The exhibition was selected by 2014 curator and public art expert Deirdre Ehlen MacWilliams, in partnership with Arts in Foggy Bottom founders and co-directors Jackie Lemire, Jill Nevius and Mary Kay Shaw, with support from the Arts in Foggy Bottom advisory committee.
The physical nature and diverse material choices of the 2014 selected works connect the business, educational and residential communities of Foggy Bottom and the adjacent Metropolitan communities. All 16 works are site-specific and most are on view for the first time in Sculpted: Histories Revealed.
“The sculptures reflect both the home at which they are sited and the current homeowner. As a result, Sculpted: Histories Revealed communicates a piece of the present and a piece of the past,” MacWilliams said artist Mariah Anne Johnson, an adjunct fine art professor at George Washington University, whose preferred artistic medium is bed sheets, takes her inspiration from her mother’s efforts to maintain aesthetic order in the home, creating undulating sculptural installations. Johnson’s work in Histories Revealed is a direct response to the architecture of the row house where her work is sited.
Richard Vosseller’s sculpture, Monument, physicality manifests itself in the media he chooses, cor-ten or heavy duty steel, and showcases his enthusiasm for architecture. The monumentality of his work is perfectly paired with the town-home that plays host to his sculpture.
Sculpted: Histories Revealed features work by the following artists: Christian Benefiel, Greg Braun, Graham Caldwell, Joseph Fish, Mary Frank, Elizabeth Graeber, Mariah Anne Johnson, Laurel Lukaszewski, Dalya Luttwak, Leigh Maddox, Rachel Schmidt, Paul Steinkoenig, Veronica Szalus, Richard Vosseller and Bill Wood.
Click here to visit the official exhibit website.
About the Curator
Since 2005, Deirdre Ehlen MacWilliams has collaborated with design professionals, community members, government colleagues and artists to develop large- and small-scale public art projects for Washington, DC and Arlington, Virginia. She serves as public art project manager for Arlington’s nationally-renowned Public Art program where she develops and manages County-initiated projects and advises on various public art and design enhancement requests. Prior to joining Arlington County, MacWilliams worked as public art coordinator for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) and for Weitzman Studios in Brentwood, MD.
MacWilliams also works independently on creative projects and initiatives. Currently, she is the producer for DCCAH’s temporary public art initiative 5×5-2014. She also directs Mid-City Artists, a group of professional artists who have come together for the purpose of promoting their art and the mid-city section of DC. In 2012, MacWilliams served as curator for the Downtown BID’s Art All Night Festival and organizer for DCCAH’s inaugural 5×5 program.
About the Exhibit
The Foggy Bottom biennial outdoor sculpture exhibition can be viewed in front of homes and businesses in Historic Foggy Bottom between 24th and 26th Streets, NW, and H and K Streets, NW, day and night through Saturday, October 25th.
Arts in Foggy Bottom won the Mayor’s Arts Awards for “Innovation in the Arts” in 2009 and is a project of the Foggy Bottom Association.
Funding for the 2014 exhibition has been provided by a Planned Unit Development (PUD) amenity from the Hilton Garden Inn at 2201 M Street, NW. Major support for the three prior biennials was from the Foggy Bottom Association Defense and Improvement Corporation.
Advisory committee members include: Carolyn Alper, Robin Clarke, Chas Colburn, Jean Efron, Dale Johnson, Wendy Luke, Fanchon Silberstein, Anne Smith, Tracy Van Riper, Louise Weiner and Helen Zughaib.
Foggy Bottom, Washington DC May 17 thru October 25 2014