What tourists sometimes miss are the many smaller art galleries throughout the city like Touchstone Gallery. Steps away from the DC History Center inside the Carnegie Library is a small local gallery. It's free to enter and the staff are very nice. Two rooms are filled with art of different kinds. They also have a restroom and a drinking fountain. read more

See all

It's a small gallery that is generally open to the public free of charge and gives opportunities to both established and new talent to showcase their art. The curator was nice and friendly and even made a recommendation for a nice Thai restaurant nearby where we had dinner after the showing. read more

See all

Touchstone has been around since the late 70's. Their artist membership is about thirty strong -- all pretty inventive. These artists work in a variety of mediums and styles. Touchstone specializes in modern works. The space here is great and the vibe is positive. There are typically about 100 pieces on display at any given time. Every month there are usually two solo shows and one group show all by the members of the gallery. Right now in the gallery's "annex" the artist featured has some really nice landscapes. At the larger gallery area, Touchstone is celebrating their 30th anniversary with an art show and sale. All art will be priced at $300 with ten percent of the purchase going to SOME. read more

This really is a great space. I went last night for the My Space on 7th event and some of the pieces were absolutely wonderful. I will have to come back on a non-event night to check out the various pieces without trying to maneuver around a ton of people. From what I can see the prices are actually affordable and I can see buying something from here to start my own tiny collection in the future. read more

I attended the "My Space on 7th" event and though there was plenty of art to be seen, there just wasn't enough time nor space. The place was packed like sardines in a can, so I wasn't given the opportunity to actually explore the various exhibits....Time, the showing was booked on the same night there was a hockey game in which I drove around for at least a half of an hour for a parking space..... The very few pieces I adored was a painting of Marilyn Monroe (forgot the painter's name) and an abtract design of necklaces that hung on the wall. For future reference check with the Verizon Center to see if a event is on the same day, because the police had various streets blocked as if President Obama was on the premises himself. Would return in the future but not during an event at the Verizon Center..... folks getting off from work and sport fans do not mix. read more

I went here tonight for the "My Space on 7th" event and had a really great time. This event featured local artists, which I totally dug. The room was packed and there was tons of art on the wall from all different spectrums-photography, paintings, sculptures, jewelery, etc. Plus, a free wine tasting (with white only-I'm more of a red wine type of girl). I thought the gallery was well set up and very spacious. It was hard to appreciate the full environment because there were so many people. I have to say though that I really like that the event was free, open to the public, and featured new talent. I will definitely go to event like this again. read more

This a great space! I met the events coordinate, Shelley, one night and I was at the gallery for an event two days. Shelley is dynamic. The gallery is very clean, open and in a great location. I'm an event planner. I am always looking for new spaces to host events. I am putting Touchstone Gallery on my list of potential venues. Tony Scurry - http://www.7pointe.com/ read more

Ksenia and her team at Touchstone Gallery were more than accommodating when I was planning a fundraiser to be hosted at the gallery. Over 100 guests were in attendance and the space was absolutely perfect. I have also taken time to check out the exhibits hosted at Touchstone and they are always funky and inspiring pieces. I hope you consider hosting your next event at Touchstone! read more

Given that I thoroughly enjoy modern art, I was intrigued to visit the Touchstone Gallery. I found some of the artwork to be locally relevant (specifically, the Obama collages) and powerful (the macabre work of Paul Vickers impressed). However, I was expecting a bit more multi-medium work and it was sparsely represented at this gallery. I also wish that each artist would have been able to select what they believe is their most powerful work; I would hope that other artists would not deny them from that opportunity. I don't want to come off as overly harsh; there was definitely some work that I would consider buying (for original artwork, the prices were reasonable), but I've been a bit more impressed with some of the other galleries in the DC area. read more

This is a nice small gallery that has rotating shows by mostly local artists. A few of my friends have shown here. Like most galleries, it's good to go on opening night and check out the work. If you like big galleries and stuff other than modern art, this is probably not the place for you. read more

It was fantastic to see art by local artists, and even affordable. I went to the "My Space on 7th" closing, and there were lovely music, poetry reading, and snacks. Definitely coming back for more events! read more

This is a great space and there's plenty of room to host a nice size banquet. The staff is friendly and courteous, if you're looking for a venue make this one of your stops. read more

Great and unique space for hosting events - the artwork is vibrant, compelling and eye-catching. The staff is friendly and very adaptable to your needs. I fully recommend hosting your next event here! read more

