page_title: Janet Echelman
section_title: 1.8 Renwick
hierarchical_section_title: Janet Echelman / Major works / Museum exhibitions / 1.8 Renwick
caption_attribution_description: English: Michelle Obama admiring 1.8 Renwick
context_page_description: Janet Echelman is an American sculptor and fiber artist. Her sculptures have been displayed as public art, often as site-specific installations.
  Works include: 1.26, which has been exhibited on five continents; Her Secret Is Patience in downtown Phoenix; Water Sky Garden which premiered for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics; She Changes on the waterfront in Porto, Portugal; and Every Beating Second at San Francisco International Airport.
  Recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Echelman was named an Architectural Digest 2012 Innovator for "changing the very essence of urban spaces." Echelman's artwork has been reviewed in The New York Times, Newsweek, Time, and was selected for Architectural Digest's "Innovators". She currently serves on the Harvard Board of Overseers.
context_section_description: 1.8 Renwick is a sculpture commissioned by the Smithsonian American Art Museum for the reopening of the Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. after a 2 year long renovation. The renovation aimed to transform the Renwick Gallery into an interactive art space, creating an immersive experience for visitors. 1.8 Renwick hung in the Grand Salon of the Renwick Gallery from November 2015 to June 2017. The large net sculpture was part of the museum's Wonder exhibition from November 13, 2015 until July 10, 2016, but was later acquired by the Renwick Gallery for their permanent collection and stayed on view in the Grand Salon until May 21, 2017.  The piece was an extension of the 1.8 series by Echelman but custom designed to fit the space of the Grand Salon. In addition to the hundred-foot-long piece suspended above the Grand Salon, Echelman designed a 4,000 square foot textile flooring with a pattern which matched the topography of the sculpture above. 1.8 Renwick turned the Grand Salon into one large immersive piece of art. On the floor, furniture was arranged to invite viewers to lie down and get lost in the layers of twine above.
caption: Michelle Obama beneath 1.8 Renwick, 2016
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