Machine Power Bourke-White Photo Exhibit Presents Industry as Art by Lisa Troshinsky Museum-goers can stroll down America’s industrial memory lane with the first major exhibition devoted to the critical years in the life and work of photographer Margaret Bourke-White, now at The Phillips Collection. “Margaret Bourke-White: The Photography of Design, 1927-1936” explores the artist’s early development and emergence as one of the 20th century’s best-known female photographers. Through her work, Bourke-White became an American legend and celebrity at a time when men dominated the field of photography and when the world of industry was hardly female domain... History of Experimentation Gerhard Richter Retrospective Perplexing, Unpredictable, Challenging by Carolyn Chapman A young woman stares ahead blankly with an indifferent, almost bored look on her face. Her hand is crossed over her arm, as in a high school yearbook photograph that’s slightly out of focus. But it’s not. It’s actually a black-and-white painting of the last studio portrait taken before this woman became an underground terrorist. If you’ve never encountered the work of Gerhard Richter, you might not know quite what to make of it after walking through the first few rooms of his much-awaited exhibition at the Hirshhorn. “Gerhard Richter: Forty Years of Painting”—previously in New York (at The Museum of Modern Art), Chicago and San Francisco—is Richter’s most comprehensive North American exhibition, and Washington is the final stop on its tour... Tormented Talent Revolutionary German Artist Kirchner Presaged Future Art by Gary Tischler Eleven years ago, the National Gallery of Art held a show of drawings by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, adjoining a larger exhibition of works by the relentlessly and powerfully outraged German artist Käthe Kollwitz. Both artists were German, both were adept in the medium of woodcuts and both were categorized in some uncertain way as expressionist artists. The 1992 exhibition, a little like an afterthought, was a hint and a rumor about Kirchner. Now, the National Gallery of Art, in a tiered, huge exhibition of 140 works titled “Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1880-1938,” has given us the rest of the story—and it’s a full-bodied one at that... Working With Negatives Joseph Mills Photos Capture Gritty Inner City Washington by Gary Tischler All of the works and images in “Joseph Mills: Inner City,” now at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, say almost exactly the same thing by way of identification: “Untitled, Washington, D.C.” Most of the photographs were taken during the late 1980s, but you don’t know who is pictured, why or exactly where in Washington, although you can guess. It almost looks like another time and place, yet it is strongly connected to memory and milieu... Uruguay Foundation Becoming Model For Arts Development Programs by Heather Nalbone There’s never a shortage of activity among Washington’s foreign embassies and cultural institutions. Recently, for example, locals could choose from botanical art at the Embassy of Japan, photography at the Brazilian-American Cultural Institute, a string quartet at the Embassy of Austria, as well as dozens of other performances and presentations. Then there’s Uruguay. Just a short walking distance from the bustle of Embassy Row is the Uruguay Cultural Foundation for the Arts, which is rapidly gaining status comparable to that of Washington’s larger embassies and cultural establishments... Whimsical Watercolors Austrian ‘Ironic Realist’ Gredler Offers Insight Into Artist’s Life by Natalie Koss Quirky characters, monumental figures and subtle humor mark the newest exhibit at the Austrian Embassy titled “Panoramas of Recollections, Watercolors,” the first U.S. exhibit by Austrian-born Martin Gredler...

Paintings for Russian Royalty Exhibit Shows How Women Artists Contributed to Imperial Collection by Heather Nalbone “An Imperial Collection: Women Artists From the State Hermitage Museum,” now on display at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, is more a commentary on Russian aristocracy than it is about art. Before Soviet ballet and cultural centers, and long before St. Petersburg became Leningrad, there was a time when all art considered great in Russia actually came from outside the country... Tech as Technique Three Italian Artists Approaches to Technology Offer Differing Results by Serena Lei I remember as a child staring at the revolving platform at the airport baggage claim. My eyes were unfocused, and I had the sensation that the platform was still and it was me who was moving. Staring at Fabrizio Plessi’s installation “Roma II" at the Inter-American Development Bank Cultural Center gave me a similar visual sensation—the illusion of water, current and movement—although I was only looking at an image of a river on multiple television screens while listening to prerecorded sound... Italian Innovator Fornasetti Retrospective Includes Furniture, Textiles, Paintings by Jada Graves A private collection of late artist Piero Fornasetti’s innovative work is currently being presented in “La Follia Pratica,” now at the Italian Cultural Institute. Although Fornasetti’s work has been shown in conjunction with other artists, “Follia Pratica” marks his first solo exhibit and showcases items never before seen in the United States. The exhibit includes furniture, textiles, paintings and drawings... Dining: Natural Rhythms Equinox Dishes Up Environmentally Conscious American Cuisine by Rachel Hunt and Stephen Qualiana Events Listing Film Reviews: Transforming ‘Nowhere’ German Director Link Journeys Beyond African Continent by Ky N. Nguyen With the visually captivating “Nowhere in Africa,” German director Caroline Link ventures boldly beyond the fatherland. She studiously demonstrates how three people’s transformations into better human beings conflict with their pre-existing notions of themselves, each other and society... • ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ • What About Bob? • ‘Cowboy Bebop’ on Big Screen • Thriller Starring Audrey Tautou • Step Back in Time Repertory Notes Identity Issues British Director Chadha Promotes Unlikely Role Model in ‘Bend It’ by Ky N. Nguyen As Washington was digging out of the blizzard of the century, I was chatting with smartly dressed British filmmaker Gurinder Chadha (“Bhaji on the Beach,” “What’s Cooking?”) in her suite at The Four Seasons... Film Directory/Cinema International Film Clips