ART

National Gallery of Art

National Gallery of Art

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are a national art museum in Washington, D.C., located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW

In the National Art Gallery, the exhibit was the Antiquities and American Art 1800-1970. I saw art given by Ima Hogg, Jackson Pollock, Severin Roesen, Louis Comfort Tiffany and Christian Edward Bottcher. I have visited the Hogg Plantation and being able to see the furniture and art that was given by Mrs. Hogg from her home was very interesting. The first piece of art that caught my attention was in section 107 of this level. It was called the "Victorian Bouquet" by the artist Severin Roesen in circa 1850-1855. Roesen was an American artist but was born in Germany in 1815. The media of the artwork is oil on canvas. The "Victorian Bouquet" features a wide variety of exquisite flowers and fruit. It revives the 17th century Dutch tradition of still-life portraits and paintings. The painting celebrates wealth, life, and aesthetic and physical comfort. It contains roses, poppies, morning glories, peonies, tulips, forget-me-nots, carnations, lilies, irises, peaches, raspberries, pomegranates, and a glass of wine among other things. Roesen provides a feast for the senses. What I love most about this work is how vivid, realistic, and beautiful he made the flowers and contents of the picture. The bright and rich colors chosen in contrast to the black background really create a beautiful scene.

In the Caroline Wiess Law building, 2nd floor, gallery 200, I found the works of Do Ho Suh, a Korean artist living in America. The first piece I found was called "Fallen Star 1/5" which is 131 x 145 x 120 inches. It was created in 2008-2009 and is made up of ABS (plastic), basswood, beech, ceramic, enamel paint, glass, honeycomb board, lacquer paint, latex paint, LED lights, pinewood, plywood, resin, spruce, styrene, polycarbonate sheets and polyvinyl chloride sheets. The translucent quality of these materials creates the blurred line between the past and present, inside and outside. "Fallen Star 1/5" is an autobiographical representation of Suh's journey from Korea to the U.S. The artwork shows us a traditional Korean scholar's house that has crashed into the building that housed his first American apartment. Each object in the house has been hand made by Suh. He made the house and its contents as realistic ...