Smithsonian Art Museum purchases piece by Brookline artist Janet Echelman
The work, called “1.8 Renwick," portrays the effects of the 2011 tsunami near Japan.
On Thursday, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. announced that it had purchased a piece from Brookline artist Janet Echelman, who Bostonians may know from her giant aerial sculpture that hung above the Rose Kennedy Greenway last summer.
Echelman’s “1.8 Renwick” sculpture, a colorful fiber and textile installation that fills the Bettie Rubenstein Grand Salon, has been a part of the Smithsonian’s “WONDER” exhibit since November 2015. The museum has permanently obtained the artwork, which is on view until spring 2017, but can be reinstalled again for a future installation—a key factor in the museum’s decision to acquire the piece.
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“1.8 Renwick” is a massive, suspended, hand-knotted net—just like “As If It Were Already Here”—that reflects the “map of energy” released by the 2011 tsunami near Japan, according to a release from the museum. The net hangs above a carpet that reflects topography of the sea floor.
The numbers in the piece’s name refer to how many microseconds the earth’s day was shortened by as a result of the catastrophe.
The Smithsonian purchased two other works along with Echelman’s: “Folding the Chesapeake” by Maya Lin and “Volume (Renwick)” by Leo Villareal, both from the “WONDER” exhibit. More than 700,000 people have seen “WONDER” since its opening.
“When we asked these exemplary artists to create something transformative, to create installations that would be truly out of the ordinary, we could not have imagined how successful the results would be,” said Betsy Broun, the Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the museum. “The works by Lin, Echelman and Villareal captured the imagination of our visitors no matter their age or knowledge of contemporary art. This sense of ‘wonder’ is an experience that museums strive to create, and we are delighted to be able to acquire such a good selection from the exhibition.”
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