October Art Highlights

October went by really quickly! Not only were we able to see some great art here in Dallas and on a road trip to Springfield, MO., we also dropped off our first batch of K.Co Art Guides to our very first hotel concierge partner, published our first Dallas Art Travel Guide on Etsy, designed and launched a Custom Art Adventure service, and are now fully operating in K.Co 2.0 mode! It's been a bit like trying to steer a barge and we are still in learning as we go in some ways, but I'm happy with our progress and hope that our new clients and connections are happy, too. That's what it's all about!

Now, on to the Art Adventures!

"Slumgallion (The Venerate Outpost)" by Karl Unnasch at The Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK.

"Slumgullion (The Venerate Outpost) at Tulsa's Philbrook Museum of Art was my very favorite thing to see this month. This will definitely go on any Best Of... lists for me at the end of the year. It was such an interesting piece, and so beautifully made. The stained glass, in particular was something to see - each colored piece was a different object. The Philbrook in general is a museum that I keep a close eye on, because its programming and exhibitions are really innovative and high-quality. Only a short drive from Dallas, so I hope to visit again in the new year. "Slumgullion" is a permanent installation, so I highly recommend visiting, walking through the Philbrook's magical gardens, and checking it out for yourself.

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From "Ubuhle Women:Beadwork and the Art of Independence", Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, MO.

Our trip through Tulsa ended in Springfield, MO. While we were there to visit friends in a pretty structured weekend, we did grab some time for a mini-adventure. Part of K.Co' s mission is to prove that great art is everywhere. To support that, we purposefully seek out art wherever we find ourselves. The Springfield Art Museum was a fun discovery. It's not huge, but its exhibits were interesting and great to explore on a quick stop in a busy afternoon. This show, "Ubuhle Women: Beadwork and the Art of Independence" was really interesting in person. The skill and craftsmanship here is really something special.

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Shawn Smith "Harmony of Decay" at Craighead Green Gallery. Dallas.

Shawn Smith's "Systems and Omens" show at Craighead Green Gallery was a definite standout this month. I loved the pixelated quality and intricate construction of his work.

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It seems that innovation was the theme of my October Art Adventures. Another new favorite was "Womb" by Jennifer Steinkamp at Talley Dunn Gallery. The gallery transformed several huge rooms into immersive nature scenes, with Steinkamp's interactive video projection covering entire walls. It is always so cool to see all the different directions where art can go.

Washington, DC Art Guide

Washington, DC and its surrounding areas are known for American history and lots of it. So much so, that Washington DC's art and gallery scene tends to fly a little below the radar. But with its heavy cultural presence and a metropolitan area that includes Virginia and Maryland, there is plenty of art to see on a weekend visit to DC, and lots of it left to save for the next visit.

Day One: A late afternoon or evening arrival doesn't mean you're out of luck where art in Washington DC is concerned. Depending on how adventurous you feel, you can either visit an arts and culture-centric restaurant for dinner and planning, start your art adventure immediately, or both!

Busboys and Poets is a DC staple, with great food, amazing art, and an inclusive, forward-thinking mission. And, it has a bookstore attached that features a curated mix of unique, mission-aligned books, magazines and gifts. If you're lucky, your visit might coincide with one of the many events it hosts.

After dinner, you can retire to your hotel to get a head start on the next day, or take in DuPont Underground, which often has late-night hours and shows. This venue is self-explanatory. It's 15,000 square feet of repurposed space beneath the city’s iconic Dupont Circle, opened in 1949 as a trolley station, and was designated as fallout shelter in the late 1960s. The space was mostly abandoned from the mid-nineties until 2016 when it was repurposed as DuPont Underground.

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Day Two: Start your day early and explore the greater DC area. Two half-day trips we recommend are Alexandria, Va. and Glenstone, in Potomac, MD.

Alexandria, Virginia:

Potomac Waterfront and the Torpedo Factory in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia.

If you don't have access to a car, Alexandria is a great option. With many destinations directly along the Blue and Yellow lines, exit the King Street station for the easiest access to Old Town, a quaint, historic neighborhood full of restaurants, shops and art. It's an incredibly walkable area, and offers a trolley service through Old Town Alexandria as well.

The Torpedo Factory Art Center is just a few steps from the Potomac River Waterfront and water taxis to Georgetown in DC, another good transportation option. The Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria is home to the nation’s largest collection of working-artists’ open studios - currently at 82 - under one roof, along with seven galleries, two artists' workshops and more. An enclosed space, the Torpedo Factory is a great spot for exploring art in all seasons.

Misha's coffee is a short stroll away and takes you back toward the train station, a perfect route to see a little more of Alexandria and grab some fuel for the rest of your day's adventure! If you need something a little more substantial and enjoy seafood, Hank's Oyster Bar is a repeat visit for us.

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Glenstone:

"Split-Rocker" by Jeff Koons at Glenstone, Potomac, MD.

If you have access to a car and a little more time to spend, Glenstone is well-worth the drive to Potomac, MD. While it is recommended that you reserve a ticket three months out, there's an interesting workaround for on-the-spot visitors. Access Maryland's 301 bus route, and it will drop you right off at Glenstone's welcome center. We did this and had no trouble being admitted.

