On Display: Art Events

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GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS look back as well as forward this fall with a slew of shows that focus on history -- James Osher's photographs, a look at industrialization in Japan, a visit from China's most famous army. There's even a jaw-dropping Hirshhorn exhibition that's been open for a while but won't be around forever.

William T. Wiley: Multitasker
Contemporary American artist William T. Wiley does it all, from drawing to sculpture to film. This retrospective features 88 of his works from the 1960s and on and takes a look at Wiley's ideas on war, global warming, racial tensions, pollution and practically every other problem facing the world today. Educational -- yes. Depressing -- possibly.

» Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1661 Pennsylvania Ave. NW; opens Oct. 2, through Jan. 24, free; 202-633-2850, americanart.si.edu. (Gallery Place-Chinatown)

Terracotta Warriors: You and What Army?
Archaeology's most famous group of soldiers comes to the National Geographic Museum on Nov. 19, in "Terracotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor," as 15 members of Emperor Qin Shihuangdi's clay army (preserved for more than 2,000 years) make a rare appearance outside China on the last stop of a two-year tour for the legendary artifacts. Just ask yourself, "What would Indiana Jones do?"

» National Geographic Museum, 17th & M streets NW; opens Nov. 19, through March 31, $6-$12, 202-857-7700, nationalgeographic.com. (Farragut North)

'Died Young, Stayed Pretty': Pose for the Poster
If you've ever gone been to a rock concert, you'll have glanced at the dozens of posters that pave the venue's walls either on your way to the bathroom, the bar or the front of the crowd. Want a closer look? "Died Young, Stayed Pretty," a documentary by Eileen Yaghoobian that looks at the indie-rock poster culture in North America, is for you. The director will introduce the film.

» Corcoran Gallery of Art, 500 17th St. NW; Sept. 24, 6:30 p.m., $12; 202-639-1700, corcoran.org. (Farragut West/Farragut North)

Addison Ripley: Meta Master
History is all around us, especially here in D.C. James Osher turned his camera lens on subjects taken from historical paintings, many of these subjects -- including local art landmarks such as the National Gallery of Art -- are themselves historical. "Three Seconds With the Masters" proves you don't need "The Lost Symbol" to unearth secrets around here.

» Addison/Ripley Fine Art Gallery, 1670 Wisconsin Ave. NW; opens Oct. 21, through Dec. 5, free; 202-338-5180, addisonripleyfineart.com.

Mary Baskett Collection: Japanese Chic
Now that "Project Runway" is in full swing, it's time to get some fashion back in our lives. Tim Gunn would approve of the Textile Museum's exhibit on contemporary Japanese fashion, which displays works by revolutionary designers Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo and collected by art dealer Mary Baskett.

» The Textile Museum, 2320 S St. NW; opens Oct. 17, through April 11, $5 donation; 202-667-0441, textilemuseum.org. (Dupont Circle)

'Frontier Encounters': So Far and Wide
It's hard to imagine the United States as it once was -- open plains populated by hopeful dreamers. Countless things about this country have changed since then, but the 100 portrait photographs included in "Frontier Encounters," which trace historic events such as the completion of the transcontinental railroad and conflicts with Native Americans, can give you a solid vision of the past.
» Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, 800 F St. NW; opens Sept. 25, through Jan. 24, free; 202-633-8300. (Gallery Place-Chinatown)

Nishiki-e Prints: The Birth of Modern
Weird inventions aside -- you know: diet water, self-cleaning toilets -- Japan's industrial revolution was incredibly impactful, and this exhibit displays more than 50 woodblock reprints that describe the foundations of Japan's infrastructure and urbanization.

» The Japan Information & Culture Center, Embassy of Japan, 1155 21st St. NW; through Nov. 20, free; 202-238-6949. (Farragut West/Farragut North/Dupont Circle)

Strange Bodies: In the Flesh
The "Strange Bodies" collection turned a lot of heads when it opened at the Hirshhorn last December, and for good reason -- the pieces, which included Ron Mueck's "Untitled (Big Man)," unnerved people withtheir astonishing realism. But more importantly, the sculptures also depict the changing human condition. It's all rich enough to make you stand and stare until the exhibit closes in November.

» Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Independence Avenue & 7th Street SW; through Nov. 15, free; 202-633-1000, hirshhorn.org. (L'Enfant Plaza)

'House of Cars': Metro to This One
In the car-crazed insanity that is the nation's capital, parking garages are like a gift from above. You park, you pay, you go. But all the stuff in them took awhile to figure out, and this exhibit shows you the history, with replicas of columns and beams; parking attendant hats; and artifacts from old garage facades.

» National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW; opens Oct. 17, through July 11, suggested donation; 202-272-2448, nbm.org. (Judiciary Square)

'Black': Shades of Gray
A juried show organized by Black Artists of DC, "Black" explores the emotional, spiritual and physical characteristics "of blackness," with a focus on the color's elegance and depth. Thought that black was the absence of color and feeling? Think again -- you'll come away from "Black," with a whole new set of definitions.

» D.C. Arts Center, 2438 18th St. NW; from Nov. 10 to Jan. 10; 202-462-0136, dcartscenter.org. (Woodley Park-Adams Morgan)

Man Ray and African Art: Inspired From Afar
African art became more than a collectable novelty in the Western eye, through the re-contextualizing and reimagining of 20th-century artist Man Ray's camera lens. Ray photographed culture-bound objects and places. These photographs -- and a selection of the objects themselves -- are on display in "Man Ray, African Art and the Modernist Lens" at the Phillips Collection.

» Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW; opens Oct. 2, through Jan. 10, free, 202-387-2151, phillips-collection.org. (Dupont Circle)

'Imagining China': West Looks East
Early modern Europeans had a love affair with what was, to them, the mysterious land of China. "Imagining China: The View from Europe, 1550-1700," at the Folger Shakespeare Library, documents that fascination and mystique by displaying a collection of early maps that stretch back to Ptolemy, as well as woodcuts and exquisite Chinese porcelain.

» Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 E. Capitol St. SE; through Jan. 9, free, 202-544-7077, folger.edu. (Capitol South)

Written by Arion Berger, Roxana Hadadi and Nathan Martin
Photo courtesy National Geographic