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THURSDAY

Like most artists who photograph flowers, Bethesda-based biologist-turned-artist Amy Lamb concentrates on her subjects’ seductive, sinuous curves: Sandersonia finds a drooping yellow bud and green stem that nicely echo Hector Guimard’s Art Nouveau Métro entrances in Paris. But at the same time, Lamb’s large-scale, detail-rich iris prints look deeper into the flora, sometimes allowing minute features to upstage everything else: the fuzzy forest of tiny hairs that cover the surface of Begonia Leaf I, the minuscule thorns that cluster on Begonia Leaves III, or the rust-colored, twisted strand of Cyclamen IV that looks so tightly coiled it actually resembles a snake poised to strike. Except in a few images of paper-thin dried flowers against white backgrounds, Lamb backs her prints with stark blackness—a decision that only intensifies her flowers’ vibrant palette, which ranges from crème de menthe to flamenco-dress red. Her work is on view from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (see City List for other dates) at the National Academy of Sciences, 2100 C St. NW. Free. (202) 334-2436. (Louis Jacobson)