Gallery Talk: Where Water Keeps Time
Experience the landscapes of Greenlaw Cove on Deer Isle, Maine through immersive graphite drawings by artist and WETA “Around Town” panelist Janis Goodman. This gallery talk, led by curator Laura Coyle and the artist herself, explores how years of close observation, evolving mark-making techniques, and an intimate connection to place transform marshes, water, granite, and shifting light into powerful meditations on memory, sensation, and time. The talk is presented in conjunction with the exhibition “Where Water Keeps Time: Graphite Drawings by Janis Goodman,” which is on view for the first time and dedicated to the power of place.
When: Saturday, June 20, 2026, from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM.
Location: American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20016. The event will be held in person at the museum.
Tickets: Free; no ticket price is listed. Registration is available via Eventbrite (the page is titled “Gallery Talk: Where Water Keeps Time: Graphite Drawings by Janis Goodman Tickets”).
About the Exhibition: The exhibition features 25 years of Janis Goodman’s work at Greenlaw Cove. It includes expansive, immersive drawings that invite viewers to step into the landscape, as well as more intimate works that reward careful looking. Goodman captures light moving across water, marshes, osprey nests, granite outcroppings, waterfowl, and mudflats. She adapts her mark-making and devises custom tools to capture the rhythms and textures of a place in constant flux. Each work carries a vivid sense of presence, shaped by years of returning to a landscape that is never quite the same. The exhibition transforms direct observation into something more layered—memory, material, sensation, and time reworked in the studio.
About the Artist: Janis Goodman is best known for her colorful abstract paintings and has been a vital force in the Washington, DC arts community. She taught for more than thirty-five years at the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design and supports the arts through public work and media, including her role as an art reviewer for WETA TV.
What to Expect: The hour-long gallery talk will feature curator Laura Coyle and artist Janis Goodman discussing the exhibition. The event is in person at the museum. Attendees are invited to trace the transformation from direct observation to studio reworking, as described in the exhibition.
Contact: For questions about this event, contact Patricia Poku-Speight at ppoku@american.edu. The organizer is the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center.
Image Credit: The promotional image shows Janis Goodman’s work “Above and Below,” 2025, graphite on paper, 22 x 30 inches, collection of the artist, courtesy of Gallery Neptune & Brown.
Note: No age restrictions, run time, or accessibility details are provided in the raw text. The event is approximately one hour long.