Glenstone Museum’s Spring 2022 Exhibitions to Feature Installations by Simone Leigh and Doris Salcedo

February 15, 2022
A sculpture of a woman with arms at her hips stands in a gallery space

POTOMAC, MD, February 15, 2022 – Glenstone Museum announced today its spring 2022 exhibition schedule will feature the installation of a major sculpture by Simone Leigh (American, b. 1967) and a presentation of works by Doris Salcedo (Colombian, b. 1958), including a recently completed commission that will be on view for the first time.

A recent work by Simone Leigh, Village Series (2021), will go on view in Room 9 of the Pavilions on February 24. Leigh’s practice is rooted in the exploration of Black female-identified subjectivity and ideas of habitat, architecture, and material culture . Standing more than seven feet tall, the sculpture demonstrates Leigh’s masterful command of technically challenging materials traditionally found in African cultures like glazed stoneware and raffia for which the artist has gained renown. Leigh renders the figure’s head, bare torso, and an intricate wreath of whorl-shaped elements encircling the face in hand-built ceramic, while the conical shape of its skirt is expressed in a volume of raffia. Notably, the face of the sculpture is depicted as a concave mask, a purposeful anonymity that threads throughout Leigh’s practice. Simone Leigh will represent the United States at the upcoming Venice Biennale, opening in April 2022. Village Series will remain on view at Glenstone through early 2023.

Beginning in May 2022, Room 2 of the Pavilions will be dedicated to a presentation of sculptures by Doris Salcedo, who lives and works in Bogotá, Colombia, the first of its kind in the Washington, D.C. area. Featuring major works dating from 1989 to the present, and designed in close collaboration with the artist, the installation features the artist’s longtime use of domestic objects—including armoires, tables, clothing, and bedframes—to create powerful and moving sculptures that reflect the myriad ways in which violence and oppression have manifested in the modern world. Salcedo grounds her practice in research and firsthand interviews with survivors of political and domestic violence in her native Colombia and beyond. By way of a process that is simultaneously time-intensive, laborious, and compassionate, the forms her sculptures achieve are poetic translations of the words and experiences of those who have suffered harm. Disremembered X (2020/2021), a sculpture in four parts commissioned by Glenstone, originated from interviews the artist conducted with American mothers who lost children to gun violence. The ethereal sculptures, which appear to be hanging shawls or jackets suspended on the wall, are comprised of raw silk thread and thousands of burnt sewing needles. Salcedo’s sculptures speak to the pain of survivors, taking on collective mourning and quiet remembrance in equal measure. An opening date is forthcoming; the exhibition will remain on view through the end of the year.

Emily Wei Rales, director and co-founder of Glenstone, said, “We’re proud to dedicate our early 2022 exhibition schedule to the work of these two courageous artists, women who create indelible responses to some of the most pressing concerns of our time. Through these presentations, we invite visitors to encounter the power of sculpture to engage in necessary discourses around identity, politics, and trauma.”

In advance of the opening of these presentations, Specific Notation (2019), the installation of a monumental painting by Lorna Simpson currently on view in Room 9, will close on Sunday, February 20. Jeff Wall, the five-decade survey exhibition currently on view in Room 2, will close on Sunday, March 13.

About Glenstone

Glenstone is open Thursdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 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, including same-day visits.

Students 12 and older, active-duty military members, and museum professionals enjoy guaranteed entry for themselves plus one guest upon presenting a valid identification card at the Arrival Hall. Advanced registration is not required for visitors in these categories. Passengers who arrive at Glenstone on the Ride On bus (route 301) also will be offered guaranteed entry.

At Glenstone, masks are currently required except when visitors and associates are outdoors and more than six feet apart from other households. For a list of current visitor guidelines, please review the Plan Your Visit page on www.glenstone.org.

Media Contacts

Glenstone Communications Department: press@glenstone.org

Natalie Miller, Polskin Arts & Communications Counselors: natalie.miller@finnpartners.com

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