Michael Sherrill and Ginny Ruffner Exhibitions at Renwick Gallery

The Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. is hosting two concurrent exhibitions: Michael Sherrill Retrospective and Ginny Ruffner: Reforestation of the Imagination, both on view until January 5, 2020. Michael Sherrill (born 1954, Rhode Island) presents 73 works spanning forty years, from early functional terracotta vessels to recent fantastical botanical sculptures. Self-taught, Sherrill combines ceramic, glass, iron, and bronze, often modifying his own tools. In 1997 he founded Mudtools, a line of colorful ceramic utensils that achieved commercial success. His studio in western North Carolina inspires native plants like Yellowstone rhododendron and mountain laurel alongside imaginary flora. Ginny Ruffner (born 1952, Atlanta) is known for glassblowing. Her installation Reforestation of the Imagination features six islands of colorless glass tree stumps. Using a downloadable app or provided iPads, visitors see augmented reality overlays where digital vegetation blooms from the stumps. Created with multimedia artist Grant Kirkpatrick, the work explores reality versus fantasy and ecological hope. Ruffner states: 'Nature always reinvents itself. Imagination cannot be exterminated. Reforestation is about hope.'