Saying Goodbye To The Kojo Nnamdi Show
On this last episode, we look back on 23 years of joyous, difficult and always informative conversation.
Guest Host: Jennifer Golbeck
American artist Leo Villareal designed this LED installation called "Volume" for the museum's opening exhibition. It hangs above the museum's Grand Stair.
The Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery — the country’s first art museum — is reopening after a two-year, $30 million renovation. While visitors to the restored gallery may marvel at massive new exhibitions by artists Maya Lin, Tara Donovan and others, the backstory of this 150 year-old facility’s facelift is equally as eye-popping. From contractors’ discovery of Civil War-era relics, to architectural surprises and structural challenges that spurred innovation, the Renwick’s overhaul provides a technical and creative blueprint for museums considering similar changes in the future. We explore the new Renwick and hear the story behind its rejuvenation.
Guests
- Betsy Broun Director, Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery
- Eric Bottaro Project Manager for Renovation, Consigli Construction
Photos: A Look At The New Renwick Gallery
Contractors discovered multiple false ceilings behind the Renwick Gallery's vaulted ceiling.
The Renwick's roof had to be removed and reconstructed.
The interior of the Renwick Gallery in the late 1800s.
The Renwick Gallery during 1875.
American artist Leo Villareal designed this LED installation called "Volume" for the museum's opening exhibition. It hangs above the museum's Grand Stair.
Leo Villareal's "Volume," part of the Renwick Gallery's "Wonder" exhibit.
The renovation included a more neutral, updated color palette that highlighted the museum's decorative accents.
A chandelier by American glass sculptor Dale Chihuly hangs in the Renwick's Octagon Room.
A new carpet for the Grand Staircase designed by French architect Odile Decq re-establishes the French influence in the building.
The Renwick Gallery's new exterior.
For her installation "In the Midnight Garden," artist Jennifer Angus covered gallery walls in spiraling designs using different species of brightly colored insects.
Insects from Jennifer Angus' installation, "In the Midnight Garden."
Jennifer Angus' installation, "In the Midnight Garden," is part of the "Wonder" exhibit.
Artist Chakaia Booker used tires to create her work "Anonymous Donor."
Detail of Chakaia Booker's "Anonymous Donor."
Gabriel Dawe's weavings are often mistaken for rays of light. His work "Plexus A1" was inspired by memories of the skies above Mexico City and East Texas.
Tara Donovan's work "Untitled" was created from two tons of index cards. Donovan's work transforms the familiar into the unrecognizable through vast accumulation.
Detail of Tara Donovan's untitled installation.
Patrick Dougherty travels the world weaving sticks into architecture. His work "Shindig" is part of the Renwick's "Wonder" exhibition.
Detail of Patrick Dougherty's "Shindig" installation.
Patrick Doughtery's "Shindig" installation.
Artist John Grade modeled his sculpture "Middle Fork" after a 150 year-old hemlock tree in Washington state.
Artist John Grade's work "Middle Fork" will be carried back to a Washington forest floor, where it will gradually degrade.
John Grade's "Middle Fork" is part of Renwick Gallery's Wonder exhibit.
Maya Lin's "Folding the Chesapeake" was created with 168,000 marbles. Lin says she wants to bring awareness to the ecological importance of the waterway as an ecosystem.
Maya Lin describes "Folding the Chesapeake" as part of her investigation into "how to express changing natural forms" in her artworks.
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