Mason Saltarrelli, untitled, 2012. (Mason Saltarrelli/MASON SALTARRELLI/COURTESY OF RANDALL SCOTT PROJECTS)
Spring promises to be a little dark, at least thematically, in Washington’s galleries. Among the upcoming shows are several on political subjects, and another that explores both life and death. But there will be one fresh bloom: Randall Scott Projects, which mounted several shows last year in a temporary space, completes its move back to Washington from New York by opening a permanent location in the Atlas District.
“Golden Cacti,” which inaugurates Scott’s gallery, is a show of works on paper by New York artist Mason Saltarrelli. A New Orleans native, Saltarrelli is influenced by jazz and found objects. He calls his loose-limbed work “primarily narrative” but “open-ended,” which may mean viewers are allowed to see it as primarily abstract.
(Feb. 9-March 9 at Randall Scott Projects, 1326 H St. NE, 2nd Floor; 202-417-4872; www.randallscottprojects.com)
Around the corner on Florida Avenue, Connersmith begins its 2013 season with three solo exhibitions, including Lincoln Schatz’s “The Network.” Updating the portrait-making tradition with contemporary technology, the Chicago artist recorded chats with 89 notables, including Steve Case, Vernon Jordan, Sandra Day O’Connor, Nancy Pelosi and Paul Ryan. Using meta-tags to activate an interactive conversation, the video installation presents an ever-changing series of ideas and interviewees.
(Feb. 9-March 30 at Connersmith, 1358 Florida Ave. NE; 202-588-8750, www.connersmith.us.com)
Silver Spring’s printmaking center salutes the time of lengthening days with “Seasons in Nature and Life,” a show of etchings, drawings and sculptures by local artist and designer Margaret Adams Parker. Her art ponders the themes of birth and death, barren winter and promising spring.
(April 3-28 at Washington Printmakers Gallery, 2nd Floor, 8230 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring; 301-273-3660; www. washingtonprintmakers.com)
In the multi-gallery building at 1515 14th St. NW, planned topics include the environment, Africa and the transience of wedded bliss. “Julie Wolfe: Rewilding” will present a selection of paintings, objects and installations by the local artist, exploring reactions to disturbances in the ecological order.
(March 23-May 18 at Hemphill Fine Arts, 1515 14th St. NW; 202-234-5601, www.hemphillfinearts.com)
A show tentatively titled “The Aftermath” will address a different sort of disturbance: the seven weddings and instant divorces performance artist Kathryn Cornelius staged last year at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
(March 30-May 4 at the Curator’s Office, 1515 14th St. NW; 202-387-1008; www.curatorsoffice.com)
After teaching in Ghana, New York artist Lyle Ashton Harris will show collages, photographs, video and film stills inspired by his observations of that country’s sociopolitical status in the age of globalization.
(May 25-June 29 at Adamson Gallery, 1515 14th St. NW; 202-232-0707; www.adamsongallery.jimdo.com)
Another troika of galleries, those that alternate shows at 1662 33rd St. NW, will present “Impressed: Contemporary editions by masters of line, color and composition,” a selection that includes Jennifer Bartlett, Wolf Kahn, Ellsworth Kelly and William Kentridge.
(Feb. 8-March 9 at Neptune Fine Art, 1662 33rd St. NW; 202-338-0353; www.neptunefineart.com)
Also scheduled is a show of Weimar-era German artists such as George Grosz and Kathe Kollwitz.
(April 13-May 23 at Robert Brown Gallery, 1662 33rd St. NW; 202-338-0353, www.robertbrowngallery.com)
The other 1632 33rd St. space, Galerie Blue Square, is co-sponsoring a just-opened off-premises show, ““Andrei Molodkin: Crude. The Russian artist, who works on a large scale both with constructions and in ballpoint pen, considers the conflict between political liberty and the international oil business.
(To March 17 at American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, 202-885-1300, www.american.edu/museum)
Clearly, internationalism as much as spring will be in the air. “Gute Aussichten: New German Photography” is the latest annual survey of the subject, with images by seven young photographers who depict the traditional and the modern, the serene and the disastrous.
(Feb. 27-April 12 at the Goethe-Institut, 812 Seventh St. NW; 202-289-1200; www.goethe.de/washington)
Even the abstract drawings of D.C. artist Amy Lin, whose pictures arrange dots in curving forms, show international influences. Her 2012 residency in Singapore and her recent move to Moscow shaped the colors and patterns in her next show, “Diffusion.”
(March 2-April 27, Addison/Ripley Fine Art, 1670 Wisconsin Ave. NW; 202-338-5180; www.addisonripleyfineart.com)
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Jenkins is a freelance writer.
An earlier version of this story had incorrect dates for the exhibition by artist Lyle Ashton Harris.