The Cyrus and Myrtle Katzen Arts Center is home to all of the visual and performing arts programs at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was cha ...

and the

American University Museum The American University Museum is located within the Katzen Arts Center at the American University in Washington, DC. History and description The American University Museum consists of a three-story, museum and sculpture garden. The region’ ...

It is located at Ward Circle, the intersection of Nebraska Avenue and Massachusetts Avenues in Washington, D.C. This space, designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration in the arts, provides instructional, exhibition, and performance space for all the arts disciplines. Its art museum exhibits contemporary art from the nation's capital region and the world. The museum gallery is the

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

region's largest university facility for art exhibition. The Center houses many academic departments for the university, including Art History, Graphic Design, Studio Art, Arts Management, Dance, Music, and Theatre. The center also features a museum; a

sculpture garden A sculpture garden or sculpture park is an outdoor garden or park which includes the presentation of sculpture, usually several permanently sited works in durable materials in landscaping, landscaped surroundings. A sculpture garden may be privat ...

; a parking garage; of performing arts space; of studio space including theatre studios, a music ensemble room, art studios, and dance studios; an admissions welcome center; and the Abramson Family Recital Hall. The construction of the Center was made possible by Dr. Cyrus and Mrs. Myrtle Katzen, who house much of their modern art collection within the building.

American University Museum

The

is a three-story, museum and sculpture garden located within the university's Katzen Arts Center. As the region's largest university facility for exhibiting art, the museum's permanent collection highlights the holdings of the Katzen and Watkins collection. Rotating exhibitions emphasize regional, national, and international contemporary art. Much of Dr. Cyrus and Mrs. Myrtle Katzen's modern art collection is showcased in the museum, which includes over 300 pieces by artists such as

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...

Willem de Kooning Willem de Kooning (; ; April 24, 1904 – March 19, 1997) was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. He was born in Rotterdam and moved to the United States in 1926, becoming an American citizen in 1962. In 1943, he married painter El ...

, and

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein (; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. ...

. The museum also includes art by

Jean Dubuffet Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a ...

, Red Grooms,

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (, ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and ...

, Larry Rivers,

Frank Stella Frank Philip Stella (born May 12, 1936) is an American painter, sculptor and printmaker, noted for his work in the areas of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction. Stella lives and works in New York City. Biography Frank Stella was born in Ma ...

and

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

. The museum is also home for the Alper Initiative for Washington Art, which "is dedicated to preserving, presenting, and creating the art history of Washington through our book collection, database, events, and exhibitions." As part of the initiative, the museum hosts up to five new exhibitions of Greater Washington area artists each year.

Notable exhibitions

Since its opening, the museum has generally staged multiple exhibitions each year, often hosting one separate exhibition in each floor. Among the most important recent exhibitions, was the first ever American exhibition of contemporary North Korean art, which was held concurrently with an exhibition of art by notable immigrant Greater Washington area artists, including Ric Garcia, Joan Belmar,

F. Lennox Campello F. Lennox Campello is an American (born in Cuba, 1956) artist, art critic, author, art dealer, curator, and visual arts blogger. In 2016 ''The Washington City Paper'' called him "one of the most interesting people of Washington, DC." Early l ...

, Muriel Hasbun,

Juan Downey Juan Downey (May 11, 1940 – June 9, 1993) was a Chilean artist who was a pioneer in the fields of video art and interactive art. Early life and education Downey was born in Santiago, Chile. His father, David Downey V., was a distinguished ar ...

, and others. In 2022 the museum hosted an exhibition titled "Home-Land Exploring the American Myth", in which the museum took "advantage of the museum’s proximity to the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-ter ...

’s Nebraska Avenue Complex, this exhibition explores the impact that American culture has on its citizens both naturalized and native." Other important artists showcased by the museum over the years include Sam Gilliam,

William Christenberry William Andrew Christenberry Jr. (November 5, 1936 – November 28, 2016) was an American photographer, painter, sculptor, and teacher who drew inspiration from his childhood in Hale County, Alabama. Christenberry focused extensively on architec ...

, Lou Stovall,

Tim Tate Tim Tate (born 1960) is an American artist and the co-founder of the Washington Glass School in the Greater Washington, DC capital area. The school was founded in 2001 and is now the second largest warm glass school in the United States. Tate wa ...

Richard Diebenkorn Richard Diebenkorn (April 22, 1922 – March 30, 1993) was an American painter and printmaker. His early work is associated with abstract expressionism and the Bay Area Figurative Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In the late 1960s he bega ...

Sandra Ramos Sandra Ramos (born Oct, 1969) is a Cuban contemporary painter, printmaker, collagist, video and installation artist who explores nationality, gender, and identity in her work. She is known for works featuring her character of the Cuban Pioneer gir ...

, Renee Stout, Thomas Downing, Michael Clark,

Jim Sanborn Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

, Joe Shannon, Michael B. Platt, and others.

Architecture

Upon completion, the Katzen Arts Center was immediately received as an architectural gem at American University, not only for its design but also for its purpose to encourage student innovation in media, concept, and approach by uniting facilities for creating, displaying, and performing art under one roof. Designed by EYP Architecture & Engineering, the Center is situated on a very long, narrow site abutting Ward Circle. Other architectural highlights include the

piazza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

with a skylighted rotunda at the center of the facility.

External links

*
American University MuseumCatalog for Home-Land Exploring the American Myth

References

{{coord, 38.9393, -77.087, display=title, region:US-DC_type:landmark American University Arts centers in Washington, D.C. Performing arts centers in Washington, D.C. 2005 establishments in Washington, D.C.