Vija Celmins
November 2021—June 2022
In the Gallery, Glenstone presents a selection of paintings, drawings, mezzotints, and sculptures by Vija Celmins (American, b. Latvia 1938) from the 1960s through the past decade. The exhibition marks the artist’s first solo presentation in the Washington, D.C., area since 1979. Celmins is acclaimed for her meticulous renderings of images of the natural world—the night sky, the ocean surface, and spiderwebs, among others—many of which were featured in To Fix the Image in Memory, a major retrospective of her work that traveled the United States and Canada from 2018-2019, installed at the Met Breuer, SFMOMA, and the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Exhibition Preview
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Vija Celmins
Vase, 2017-2018
Celmins 2017Vase, 2017-2018
oil on canvas
18 x 13 inches (46 x 33 cm)
© Vija Celmins, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery
Vija Celmins https://www.glenstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/CELMv_Vase-577x800.jpg Thin cracks run over a painting that describes the surface of a vase -
Vija Celmins
Reverse Night Sky #4, 2015-2017
Celmins 2015Reverse Night Sky #4, 2015-2017
oil on canvas
54 x 66 inches (137 x 168 cm)
© Vija Celmins, courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery
Photo: courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery
courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery Vija Celmins https://www.glenstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/CELMv_GF_ReverseNightSky-1067x800.jpg A rectangular canvas painted white has been splattered with black dots of various, but tiny, sizes. -
Vija Celmins
Blackboard Tableau #14, 2011-2015
Celmins 2011Blackboard Tableau #14, 2011-2015
one found object and one made object: alkyd oil, acrylic, and pastel on wood
each 18 ¾ x 24 x 2 ½ inches (48 x 61 x 6 cm)
© Vija Celmins, courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery
Photo: courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery
courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery Vija Celmins https://www.glenstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/CELMv_GF_BlackboardTableau14-1067x800.jpg Two shabby-looking framed blackboards, lightly dusted with green-tinted pastel, are mounted on a white wall. -
Vija Celmins
A Painting in Six Parts, 1986-87/2012-16
Celmins 1986A Painting in Six Parts, 1986-87/2012-16
oil on canvas, six parts
15 ⅛ x 254 inches (38 x 645 cm) overall
© Vija Celmins, courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery
Vija Celmins https://www.glenstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CELMv_PaintingInSixParts_Hero-1067x800.jpg A series of six gray canvases hang on a wall in a gallery with a stone floor. -
Vija Celmins
Pencil, 1968
Celmins 1968Pencil, 1968
acrylic on canvas on wood
3 x 66 x 3 inches (8 x 168 x 8 cm)
© Vija Celmins, courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery
Vija Celmins https://www.glenstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CELMv_Pencil_Install.jpg A sculpture of an over-sized gray pencil sits on a stone gallery floor. -
Vija Celmins
Forest Fire, 1965-1966
Celmins 1965Forest Fire, 1965-1966
oil on canvas
25 x 36 inches (65 x 91 cm)
© Vija Celmins, courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery
Photo: Tim Nighswander/Imaging4Art.com
Tim Nighswander/Imaging4Art.com Vija Celmins https://www.glenstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SM_CELMv_HERO_2021-1101x800.jpg