Visitors can get a unique look at the COVID-19 pandemic in a new art exhibition in Georgetown.
“We always set out to capture a specific moment in time,” said artist Kate Fleming. “We just had no idea how specific a moment in time it was going to be.”
Fleming and her partner Tom Woodruff visited all 50 states from 2019 to 2021, with a long interlude in the middle during the worst of the pandemic.
![](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/081122_art-exhibit.jpg)
The coronavirus left its impression on some of her paintings and his photographs.
The clusters of mostly small works of art are on display at 2900 M Street in Georgetown.
Some of the works are accompanied by journal entries. A painting of a fast-food dumpster area from March of 2020 sits next to an entry that reads: “terrified that someone would come talk to me and breathe on me.”
A May 2021 painting of a gas station — a common subject of Fleming’s — sits next to an entry reading in part, “sore throat freaking out.”
![](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/081122_art-exhibit_3.jpg)
Some of the works, such as a photo of a spider trapped under a glass, symbolize their time back home, in quarantine, before they could finish visiting all of the states.
One room, which features a seat from the van they used in their trip, shows video snippets of their cross-country travels.
![](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/081122_art_exhibit_2.jpg)
In all, Fleming said she made 194 paintings, fewer than half of which are on display. Woodruff, meanwhile, shot 50,000 frames.
The exhibition, called “People from Away,” is open Wednesdays through Sundays, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., through Sept. 11. The works of art are also available for sale.