Glenstone is relatively new, and this extremely stylized place is spread out over nearly 300 acres, and features a comprehensive indoor space called The Pavilions, overseen by docents dressed in matching grey, minimalist shifts. Photography is permitted in outdoor spaces only, and no bags are allowed in (lockers are provided.)

Glenstone Pavilions, Potomac, Maryland.

Indoor art on display while we were there included works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cy Twombly and Ellsworth Kelly along with Kerry James Marshall and Roni Horn. Michael Heizer's "Collapse" is a very dramatic outdoor sculpture that is essentially a cluster of 15 massive steel beams "collapsing" into a giant hole. The drop is steep and without guardrails, so docents only allow three-to-five guests on its terrace, heavily escorted and in short intervals, from noon to 1 p.m. and 3 to 4 p.m.

Glenstone's most recognizable piece is Jeff Koons' "Split-Rocker," a massive half-horse, half dinosaur head made from live, flowering plants that seems to rise up out of the meadows and hills as guests wind their way from the welcome center to the pavilions.

Glenstone could be a half-day or a full-day. We chose to cut this visit short and save some for next time, and four hours still gave us plenty of time to see amazing art, plus have a little rest in the cafe with a cold drink and a snack.

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The Phillips Collection:

Make your way back to DC and check out The Phillips Collection, a museum that's large, but not overwhelmingly so - a comfortable end to a day out of town. If your "weekend" happens to include a Thursday, it will be open until 8:30 p.m.! This DuPont Circle art museum is repurposed from a home, and uses its many rooms to showcase the art in intimate and interesting ways.

Its rotating exhibitions often have a human interest perspective, and the permanent collection includes Wolfgang Laib's "Wax Room: Wohin bist Du gegangen – wohin gehst Du? (Where have you gone – where are you going?)" This interesting permanent installation allows visitors to step into a narrow chamber constructed from beeswax. The Phillips Collection's wax room an interesting experience that you won't easily find elsewhere, and it smells amazing! Be prepared to leave all bags outside the wax chamber, as it is very delicate.

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End the day in DuPont Circle at Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe, a hybrid bookstore/restaurant, or grab a coffee and pastry to go at Firehoook Bakery, which is open until 9 p.m.

While you are in DuPont Circle, be sure to look around you! It is home to a very large concentration of embassies, so you will notice a whole world's worth of flags from represented countries lining the blocks.

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National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC.

National Museum of Women in the Art and the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden:

Day 3: If you have a good half-day to spend before heading back home, I recommend the National Museum of Women in the Arts, especially if you are traveling with young girls. (The museum is great for ages 12 and up.)

It's easy to get through in a couple of hours, and focuses on art by women and other, often-underrepresented, artists. The art on display is as diverse as the artists, in a range that includes pieces by Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot as well as contemporary artists like Cindy Sherman, Elizabeth Catlett, Hung Liu and Amy Sherald.

If there's time, wrap up your visit with a quick stroll through the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden, and visit the huge Kusama Pumpkin and "The Drummer," an interesting and dynamic rabbit sculpture by Barry Flanagan.

Stopping for lunch? We enjoyed Jose' Andrés' China Chilicano, an interesting Peruvian/Chinese/Japanese fusion restaurant that included delicious dumplings and yucca fries. Compass Coffee has multiple locations and is a great place to take a short break in the area.

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A weekend is plenty of time to hit the highlights of a great art adventure, while leaving plenty leftover for the next time. Its many museums, galleries and art spaces, along with its proximity to Maryland, Virginia and beyond also means that it would be easy to personalize the trip to your interests.

Want us to help you plan your own, personalized itinerary for Washington DC art travel? Get in touch or book us through our shop. (Please allow up to two weeks for custom itinerary planning and e-delivery.)

"This is the Day" : Jeffrey Gibson at The Blanton

My favorite artist discovery of the summer, possibly of the year, is Jeffrey Gibson. I first saw his work at the Whitney Biennial, where his striking, textile-based pieces were a focal point, easily standing out in a room filled with other amazing art.

I was thrilled to hear that he was having a big exhibition, "This is the Day," at The Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, and tried to go on opening weekend this summer. Alas, life got in the way and I wasn't able to attend until earlier this month. We had to make it a quick trip and move some other things around to make it work, but I'm so glad we did!

I selected a few highlights for my Central Texas Art Adventure post, but truly, the whole show was amazing. It was versatile - highlighting Gibson's beadwork, textiles, sculptures and even film, yet each piece was obviously and uniquely his and together, made a cohesive exhibition. "This is the Day" heavily incorporates song lyrics; its title is from a "The The" song, and it has its own playlist on Spotify.

Gibson incorporates Native American themes into his work, in ways that range from obvious to more subtle. His use of traditional Native American craftsmanship blended with modern themes and sensibilities (such as the song lyrics) really give you an idea of who this artist is, how his mind works and what he stands for, in addition to the aesthetics and artistic excellence found in the work he produces.

Here are just a few of my favorite scenes and pieces from the show, and they are even more amazing in person. Photos truly do not do justice to Gibson's work. The Austin show closes September 29, but if you see his name pop up at a showcase near you, try not to miss it.