Artful Weekend May 28-30 – The Art League

Welcome to Artful Weekend, our guide to fun and interesting ways to enjoy art in person or virtually.

This weekend: The May 2022 Open Exhibit, Our Fractured Life by Sally Davies, and a Jacqueline Saunders Retrospective at the League;  Sam Gilliam: Full Circle at the Hirshhorn; Camilla David’s Bold Strokes at WNDC; and Hotter, Wetter, Deadlier by Andrea Limauro at The Silva Gallery x Latela Curatorial.

May 2022 Open Exhibit

Open Exhibits at The Art League present an array of works in a variety of mediums created by our member artists. This month’s exhibit features 98 works in oil, acrylic, watercolor, ceramic, and stone. The May Open Exhibit was juried by photographer and book artist Eliot Dudik. Eliot’s photo credits include Smithsonian Magazine, The New York Times, CNN, and Oxford American Magazine. His work belongs in collections at The VMFA, MoMA Library, Chrysler Museum of Art, and Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library. The May 2022 Open Exhibit is on view through June 5.

Our Fractured Life by Sally Davies

Sally Davies presents her solo exhibit Our Fractured Life, which explores the disconnect, isolation, and uncertainty felt during Covid-19. In a dramatic and poignant way, her large canvases with handmade tiles seem to ask the viewer, “Are we falling apart? Or piecing our lives back together?” Take a look at Davies’ creative process in this time-lapse video chronicling how she made of Peaceful Guide, pictured above. Our Fractured Life is on view through June 5.

Jacqueline Saunders Retrospective

The Art League is honored to present a retrospective exhibit in memory of one of our most beloved artists. Jacqueline Saunders, Jackie, taught and exhibited at The Art League for over 20 years. She was known for her fabulous gestural hand with watercolor and ink, particularly in figurative and floral studies. She was just as well known for her incredible energy, joy, and love for both the work and those around her. Always moving and always working, Jackie was as prolific with her work as she was generous with her time. The Art League faculty, staff, artists, and students still feel her loss, and we are glad to be able to share a little bit of her legacy with the broader community. The Jacqueline Saunders Retrospective is on view through June 5.

Sam Gilliam: Full Circle

In the 60 years since moving to Washington, Gilliam has produced a prolific body of abstraction across media through which he has continually pursued new avenues of artistic expression. In Sam Gilliam: Full Circle, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden will present an exhibition by pioneering abstractionist artist Sam Gilliam. Between May 25 and Sept. 11, Sam Gilliam: Full Circle will pair a series of circular paintings (or tondos) created in 2021 with Rail (1977), a landmark painting in the Hirshhorn’s permanent collection. Filling the museum’s second-floor inner-circle gallery, Gilliam’s first solo exhibition at the Hirshhorn will reflect the breadth of his multilayered practice and mark the first exhibition in his chosen hometown of Washington, D.C., since 2007. It is on view through September 11; Independence Ave and 7th Street.

Camilla David: Bold Strokes

Don’t miss Bold Strokes, League member artist Camilla David’s solo exhibit at the Woman’s National Democratic Club. David’s painting style combines abstract expressionism with Washington Color School influences, a result of her education at the Corcoran School of Art under renowned artists like Gene Davis, Paul Reed, and Leon Berkowitz. She blends varied layers of bold and vivid colors and employs many tools and applications – layering with fast-drying acrylic paints, markers, oil, wax and chalk pastels, charcoal, inks and collage. Bold Strokes is on view through September 6; 1526 New Hampshire Avenue NW.

Hotter, Wetter, Deadlier by Andrea Limauro

The Silva Gallery x Latela Curatorial is excited to announce the solo exhibition Hotter, Wetter, Deadlier by Andrea Limauro. Inspired by his professional career as a city planner and informed by historical references and scientific data, Limauro’s artwork serves as a prediction and a wake up call to the social and political implications of climate change in the nation’s capital. He utilizes a combination of mediums—screenprinting, collage, striking color palette, gold leaf, repetitive patterns and photographic references to the past—to create an allegorical narrative and envisions a future devoid of humanity yet abundant in natural resources. It is on view through July 24; 1630 Columbia Road NW.

Enjoy the long Memorial Day weekend!