Glenstone Museum Expands Its Outdoor Experience with New Sculptures and Summer Programming
POTOMAC, MD, April 16, 2024 – Glenstone Museum is pleased to announce an expanded outdoor experience this summer, featuring sculpture and architecture walks, curatorial talks, evening hours, live music, and sketching sessions. Set within Glenstone’s 300 acres of rolling meadows and woodlands, these programs will highlight both long-established and newly installed outdoor works by artists including Richard Serra, Tony Smith, Ellsworth Kelly, Jeff Koons, Felix Gonzalez Torres, Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Robert Gober, Simone Leigh, Alex Da Corte, and Charles Ray.
Simone Leigh’s monumental bronze sculpture Satellite, 2022, created for the 59th Venice Biennale, will be on view starting May 16 along the Woodland Trail. At twenty-four-feet tall and 6,000-pounds, Satellite abstracts the female form as well as incorporates motifs from the African diaspora. In place of where a head would appear, Leigh inserts a concave disc reminiscent of a ground satellite dish. Its form and title allude to an ability to relay and receive information, suggesting a symbiotic relationship to knowledge.
On view beginning June 13 will be the latest in a series of installations organized in collaboration with the artist Charles Ray. Presented entirely outdoors for the first time, this fifth installation will feature four works rendered in stainless steel produced between 2012 and 2018, including works on loan from the artist’s personal collection.
Recently, Alex Da Corte’s As Long as the Sun Lasts, 2021, was installed overlooking the Gallery pond. Mixing references from art history and Italian literature with children’s toys, Sesame Street, and Donna Summer, this work brings a dash of color and whimsy to the landscape.
This May through September, the museum will be open until 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays as part of Summer Evenings at Glenstone. Visitors have the option to experience the Gallery building with its current exhibition, Iconoclasts: Selections from Glenstone’s Collection, explore the extensive grounds, and enjoy weekly events and activities. In addition, one Saturday each month, the Patio will feature live music. All outdoor programming is subject to change, according to weather conditions.
Program Descriptions
Summer Evenings at Glenstone
May 3 – September 28
Glenstone will stay open until 8 pm each Friday and Saturday. In addition to ticketed entry to Iconoclasts: Selections from Glenstone’s Collection at the Gallery, which presents work by more than 50 artists who have made some of the most radical contributions to art in the 20th century, there will be guided Outdoor Walks; snacks, wine, and local beer available for purchase at the Café and Patio; and live music performances at the Patio the second Saturday of each month.
Guided Outdoor Architectural Walks
May 4 – September 28
Each Saturday at 11 am, one-hour Guide-led Architectural Walks will explore the Charles Gwathmey-designed Gallery and Patio buildings, along with an overview of the history and timeline of the Glenstone campus and collection.
Curatorial Talks
May 9 – September 12
On the second Thursday of each month at 2 pm, visitors will be invited to join Curatorial Talks about works in the outdoor sculpture collection and their creators, including Alex Da Corte, Richard Serra, and Tony Smith, among others.
Split-Rocker Planting
Early May
For the first time, visitors will be able to watch the annual planting of Jeff Koons’s Split-Rocker. Planting will take place between 10 am and 4 pm on May 9 and 10, with rain dates of May 16 and 17.
Split-Rocker Talks
May through October
Each Thursday at 11 am between May and October, Chris Ryan, Split Rocker Technician, and Ariana Kaye, Curatorial Assistant, will lead a talk on the care and maintenance of this massive, blooming sculpture.
Guided Outdoor Sculpture Walks
June 16 – September 28
Each Sunday at 11 am, visitors may join one-hour Outdoor Sculpture Walks through the grounds of Glenstone, offering insights into the works on view and the artists who created them.
Guided Sketching Sessions
June 14 – September 29
Each Friday at 11 am, a Guided Sketching Session will be led by one of Glenstone’s Guides. Participants will join in a meditative activity, and then learn how to create a blind contour drawing. These sessions are open to all visitors, ages 12 and up – no drawing or sketching experience needed.
About Glenstone
Glenstone, a museum of modern and contemporary art, is integrated into nearly 300 acres of gently rolling pasture and unspoiled woodland in Montgomery County, Maryland, less than 15 miles from the heart of Washington, DC. Established by the not-for-profit Glenstone Foundation, the museum opened in 2006 and provides a contemplative, intimate setting for experiencing iconic works of art and architecture within a natural environment. The museum includes its original building, the Gallery, as well as additional structures opened in its 2018 expansion: the Arrival Hall (LEED platinum), the Pavilions, and the Café (both LEED gold).
Glenstone is open Thursdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.This summer, from May 3 – September 28, 2024, Glenstone will stay open until 8 p.m. each Friday and Saturday with special summer programming. Visitors are also invited to explore the grounds or participate in self-guided sculpture tours. Admission to Glenstone is free and visits can be scheduled online at: www.glenstone.org. Same-day visits can be scheduled online, when available.
Media Contacts
Erica Bogese, Senior Communications Manager, Glenstone Museum: erica.bogese@glenstone.org
Natalie Miller, Polskin Arts & Communications Counselors: natalie.miller@finnpartners.com
# # #