Philip Kennicott’s top art and architecture of 2011

It was a year without theme or focus, haunted by financial and political anxieties, but culturally diffuse. Which is to say, a year like most others in this age of no discernible isms or movements, no dominant ideologies, no marching to a single manifesto. The opening of major memorials to the events of Sept. 11, 2001, gave the late summer an elegiac quality, but that was a mere punctuation in a year best remembered as another annum of too much stuff and too little time. Pity the artist in an era when culture is chaotic and unorganized, when noise rather than harmony is dominant. It’s hard to be heard. But the best always stands out, and the following certainly made it into the wild scrapbook of memories from the worlds of art and architecture.

5 Seconds

00:00

“Possible Worlds: Photography and Fiction in Mexican Contemporary Art” at the Art Museum of the Americas

Wry and slyly subversive, literate and referential, full of the absurd and the apocalyptic, there was something haunting about this summer exhibition of contemporary Mexican photography at the Museum of the Americas. Artists such as Mauricio Alejo and Daniela Edburg were standouts in this strangely memorable show.

Courtesy Daniela Edburg /

Tom Price’s “Meltdown” at Industry Gallery

A lot of stuff melts, especially plastic. Tom Price’s chairs, created by melting mounds of polypropylene rope, PVC tubing, cheap plastic rugs and old fleece clothing, were a highlight of the local gallery scene this fall, a clever recycling of material that we often condescend to . . . with results that look delightfully perverse and comfortable.

Photography by James Champion

“Xu Bing: Tobacco Project” at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

It was called the “Tobacco Project,” and it sounded as if it might be one of those earnest and didactic shows that flogs a theme (tobacco as a cultural commodity) to death. But Xu Bing is an artist of great imaginative resources, and his show was rich in pure visual delight, including an enormous rug made entirely of cigarettes.

Travis Fullerton

“de Kooning: A Retrospective” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City (through Jan. 9)

This was the annual blockbuster at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Room after room of works by Willem de Kooning, tracing his origins back to juvenilia and through to the very end, the strange, controversial bursts of colored line he made with the help of assistants. In between was a powerful argument that his stock needs to be reevaluated, that he was an artist of greater depth and variety than we remember.

“Baroque.me: Bach Cello Suites No. 1, Prelude” visualized by Alexander Chen.

Someday, all art will be on the Internet. Maybe or maybe not. But what is emerging online today is increasingly polished and sometimes, as with this work, which visualizes a movement from Bach’s first cello suite in geometric form, wildly popular. Alexander Chen’s video went viral this year, and it deserves the acclaim.

Alexander Chen / Alexander Chen

“Unbuilt Washington” at the National Building Museum (through May 28)

The National Building Museum tapped into Washingtonians’ strange desire to constantly refashion their city. Focusing on architectural might-have-beens and the near-misses that would have radically changed our sense of the District, “Unbuilt Washington” also raised deeper questions about the basic assumptions underlying our architecture of democracy.

Courtesy of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts

“Warhol: Headlines” (through Jan. 2)/“Andy Warhol: Shadows” (through Jan.15).

Two compelling exhibitions devoted to Andy Warhol, opening simultaneously at the National Gallery of Art and the Hirshhorn, sent sparks of welcome synergy. The National Gallery took a brainy look at Warhol’s response to the news and media, while the Hirshhorn allowed visitors to bask in the visual splendor of his enormously long and variegated Shadows series from 1978-79.

The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh Founding Collection; Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

Frank Gehry concert hall for the New World Symphony in Miami

With major improvements to the dark science of acoustics, and a new understanding of how audiences can relate to classical music, we may be in a golden age of building concert halls. If that golden age has an exemplar, Frank Gehry’s new concert hall for the New World Symphony could be it. The design turns the trademark Gehry twists and curves inward, brings the audience closer to the music, and incorporates state of the art video projections without distracting from the concert experience.

Rui Dias-Aidos

“Gauguin: Maker of Myth” at the National Gallery of Art

It had been more than 20 years since the great Gauguin blockbuster at the National Gallery in 1988. The smaller but more focused exhibition that opened in February was a welcome reappraisal, organized around narrative, biographical fantasies and the artist’s self-conscious manipulation of his myth. And then there were those magnificent, terrifying paintings.

MATT MCCLAIN / THE WASHINGTON POST

National September 11 Memorial in New York City

Michael Arad’s memorial to those lost on Sept. 11, 2001, had an enormous price tag, and it went through the usual sausage-making of memorial design and construction, with some major changes to the architect’s initial vision. But the results are still powerful: a study in grandeur and serenity that is unlikely to be matched anytime soon.

