Media Advisory: Press Preview for “Gene Davis: Hot Beat”
WHAT:
Press preview for new exhibition “Gene Davis: Hot Beat”
WHEN:
Wednesday, Nov. 16
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Sign-in: 11 a.m.
Curator-led tour: 11:30 a.m.
WHERE:
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Enter at Eighth and G streets N.W.
WHO:
Jean Lawlor Cohen, consulting curator
Virginia Mecklenburg, chief curator, Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gene Davis (1920–1985), considered a leader of the Washington Color School, created a richly varied body of work that looks as fresh today as it did when it first was shown. He is best known for his paintings of brightly colored stripes that were remarkably original when they first appeared in the 1960s. This selection of 15 classic stripe paintings by Davis from the 1960s reveals the ambitious vision and accomplishment of this Color Field artist. A number of the paintings are nearly 20 feet wide—including “Dr. Peppercorn,” “Raspberry Icicle” and “Red Witch”—and have not been seen publicly in decades.
This preview immediately follows the National Portrait Gallery’s press event for “Bill Viola: The Moving Portrait.” Additional information about that event is online.
Interested media should RSVP to americanartpressoffice@si.edu. Photographers and film crews must contact the office in advance to make arrangements. Requests for one-on-one interviews must be made in advance with Laura Baptiste by email at baptistel@si.edu.
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About the Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is the flagship museum in the United States for American art and craft. It is home to one of the most significant and inclusive collections of American art in the world. The museum’s main building, located at Eighth and G streets N.W., is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. The museum’s Renwick Gallery, a branch museum dedicated to contemporary craft, is located on Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street N.W. and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Check online for current hours and admission information. Admission is free. Follow the museum on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Smithsonian information: (202) 633-1000. Museum information (recorded): (202) 633-7970. Website: americanart.si.edu.
