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Home>Exhibitions>Room-Like: Contemporary Art from the Collection

Room-Like: Contemporary Art from the Collection

Now on View

Ongoing from March 20, 2025
East Building, Upper Level — Gallery 404

Immerse yourself in works that reimagine room-like spaces. This installation brings us to familiar places—a bathtub, a kitchen, a laundromat—and surprises us with unexpected viewpoints. Liza Lou’s beaded closet transforms everyday household items into art. Mel Chin turns a museum gallery into a microcosm of the globe. Abelardo Morell and Carrie Mae Weems create intimate moments in their photographs that invite close looking.

In the final gallery, find yourself surrounded by works that include the color yellow, a favorite among artists. A storefront by Christo, wallpaper by Lee Hager, a light fixture by Olafur Eliasson—these works and more allow us to explore the effect of yellow on our vision.

William Eggleston, Untitled, c. 1971-1973, printed 1980, dye imbibition print, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase with the aid of funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, D.C., a Federal Agency, and The Polaroid Corporation), 2015.19.4253

Jo Ann Callis, Parrot and Sailboat (#98), 1980, printed 2023, inkjet print, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase), 2015.19.4224

James Casebere, Fork in the Refrigerator, 1975, printed 2000, gelatin silver print, Gift of the Heather and Tony Podesta Collection, 2009.131.14

Christo, Yellow Store Front, 1965, wood, Plexiglas, fabric, brown paper, galvanized metal, pegboard, corrugated cardboard, and electric light, Gift of Jeanne-Claude Christo-Javacheff Trust, 2023.79.1

Thomas Demand, Junior Suite, 2012, chromogenic print, Gift of the Heather Podesta Collection, 2021.99.1

Liza Lou, Closet, 1997 - 1998, glass beads, wood, and New York couple's empty bottles and unwanted household objects, Gift of Sherry and Joel Mallin, 2022.187.1

John Divola, Zuma #3, 1978, chromogenic print, Charina Endowment Fund, in Honor of the 25th Anniversary of Photography at the National Gallery of Art, 2014.80.2

Olafur Eliasson, Yellow Egoless Door, 2005, color effect filter glass, wood, and mirror, Gift of The Tony and Trisja Podesta Collection, Washington, DC, 2023.80.1

Jonas Wood, Helen's Room, 2017, oil and acrylic on canvas, Purchased as the Gift of Stuart Barr, Sarah MacKey, and TSL, a Private Asian Collector, 2020.13.1

Christina Fernandez, Lavanderia #1, 2002, printed 2021, inkjet print, Gift of David Knaus, 2022.46.1

Sam Gilliam, Yellow Edge, 1972, acrylic on canvas, Gift of Elinor K. Farquhar, 2023.17.1

Robert Mangold, Yellow Wall (Section I + II), 1964, oil and acrylic on plywood and metal, The Nancy Lee and Perry Bass Fund, 2004.124.1

Sylvia Plimack Mangold, Opposite Corners, 1973, acrylic and graphite on Strathmore paper, The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, Patrons' Permanent Fund and Gift of Dorothy and Herbert Vogel, 1991.241.122

Abelardo Morell, Camera Obscura: View of Lower Manhattan, Sunrise, 2022, inkjet print, Gift of Abelardo Morell, 2024.35.5

Anne Ryan, Figures in a Yellow Room, 1945/1947, color woodcut on black wove paper, Gift of Jacob Kainen, 2002.98.179

Organization
Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington

Passes
Admission is always free and passes are not required

Banner detail: William Eggleston, Untitled, c. 1971-1973, printed 1980, dye imbibition print, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase with the aid of funds
from the National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, D.C., a Federal Agency, and The Polaroid Corporation), 2015.19.4253