A Sampling of What’s On

By BENJAMIN GENOCCHIO
Published: March 16, 2009

ART exhibitions are flourishing across the country. Here is a selection of the latest offerings:

NORTHEAST
BOSTON “Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice.” This lush survey of 16th-century Venetian painting explores the notorious rivalry among three of the more renowned Venetian painters, fueled by competition for patronage, prestige and a place in posterity. Fifty-six works, a quarter of them from Italy, are featured, with the rest on loan from European and American museums. Through Aug. 16. Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Avenue; (617) 267-9300, mfa.org.

NEW HAVEN “Paintings From the Reign of Victoria: The Royal Holloway Collection, London.” Thomas Holloway (1800-83) was a self-made millionaire who in later life gave an endowment to create a college for women, now called Royal Holloway, University of London. He also assembled a collection of art for the college, from which comes this exhibition of 60 figurative and landscape paintings of the late 19th century by artists including David Roberts, Sir Edwin Landseer and Sir John Everett Millais. May 7 to July 26. Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel Street; (203) 432-2800, yale.edu/ycba.

PORTLAND, Me. “Call of the Coast: Art Colonies of New England.” Bucolic splendor abounds in this celebration of art in the early 20th century arising from coastal New England art colonies, including Cos Cob and Old Lyme, Conn., and Ogunquit and Monhegan, Me. Childe Hassam, Robert Henri and George Bellows were among the artists who spent time at these retreats. June 25 to Oct. 12. Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Square; (207) 775-6148, portlandmuseum.org.

MID-ATLANTIC
BALTIMORE “A Circus Family: Picasso to Léger.” You can sample the rough-and-tumble, bohemian lives of performers in and outside the circus ring with more than 80 paintings, prints, drawings and books by Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Léger and other European artists. Through May 17. Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive; (443) 573-1700, artbma.org.

PHILADELPHIA “Marcel Duchamp: Étant donnés.” The artist’s famously voyeuristic assemblage and final masterpiece, including all known studies, photographs, erotic objects and other materials related to its installment, come together for this celebration of the 40th anniversary of the work’s permanent public display at the museum. Aug. 15 to Nov. 1. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway and 26th Street; (215) 763-8100, philamuseum.org.

WASHINGTON “Luis Meléndez: Master of the Spanish Still Life.” This show assembles 31 paintings and a handful of objects to chart the career of an artist widely regarded as the greatest still-life painter in 18th-century Spain. Hallmarks of his style include a startling attention to detail and extraordinarily subtle variations of color and shading. May 17 to Aug. 23. National Gallery of Art, National Mall between Third and Seventh Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW; (202) 737-4215, nga.gov.

WASHINGTON “Paint Made Flesh.” This exhibition takes an unconventional look at a conventional subject, the human body, through paintings created since the 1950s that were inspired by human flesh. On hand are works by more than 30 artists, including Francis Bacon, Willem de Kooning, Alice Neel, Philip Guston and Lucian Freud. June 20 to Sept. 13. Phillips Collection, 1600 21st Street NW; (202) 387-2151, phillipscollection.org.

WASHINGTON “The Tsars and the East: Gifts From Turkey and Iran in the Moscow Kremlin.” The czars of imperial Russia racked up exotic and beautiful gifts from abroad, some priceless. This exhibition shows off about 60 of these objects, gifts from ambassadors, diplomatic missions and trade delegations from Turkey and Iran from the late 16th to the late 17th century. May 9 to Sept. 13. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 1050 Independence Avenue SW; (202) 633-1000, asia.si.edu.

SOUTH
DALLAS “Willie Doherty: Requisite Distance.” This show offers a concentrated view of the work of Willie Doherty, one of the more influential conceptual artists to emerge from Northern Ireland in the past decade. Photographs and video make up the show, including a powerful 15-minute film, “Ghost Story,” a hit of the 2007 Venice Biennale. May 24 to Aug. 16. Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 North Harwood Street; (214) 922-1200, dallasmuseumofart.org.

DURHAM, N.C. “Escultura Social: A New Generation of Art From Mexico City.” In the 1960s, the German conceptual artist Joseph Beuys was known for his ideas on social sculpture, which characterizes art made of everyday materials or presented in public spaces. This show, which originated at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, looks at the relevance of Beuys’s ideas to works by a generation of artists who reached maturity in Mexico City in the 1990s. Through June 7. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, 2001 Campus Drive; (919) 684-5135, nasher.duke.edu.

FORT WORTH “Art and Love in Renaissance Italy.” Even in the Renaissance, people spent staggering amounts of money on weddings. About 150 paintings and art objects celebrating love and marriage, most dating from 1400 to 1600, have been assembled for this national touring exhibition. Through June 14. Kimbell Art Museum, 3333 Camp Bowie Boulevard; (817) 332-8451, kimbellart.org.

HOUSTON “Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures From the National Museum, Kabul.” Being at the crossroads of civilizations in Central Asia made Afghanistan rich and influential many centuries ago. This show presents fine examples of the cultural heritage of the country from the Bronze Age (2500 B.C.) through the first century A.D. Through May 17. Museum of Fine Arts, 1001 Bissonnet Street; (713) 639-7300, mfah.org.

