Exhibitions

WONDER

November 13, 2015 – July 10, 2016

Gabriel Dawe, Plexus A1, 2015

Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
1661 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC

Site specific installations transform multiple galleries

See on Map Floor Plan

WONDER, the opening exhibition at the newly renovated Renwick Gallery, features site-specific installations that transform the galleries into a contemporary “cabinet of wonders.” Nine major contemporary artists, Jennifer Angus, Chakaia Booker, Gabriel Dawe, Tara Donovan, Patrick Dougherty, Janet Echelman, John Grade, Maya Lin, and Leo Villareal, are installing work that responds to the architectural spaces of this national historic landmark. Each artist “takes over” one gallery in the building so that the museum as a whole becomes one immersive artwork. Eight of these works are new, inspired by and crafted exclusively for the Renwick.

The featured artists were selected for their ability to transform spaces through installation, for their focus on how visitors experience that space, and especially for their abiding interest in process and materials, aligning them with the Renwick’s mission to showcase the best in American craft.