Media Advisory — Preview Exhibitions Featuring Augmented Reality and Studio Craft That Highlight the Beauty of Nature Through Botanically Inspired Sculptures
WHAT:
Press preview for exhibitions “Ginny Ruffner: Reforestation of the Imagination” and “Michael Sherrill Retrospective”
WHEN:
Thursday, June 27
10 a.m. to noon
Sign-in: 10 a.m.
Remarks: 10:30 a.m.
WHERE:
Renwick Gallery
Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street N.W.
WHO:
Robyn Kennedy, chief administrator of the Renwick Gallery
Ginny Ruffner, artist
Michael Sherrill, artist
This summer, the Smithsonian American Art Museum presents two exhibitions that highlight the beauty of nature through botanically inspired sculptures. “Ginny Ruffner: Reforestation of the Imagination” turns the Renwick Gallery into a post-apocalyptic scene where, upon viewing her hand-blown glass-stump sculptures through an augmented reality lens, holograms of fictional flora sprout and transform the space into a thriving oasis. Visitors can download the free app Reforestation on their phones or use the iPads in the gallery to bring this second reality to life.
“Michael Sherrill Retrospective,” organized by The Mint Museum, includes 73 objects from Sherrill’s earliest teapots and functional clay vessels to his recent mixed-media sculptures inspired by the landscape outside his studio in the mountains of North Carolina.
Both exhibitions will be on view from June 28 through Jan. 5, 2020.
Information about both exhibitions is available in online at americanart.si.edu/press/kits.
Interested media should RSVP to americanartpressoffice@si.edu. Photographers and film crews are welcome; contact the office in advance to make arrangements. Contact Taylor Dorn in advance at dornt@si.edu to request one-on-one interviews.
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.