HOUSTON “Marlene Dumas: Measuring Your Own Grave.” This is the latest stop on a national tour of a midcareer retrospective of the work of the much-admired figurative painter, who was born in South Africa and is based in Amsterdam. The show has been condensed for this venue, focusing on her work from the 1980s onward. March 27 to June 21. Menil Collection, 1515 Sul Ross Street; (713) 525-9400, menil.org.

MIAMI “Abstract Cinema.” This exhibition couples abstract moving images in film and video since the 1930s with the work of a wide variety of contemporary artists using new media technologies. March 25 to May 10. Museum of Contemporary Art, 770 NE 125th Street, North Miami; (305) 893-6211, mocanomi.org.

NEW ORLEANS “The Art of Caring: A Look at Life Through Photography.” Although not concerned with beauty per se, this show of 175 photographs offers alternative visual viewpoints on the beauty of caring, healing, aging, children, love and family. The artists represented include Tina Barney, Nan Goldin, Gordon Parks and Sally Mann. May 16 to Oct. 11 New Orleans Museum of Art, 1 Collins Diboll Circle; 504-658-4100, noma.org.

MIDWEST
CHICAGO “Becoming Edvard Munch: Influence, Anxiety and Myth.” Although the Norwegian artist’s name has long been synonymous with emotional instability, this exhibition seeks to show that Munch was far from an insane loner by presenting his paintings, prints and drawings in the context of the work of his European contemporaries. Through April 26. Art Institute of Chicago, 111 South Michigan Avenue; (312) 443- 3600, artinstituteofchicago.org.

MINNEAPOLIS “The Quick and the Dead.” The title of a cheesy 1995 western movie is reprised for this interestingly kooky group show of about 90 historical and contemporary artworks, objects and images by more than 50 artists, scientists and musicians exploring time and space in postwar culture. April 25 to Sept. 27. Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Avenue; (612) 375-7600, walkerart.org.

ST. LOUIS “Power and Glory: Court Arts of China’s Ming Dynasty.” More than 125 works make up this impressive survey of the court arts of the Ming dynasty, among them a rich array of gold and jade, textiles, jewelry, architectural and funereal objects, painting, carvings and lacquer pieces. Through May 17. Saint Louis Art Museum, 1 Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park; (314) 721-0072; slam.org.

WEST
LOS ANGELES “Cast in Bronze: French Sculpture From Renaissance to Revolution.” This spectacular exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of French bronze sculpture from its beginnings during the Renaissance until the end of the 18th century. The works are on loan from renowned international collections, including the Louvre, co-organizer with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. June 30 through Sept. 27. J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive; (310) 440-7300, getty.edu.

LOS ANGELES “Dan Graham: Beyond.” This national touring show celebrates the career of the conceptual artist Dan Graham with photographs, film and video, architectural models, conceptual projects, drawings and prints, and writings from the 1960s to the present. Among the artist’s recurrent thematic interests are 20th-century architecture, the mass media and the relationship of the individual to the public sphere. Through May 25. Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 250 South Grand Avenue; (213) 621-1749, moca.org.

LOS ANGELES “Art of Two Germanys/Cold War Cultures.” How to make sense of the diffuse, divergent art that emerged during the cold war in East and West Germany? This show tries, with about 300 paintings, sculptures, photographs, books and installations by 120 artists, including Hans Haacke, Sigmar Polke and Dieter Roth. Through April 19 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard; (323) 857-6000, lacma.org.

PHOENIX “Medievalism: Fashion’s Romance With the Middle Ages.” Fabrics, clothing ensembles, accessories and rare books make up this intriguing show exploring medieval influences on fashion design from the early 19th century to the present. Exhibits include designs for gowns by Mariano Fortuny, high fashion by John Galliano for Christian Dior and current Gothic street-style clothing. Through July 5. Phoenix Art Museum, 1625 North Central Avenue; (602) 257- 1222, phxart.org.

SAN FRANCISCO “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.” Promising additional artifacts from the tomb and a new audio guide, this new version of a popular exhibition that has been touring for the last couple of years is stuffed with works from King Tut’s tomb, as well as from those of his royal predecessors. June 27 to March 28, 2010. De Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park; (415) 750-3600, deyoungmuseum.org.

SAN FRANCISCO “Lords of the Samurai.” It seems that when they were not fighting one another the famed samurai liked to indulge in calligraphy and painting and compose poetry. This exhibition brings together more than 150 works from across Japan, including armor, swords and guns, calligraphy and paintings. June 12 to Sept. 20. Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street; (415) 581-3500, asianart.org.

SEATTLE “Ann Lislegaard.” This is the first solo exhibition in an American museum for this Norwegian artist widely known for her sound works in public spaces and mesmerizing digital-animation projection installations based on cult works of science fiction. April 18 to Aug. 23. Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, 15th Avenue NE and 41st Street; (206) 543-2280, henryart.org.