The Rubell Museum

For those who take their art big and abstract

After a couple of weeks of chronicling Mr. Trump’s antics, I am happy to be writing about something his tiny little hands have not touched: a relatively new private museum devoted to contemporary art just steps from Nats Park. A visit to the Rubell Museum has been on my to-do list since it opened in 2022 and I’m not sure what took me so long to get there. But in any case, I’m here to report that this is an interesting addition to the local art scene if not exactly my cup of tea.

Don and Mera Rubell started collecting contemporary art in the 1960s and over the years have amassed nearly 8,000 works from over 1,000 artists. Along with their children who have also become art collectors, they opened a museum in Miami in the early 1990s and then decided to extend their empire to DC. The current site was once a DC public school which had closed in 1982, then served as a homeless shelter for some 20 years and was surplussed by the city to the Corcoran Gallery in 2006. The Corcoran fell on hard times and eventually in 2019, the property ended up in the hands of the Rubells with the deal also including the development of housing across the street which included about 100 affordable units. The museum space retains some of the features of its early 20th century origins (the school was built in 1906) with exposed brick and original flooring.

The Rubells’ collection far exceeds the gallery space here (which is comprised of 23 separate rooms) with the current show, Material Witness, including works from 30 artists, none of whom were familiar to me. Most of the works are three dimensional, some occupying an entire room, and they use a variety of traditional media plus found and constructed objects. I found some of it quite interesting and others beyond my understanding. On the plus side, the craftsmanship and detail on most of these works is something to behold. In addition, unlike the presentation at Glenstone, at least the Rubell Museum includes significant signage for each work that explains the artist’s motivation and approach.

Photo credit to my friend Lauren who came to the Rubell with me twice — the first time we had failed to notice that the museum is closed on Tuesdays ( in addition to the typical museum closure day of Monday) so we arrived to locked doors. Kind of pathetic for two people with advanced degrees.

A plus for DC residents: admission to the Rubell Museum is always free so if it’s not your thing, the only thing lost is time. For others, admission on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday is “pay-what-you-wish.” On the weekend, adult admission is $15. The museum is located at 65 I Street SW, an easy walk from the Navy Yard Metro station.