The number of artists with work being exhibited surprised me - in a good way. There seemed to be more artists showing work than the list of artists posted on the website. Beside some of the work, there was more information about the artist or art but it depended on the artist. Mostly 2D art, there was some sculpture and blown glass. Helpful tags have sales prices posted by the art ranging from $150-$4,000 if my memory serves me correctly. As a fun game, imagine how buying a piece would change up your own living space. Would your guests ask where you got it to get in on the action or would they ask if you were expecting a visit from your teenage cousin with artistic dreams and hung it up out of obligation? read more

I came here for a gallery opening (they have one every first friday of the month). It was jam packed! The atmosphere was lively and people were milling around, looking at beautiful pieces of art...What is there to get mad at?! There was a cool electric cello player outside for the event, jamming out to Lana del Rey and even One Direction! There was a bar station set up, serving complimentary beverages (wine, soda, water). Complimentary wine? Extra bonus point!! Just make sure to bring cash for tip! The gallery was a lot bigger than I expected and was set up beautifully. The art pieces were intriguing to say the least that I had to snag at least one thing! I will definitely come back next month to see who they are featuring for their minisolos! If you want to be in an elegant & classy environment..this is definitely it! read more

I volunteer with a nonprofit, and we selected Touchstone Gallery to host our annual fundraiser, a photography auction and exhibition. The gallery was perfect for the event - the space was beautiful, the staff were helpful and accommodating, and the event went smoothly. All of the guests loved the gallery. The gallery hung some of our own photography for auction on one wall, and kept their own art on the other walls, and the result was lovely. Touchstone is a great, well-run space, and we are planning on hosting our event there next year as well! read more

I've visited Touchstone 3 or 4 times in the last year. First the space: it's very nice, clean, modern, sleek. Very well laid out. Touchstone is a co-op gallery and it has all the strengths and weaknesses of a co-op. Some of the artists are very good indeed. Others, you wonder what they were thinking. Mostly they have two solo shows and a group show. Usually the group show is pretty good even if it involves disparate work. The solo shows vary with the quality of the artists. For example, i visited in july and they had solo shows by Mary Ott and Peter McCutcheon one a printmaker and the other a photographer. Both shows were superb. Both artists have obviously mastered the techniques of their medium and use it to produce work that is butiful and cutting edge. Museum quality work. Mike Lang and Newton Moore are two other good photographers there. Lesley Nolan is probably the best painter and she is also museum quality. All of these people do outstanding work and if you see a solo show by any of them definitely see it. But then I saw the November 2013 shows and they were a lot less impressive. The group show was about what it always is. But neither solo show was anything speical. Betsey Forestor had some landscape paintings that were competently but really really dull. Great hotel room art if mass produced but nothing interesting at all. The other solo show was a photographer named Tre -- one name only, always a bad sign. It was bad. Really bad. Pretentious, overwrought, poor photoshop and cheap commercial printing on canvas. When I went the show wasn't even hung right. The pictures were crooked. It looked like something a high school student might do if the high school student had an exaggerated notion of his own talent. Might be worth seeing just to laugh at though. read more

I visited the Touchstone Gallery for the opening reception this past Friday. This was a free event from 6-8:30pm, however, we had viewed all of the art by 7:15 after arriving at 6:45pm, so this event (which is typically the first Friday of each month) should be treated as a "pitstop" before you go and do something else. The gallery is close to the Mt. Vernon Square metro and there are a handful of restaurants, especially at nearby CityCenter, to visit afterwards. The opening exhibit in Gallery C was entitled "Before They are Gone". This was a mixed media installation of over 2,500 ceramic art pieces depicting the average number of African elephants killed per month in recent years. Each ceramic piece was hand-formed and textured, glazed, or painted to represent elephant skin and ivory. There were also other works by several artists, one of my favorite being a collage of items typically thought of as trash but to someone less fortunate could be seen otherwise. Touchstone is a contemporary, artist-owned gallery that also has a foundation for encouraging philanthropy in the community, and I'd definitely recommend paying a quick visit, particularly on the opening reception nights where you can enjoy complimentary wine and meet some of the featured artists. read more

Since my first experience visiting Touchstone Gallery, I have been nothing but impressed. I love the varying techniques and perspectives of the artists. The size of the gallery allows visitors to fully study and contemplate each piece, or simply appreciate the dynamic creations on a purely aesthetic level. The revolving art pieces are provocative and thought-provoking. Touchstone Gallery embraces innovation in both the content and design of its exhibits. I look forward to many more gallery visits! read more

Bravo to TouchStone Gallery.............I had my 40th birthday party on Nov. 29th, 2013. I hired Posh & Classic Events & Catering from Clinton Maryland. The space was very nice and my event planer Irca Cheeks just put an amazing touch on what was already a very elegant Art Gallery. I would recommend Touchstone Gallery and Posh & Classic catering to everyone. I do plan on having another event there!!!! read more