American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center presents seven new exhibitions opening Feb. 7. The spring lineup features paintings and works on paper by the late Brian Kavanagh; a photographic history of the New Thing Art and Architecture Center, revolutionary community space of 1960s Washington; a kaleidoscopic vision of small-town America and the developing West; mixed-media art by second-generation Jewish Holocaust survivors; and a painstakingly created single drawing of screen legend Marilyn Monroe. Two additional exhibits open April 6: CBS journalist Bob Schieffer’s observations about the COVID-19 pandemic and societal divisions, and thesis artwork from students in AU’s Master of Fine Arts program. Opening reception: 6 to 9 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 10.

Through March 17:

The Very Idea! Art of Brian Kavanagh

Nearly 50 paintings and works on paper on display by Brian Kavanagh (1947-2020) revolve around geometric abstraction, the sensuality of color field painting, and the mindset of conceptual art. Kavanagh was primarily a painter (with many forays into printmaking and drawing) at a time when the Washington Color School was the predominant art movement in D.C. Kavanagh had little in common with the school’s strict formalism and purely optical painting, focusing his own art on the thought process itself which he understood as the most defining trait of humankind. The exhibition presents a significant body of little-known work that evinces the complexities and contradictions at work in the international art world during the late 1960s and ‘70s. Curated by Howard N. Fox and Rosemary DeRosa.

New Perspective on The New Thing: A Photography Exhibition Documenting D.C.’s Revolutionary Community Arts Center, 1966-1972
This photographic history depicts how community was built in segregated 1960s Washington, D.C. Topper Carew’s iconic New Thing Art and Architecture Center in Adams Morgan was originally founded to cultivate opportunities for Black architects. Carew’s vision evolved into a multi-disciplinary organization that hosted concerts, workshops and free classes for area youth. The exhibit includes photos by Joel Jacobson and Tom Zetterstrom, many of which have not been seen for over 50 years. Photos by Jacobson have never been exhibited before and include those of artists at The New Thing, including Stevie Wonder, The Soul Searchers and Mance Lipscomb. Organized by Jackson-Reed High School’s Digital Media Academy in conjunction with their student organization The Community Coalition for Change. Gallery Talk: Carew, Zetterstrom, Jacobsen and Anacostia Community Museum Curator Samir Meghelli, 2 to 3 p.m. on Feb. 10.

Through May 10: The Tree Around the Corner
Through her paintings and woodblock prints, artist Barbara Kerne provides a retrospective of her spiritual connection to nature (trees in particular), reminding of its fragility and a duty to protect it. Her paintings, with their large scale and deep recessions into the distance, create powerful images that force the viewer into densely hued landscapes where they are enveloped into a magical, fantastical and playful reinterpretation of the natural world. Vivienne Lassman, Curator. Gallery Talk: 2 to 3 p.m., March 16 with the artist.

Through May 19:

Dana Hart-Stone: Kaleidoscope

Montana-born artist Dana Hart-Stone’s D.C. debut draws from his encyclopedic collection of thousands of vintage sepia-toned snapshots. Hart-Stone manipulates found photo images into either serially repetitive filmic strips or pulsating circular compositions, exploring everyday life on the Plains and Main streets of small-town America and the developing West. Hart-Stone’s paintings function in two ways: At first glance, as seductive expositions of color and pattern that read as abstraction and draw the viewer in, and then as figurative narratives when seen closer. Brian Gross, Curator. Gallery Talk: 2 to 3 p.m., Feb. 15 with the artist.

A Drawing Like No Other: Marilyn Brought Back to Life in 9,000,000 Marks

With a depth of resolution created by nine million graphite marks, A Drawing Like No Other is Billy Pappas’s pencil drawing of mid-20th century screen icon Marilyn Monroe. Pappas, a Baltimore native, spent nearly nine years working seven days a week, 16 hours a day, to create this single drawing of Monroe, based on a Richard Avedon photo from 1957. Curated by Gary Vikan. Gallery Talk: 2 to 3 p.m., Feb. 17.

Art and the Demands of Memory: Works by Second-Generation Holocaust Survivors

In this mixed-media exhibition, a group of Jewish artists present their stories about the ways in which art is shaped by traumatic memories. Their stories are told through accounts of their relatives who experienced the Holocaust firsthand. These memories serve as throughlines to affirm the relevance of the past in understanding both the present and the future. The creation of these pieces is considered an act of courage, reliving trauma in remembrance of the stories and the past. Aneta Georgievska-Shine, Curator. Gallery Talk: 2 to 3 p.m., Feb. 7.

Through August 13: The Human Flood

The Human Flood is a mixed-media, immersive installation that puts the human consequences of climate change on display. Focusing on climate change-related occurrences such as wildfire, rising sea levels, and extreme heat, the combination of Ellyn Weiss’s two- and three-dimensional works alongside Sondra N. Arkin’s abstract two- and three-dimensional works create viewpoints on both a personal and global scale. The exhibition evokes a sense of urgency and is accompanied by a catalog and website where visitors can learn more about climate change. Laura Roulet, Curator.  

Starting April 6:

Looking for the Light
Bob Schieffer, long-time CBS television journalist and presidential campaign moderator, trades in his microphone for a paintbrush in Looking for the Light, an exhibit that looks at ways the COVID-19 pandemic divided the nation. A journalist for more than five decades, in 2020, Schieffer decided to document his observations through art. Schieffer shows how efforts to combat the disease divided Americans, while he finds inspiration in the words of Amanda Gorman’s inauguration poem “The Hill We Climb”: “The light is always there if we are brave enough to see it, if we are brave enough to be it.” Curated by Michael Beshloss.

Spring Master of Fine Arts Exhibition showcases the thesis artwork of MFA students.

Artwork top to bottom: Brian Kavanagh, Ad Altare, 1980-1985. Oil on canvas, 36 x 72 inches. Courtesy of the Estate of Brian Kavanagh. Joel Jacobson, Audience members at The New Thing Presents Stevie Wonder, 18th Street NW & Florida Avenue NW, 1967. Photograph, 19 x 24 inches. Courtesy of Joel Jacobson and Jackson Reed High School. Barbara Kerne, Day and Night, 2022. Oil on linen, 39 x 39 inches. Dana Hart-Stone, Distracted by Ric Rac (detail), 2019. UV cured acrylic ink on canvas, 75 inches diameter. Courtesy of the artist and Brian Gross Fine Art. Micheline Klagsbrun, Passage, 2023. Mixed media, variable dimensions. Ellyn Weiss and Sondra N. Arkin, The Human Flood (detail), 2023. Mixed media monoprints, 89 foot printed scroll in nine sections; height variable. Courtesy the artists. Bob Schieffer, One Million, 2022, Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 in. Courtesy the artist.