Weekly Art Lens by Beth Shook

Installation in Anacostia by Ben Skinner. Photo by Beth Shook.

At Last: Joyce Y-J Lee at Hamiltonian Gallery: This small exhibition of new works by Hamiltonian fellow Joyce Y-J Lee packs a punch. Inside the gallery entrance, pastel vanitas drawings devolve into pixelated versions of themselves, preparing visitors to juggle past and present while drawing them toward Lee’s provocative large-scale “projection painting” that lends the show its name. All of the works were executed during the artist’s stay in a small mining community near Death Valley and employ themes of mortality and rebirth to link traditional modes of representation to contemporary mediums and spaces. On view until April 9. Metro: U Street-Cardozo.

Try a Little Tenderness as Painful as It Seems at Honfleur Gallery: Eponymous blogger the Jealous Curator brings work by Canadian conceptual artist Ben Skinner to Anacostia, turning abandoned storefronts along MLK Jr. Avenue and Good Hope Road into backdrops for his cryptic vinyl phrases. The exhibition culminates in two floors of photographs, paintings and amusing mixed-media panels made of everything from glitter and acrylic to candy sprinkles. On view until April 8. Metro: Anacostia.

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Revive at Long View Gallery: This month Long View is featuring work by Michelle Peterson-Albandoz, one of their newer artists. Peterson-Albandoz’s unique Constructions of reclaimed discarded wood look particularly at home here; their geometric panels blend and clash with the striations of the gallery’s exposed brick walls. On view March 31 to May 1. Opening reception March 31 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Metro: Mt. Vernon-Convention Center.

Grasses by Mary D. Ott at Touchstone Gallery: One of two openings at Touchstone, Grasses wouldn’t strike most as a must-see show. That’s thanks in part to the gallery, whose press release literally reads, “The prints are all variations on the theme of grasses.” But Mary Ott’s sensitive renderings of this simple subject are diverse, colorful and never dull. On view March 30 to May 1. First Friday reception on April 1 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Metro: Gallery Place-Chinatown or Metro Center.

BRAVOS: Groundbreaking Spanish Design at the American University Museum: Co-organized with the Embassy of Spain, this AU exhibition showcases 21 contemporary Spanish designers working with a range of objects that includes lamps, chairs and vases. If that doesn’t convince you, perhaps this cute-yet-disturbing picture will. On view April 2 to May 15. Metro: Tenleytown-AU; Metrobus: N3/N4/N6.

Short list: Cartograph: Gérard Lange at the gallery at Vivid Solutions; multiple openings at Studio Gallery; “The Picture Stories of Ben Katchor” at the Corcoran Gallery.