A Rare Opportunity at the Glenstone Museum

I received the rare opportunity to photograph the Pavilions at Glenstone Museum -- a modern and contemporary art museum set across nearly 300 acres of rolling landscape, nature trails, and sculpture gardens in Potomac.

I nearly ran to capture my favorites (in a fur of course because priorities).

But my journey ultimately led me to works by On Kawara and Alex Da Corte -- both asking what it means to exist when a string of dates and symbols comes to define our lives.

On Kawara’s Moon Landing (1969), a famous trio of "Date Paintings" (JULY 16, 1969, JULY 20, 1969, and JULY 21, 1969) from his "Today" series. For over five decades, On Kawara (29,771 days) created paintings, drawings, books, and recordings that examined chronological time and its function as a measure of human existence. 

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/155e59_322587f9c47643acaf1aeb335add2a0b/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Alex Da Corte’s “The Decorated Shed" (2019) is a replica of the mini village from the series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, with a towering array of corporate neon chain restaurant signs. Followed by ‘Hell House,’ a structure with no walls playing the ‘Rubber Devil’ video -- a series of 57 characters switching between Mr. Rogers and the Devil. 

In this phase of my career, I've been reflecting on how we share the same timeline, the same references, the same feeds, yet the distance between us seems to widen. We are more connected than ever, and somehow more alone.

Art over the past two years has helped me put meaning to these abstract concepts: how we connect, how we gather, how we experience joy, and how we live in the moment. Kawara and Da Corte illustrate modern life through shared pop and cultural touchstones, yet arrive at the same emotional terrain: isolation within collective experience.

Visiting Glenstone reminded me how art can illuminate these contradictions, offering clarity, contemplation, and even a sense of connection -- even when it feels like we’re navigating the world apart.