Ginny Ruffner and Bill Viola: Members-Only Preview

As a valued Museum Member, we invite you to join us for the exclusive preview of our upcoming exhibitions Ginny Ruffner: Reforestation of the Imagination and Bill Viola Moving Stillness: Mount Rainier, 1979.

4-5pm | Upper Level Members—Register here

5-7pm | All Members—Register here

About the Exhibitions

Ginny Ruffner: Reforestation of the Imagination | This exhibition imagines an apocalyptic landscape of withered plant forms that come to life when activated with augmented reality. In collaboration with animator and media artist Grant Kirkpatrick, Ruffner illuminates the delicate balance between nature and the artificial human-built world around us, putting forth an optimistic hope for the future: that technology can be a means to understand and help save the earth from environmental devastation

Bill Viola Moving Stillness: Mount Rainier, 1979 | On loan from Art Bridges, this exhibition is an immersive experience that explores the ideas of death and regeneration in nature. In a darkened room, sounds from nature envelop the viewer, as a placid pool of water reflects a projected image of Mount Rainier onto a screen. The water is periodically disturbed, causing the image to dissolve and slowly recompose as the pool settles.

Please note:

Exhibition Previews are reserved for current Museum Members; please only register Members included in your membership.

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Generous support for Bill Viola Moving Stillness: Mount Rainier, 1979 is provided by Art Bridges.

Ginny Ruffner: Reforestation of the Imagination is organized by the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Generous support for this exhibition is provided by Art Bridges, the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, Elizabeth and James Eisenstein, Ed and Kathy Fries, Shelby and Frederick Gans, James Renwick Alliance, Colleen and John Kotelly, Betty and Whitney MacMillan, Jacqueline B. Mars, Kim and Jon Shirley Foundation, and Myra and Harold Weiss.