain, stoneware, and faience works from the historical and contemporary collections of the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory, Ltd., the oldest Danish enterprise in the field of applied art.

April 12, 1974 – June 30, 1974

Renwick Gallery

22 Polish Textile Artists

See 30 works illustrating textile trends in Poland between 1960 and 1976.

June 24, 1977 – September 5, 1977

Renwick Gallery

30th Anniversary Exhibition

Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Renwick with an exhibition featuring objects from all media--clay, fiber, glass, metal, and wood--that illustrate the breadth of its collection.

February 12, 2002 – May 31, 2002

Renwick Gallery

40 under 40: Craft Futures

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery, the museum presents works by 40 artists under the age of 40.

July 20, 2012 – February 3, 2013

Renwick Gallery

A Century of Ceramics in the United States, 1878-1978

Trace the growth of ceramics as an art form from its traditional art pottery roots to more recent pioneering personal statements in clay with these 231 works.

November 8, 1979 – January 27, 1980

Renwick Gallery

A Feast of Color: Corpus Christi Dance Costumes from Ecuador

Delight in 4 complete fiesta costumes of cotton decorated with beads, ribbon, and foil, as well as individual pieces used during Corpus Christi festivities.

January 9, 1981 – July 12, 1981

Renwick Gallery

A Glass Act

See sections of Dale Chihuly's glasswork sets used in the opera Palleas & Melisande, created for the Seattle Opera in 1993.

April 16, 1994 – May 15, 1994

Renwick Gallery

A Holiday Cornucopia

Admire and purchase handmade holiday ornaments and decorative arts by 17 artists, many of whom have been represented in past Renwick exhibitions.

December 1, 1981 – December 31, 1981

Renwick Gallery

A Measure of Earth: The Cole-Ware Collection of American Baskets

See a collection of modern baskets that reveal the central role basketry has played in the everyday life of Americans.

October 17, 2013 – December 8, 2013

Renwick Gallery

A Modern Consciousness: D. J. DePree and Florence Knoll

Honor two designers of 20th century American furniture who contributed greatly to the success of two major companies, Herman Miller Incorporated and Knoll International. Some 50 pieces of furniture are on display.

April 11, 1975 – November 9, 1975

Renwick Gallery

A Renwick Bestiary

Admire and purchase animal images depicted on objects ranging from baskets, bowls, and furniture to toys, jewelry, mugs, molds, and rubber stamps.

June 19, 1981 – August 30, 1981

Renwick Gallery

A Revolution in Wood: The Bresler Collection

This exhibition features 66 objects produced in the 1980s and 1990s from the Charles and Fleur Bresler Collection to highlight contemporary wood turning's growing sophistication.

September 24, 2010 – January 30, 2011

Renwick Gallery

Affordable Frills

Admire and purchase jewelry created by 20 contemporary American craftsmen -- necklaces, pins, and earrings made of silk, plastic, glass, titanium, ceramic, and silver.

January 10, 1985 – April 28, 1985

Renwick Gallery

Albert Paley: Sculptural Adornment

Admire 52 unconventional pins, brooches, and neckpieces, many of which are complex in design as body ornaments, fabricated from gold, copper, silver, and gemstones.

November 22, 1991 – April 5, 1992

Renwick Gallery

Albert Paley: Studies for the Renwick Gallery's Portal Gallery

View 8 drawings related to the creation of the gallery's signature Portal Gates, crafted by Albert Paley.

September 25, 1992 – January 10, 1993

Renwick Gallery

Allan West Meets East: Four Folding Screens

See 4 Japanese-style screens that interpret the visible and invisible forces of nature. West's works combine traditional Japanese landscapes, American Color Field Painting, and the style of Sam Gilliam.

November 10, 1994 – February 5, 1995

Renwick Gallery

Alternatives to Gold

Admire and purchase jewelry created by artists whose work is included in current exhibit, Good as Gold: Alternative Materials in American Jewelry.

December 2, 1981 – March 28, 1982

Renwick Gallery

American Art Deco

See some 180 works including sculpture, furniture, textiles, glass, ceramics, silver, and architectural photographs all representative of Art Deco, the most important decorative style of the late 1920s and 1930s in the U.S.

April 17, 1987 – July 26, 1987

Renwick Gallery

American Art Pottery, 1880-1930, from the Copper-Hewitt Museum

Enjoy art pottery represented by 75 major examples of historical and authentic development around the turn of the century from the Goodman collection of the Cooper-Hewitt.

March 25, 1988 – August 6, 1989

Renwick Gallery

American Artists and their Craft

Admire a changing exhibition of the work of American artists and craftmen.

May 6, 1983 – October 30, 1983

Renwick Gallery

American Coverlets

Enjoy the beautiful, utilitarian art form shown by 15 woven American coverlets, and 13 color reproductions and text panels.

May 11, 1973 – September 16, 1973

Renwick Gallery

American Crafts in the White House

See a sample of the American hand-crafted place settings and centerpieces commissioned by the First Lady for a recent White House luncheon.

May 21, 1977 – July 10, 1977

Renwick Gallery

American Crafts: The Nation's Collection

See selections from Renwick's permanent collection on view as part of the 25th anniversary reinstallation.

March 14, 1997 – July 13, 1997

Renwick Gallery

American Crafts: The Nation's Collection

In celebration of the 20th anniversary, visit a gallerywide installation of 130 major craft objects showing the scope and prominence of the collection.

September 25, 1992 – January 24, 1993

Renwick Gallery