Strongholds of culture: Georgetown University Art Galleries unveil Fall 2025 exhibitions
By Julia Carvalho
October 6, 2025
The Georgetown University Art Galleries reopened on Sept. 20, unveiling their fall exhibitions “Notes on Form (Intimate Structures)” by McArthur Binion and “Miscegenated Family Album” by Lorraine O’Grady.
In the Maria and Alberto de la Cruz Gallery, “Notes on Form (Intimate Structures)” explores Binion’s work over a near 20-year time span, emphasizing his use of form, shape, and abstraction. Binion layers his personal documents, such as birth certificates, photographs, and address books beneath his oil stick and ink illustrations. Referring to each work as a “self-portrait,” the collection is deeply personal to the now 79-year-old writer and artist.
Jaynelle Hazard, director and chief curator of the galleries, was instrumental in bringing Binion’s work to the Georgetown community.
“I visited McArthur Binion’s studio in Detroit back in October, and walked away having learned about a body of work that hadn’t been widely exhibited of his practice yet,” Hazard said. “That was really an exploration of how he incorporates shapes into his works.”
Both organic and geometric shapes dominate the canvases, with some canvases having non-traditional slants and curves themselves.
Beyond his technique, Hazard argued that even greater meaning lies hidden in Binion’s incorporation of personal documents.
“The underconscious layer comments on the concepts of race, his lived experience, history, and he obscures it so it’s hidden, but it’s still there,” Hazard said. “It’s a conversation about identity.”
Hazard recognized this collection’s potential to contribute to the growing narrative of art in D.C., specifically that of Black abstractionists. Back in the ’50s and ’60s, a group of artists known as the Washington Color School began experimenting with the use of bright color in their abstractions. Hazard suggested that McArthur’s work naturally builds on that of artists such as Sam Gilliam and Alma Thomas, who were key figures during that time. ( … )