Matt Rourke / AP

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

epa03714567 A Thai Buddhist family take an offering of lotus flowers to pay respects to a giant Buddha surrounded by more than 1,000 smaller Buddha statues at a Buddhism Park, on Vesak or Visakha Bucha day, in Nakhon Nayok, north of Bangkok, Thailand, 24 May 2013. Buddhist devotees throughout the world offer blessings at temples to mark one of the holiest days in Buddhism, commemorating the birth, enlightenment and the death of Buddha. EPA/BARBARA WALTON

Photos of the day

Buddhist Wesak festival, prisoners-of-war reunion, bridge collapse, world’s largest Lego model and more.

A portion of the Interstate 5 bridge is submerged after it collapsed into the Skagit River dumping vehicles and people into the water in Mount Vernon, Wash., Thursday, May 23, 2013 according to the Washington State Patrol. (AP Photo/Skagit Valley Herald, Frank Varga)

I-5 bridge collapse in Washington state dumps vehicles, passengers into river

No fatalities reported; collapse over Skagit River shuts down main route between Seattle and Canada.

SILVER SPRING MD: MAY 18
from left to right, Bodybuilders Jorge Villatoro, Sidney Bumbrey, Eric Holmes and Ron Coleman show off their most muscular poses for the judges at the 2013 Musclemania - Capital Tournament of Champions Contest held at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center in Silver Spring, Maryland on May 18, 2013.
(Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Flexing their muscles

Dozens of bodybuilders came out to Silver Spring to compete in the 2013 Musclemania Capital Tournament of Champions.

epa03714543 US actress Carmen Electra arrives for the Life Ball gala, at the airport Schwechat, in Vienna, Austria, 24 May 2013. The 21th Life Ball, an annual fundraising charity event for HIV and Aids projects, takes place at the Vienna City-Hall on 25 May 2013. EPA/HERBERT NEUBAUER

Eye on entertainment

Carmen Electra, Barbara Eden, Sharon Stone, Goldie Hawn, Jaden Smith and more.

A police forensics officer investigates a crime scene where one man was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called a meeting of his government's emergency Cobra security committee after the killing of a man in south London, his office said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (BRITAIN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Terrorism cited in London cleaver attack

Two assailants hacked to death a British soldier on a busy southeast London neighborhood street Wednesday afternoon before delivering an apparent...

MOORE, OK - MAY 24: A 'For Sale' sign hangs in a tree in a storm ravaged neighborhood on May 24, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. The tornado of EF5 strength and two miles wide touched down May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Assessing tornado damage in Oklahoma

Amid great destruction, residents of the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore begin to assess the severity of the twister that hit Monday.

WASHINGTON DC: MAY 22
Contestant Travis Rumans, 31 dances with his beloved glow sticks for talent at Penn Social in Washington, DC on May 22, 2013. The contestants help raise over $15,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The Mr. DC pageant is a fundraising event to benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
The qualifications for the Mr. District of Columbia finalists is that they must live, work and attend school in the District of Columbia between the ages of 21-30 who are unmarried, intelligent, and dapper in a suit.
(Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Mr. D.C. Pageant contestants compete for charity

Contestants in the Mr. D.C. Pageant, a fundraising event, helped raise more than $15,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center.

A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Animal views

Fun and fascinating creatures around the world.

Back to Previous Gallery

Discussion Policy | FAQ | About Discussions

Comments

Add your comment

Read what others are saying About Badges

SuperFan Badge

SuperFan badge holders consistently post smart, timely comments about Washington area sports and teams.

More about badges | Request a badge

Culture Connoisseur Badge

Culture Connoisseurs consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on the arts, lifestyle and entertainment.

More about badges | Request a badge

Fact Checker Badge

Fact Checkers contribute questions, information and facts to The Fact Checker.

More about badges | Request a badge

Washingtologist Badge

Washingtologists consistently post thought-provoking, timely comments on events, communities, and trends in the Washington area.

More about badges | Request a badge

Post Writer Badge

This commenter is a Washington Post editor, reporter or producer.

Post Forum Badge

Post Forum members consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on politics, national and international affairs.

More about badges | Request a badge

Weather Watcher Badge

Weather Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on climates and forecasts.

More about badges | Request a badge

World Watcher Badge

World Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on international affairs.

More about badges | Request a badge

Post Contributor Badge

This commenter is a Washington Post contributor. Post contributors aren’t staff, but may write articles or columns. In some cases, contributors are sources or experts quoted in a story.

More about badges | Request a badge

Post Recommended

Washington Post reporters or editors recommend this comment or reader post.

You must be logged in to report a comment.

Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.

All comments are posted in the All Comments tab.

More about badges

Get a badge

To pause and restart automatic updates, click "Live" or "Paused". If paused, you'll be notified of the number of additional comments that have come in.