Explore the rainbow at the newly re-opened Renwick Gallery in DC, manage to stay dry in LACMA's Rain Room, unleash your imagination at Cincinnati Museum Center's Brickopolis, or immerse yourself in dance theatre at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Culture in North Carolina. Just make sure you don’t miss these much-anticipated 14 exhibitions coming to a city near you this winter.
1. Smithsonian American Art Museum (DC)
http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/penn/21.cfm
Irving Penn: Beyond Beauty
NOW – March 20, 2016
Irving Penn (1917–2009) is one of the best-known American photographers of the 20th century, especially in fashion. He was a regular Vogue contributor. Over his seven decade career, he demonstrated a mastery of black-and-white and color photography.
This exhibition, the first retrospective of Penn’s work in nearly twenty years, presents over 140 photographs including iconic images as well as previously unseen or never exhibited photographs.
MORE INFO: HERE
2. Los Angeles County Museum of Art
http://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/crazy-cool-exhibition-rain-room-is-coming-to-lacma-this-fall/
Rain Room
NOW – April 24, 2016
Random International’s Rain Room (2012) is "an immersive environment of perpetually falling water that pauses wherever a human body is detected." What that means in laywomen's terms: It's a room with indoor rain and you can walk in it without getting wet. It sounds trite, but it's soooo cool, and think of the wonders of your photos! But back to the company line: "the installation offers visitors an opportunity to experience what is seemingly impossible: the ability to control rain."
PLEASE NOTE: The Rain Room is specially ticketed, timed-entry installation. Advance tickets are required. All tickets are currently SOLD OUT, but more tickets will be released. To receive notices on the next block of tickets released, sign up to receive email updates about Rain Room.
MORE INFO: HERE
3. Cincinnati Museum Center
http://www.cincymuseum.org/exhibits/art-of-the-brick
The Art of the Brick
Oct. 23, 2015- May 1, 2016
Nathan Sawaya's "The Art of the Brick" features 100+ works of art— the Mona Lisa, Starry Night, The Scream, the Sphinx, the Venus de Milo, the Thinker, etc. — made entirely of (millions upon millions) of LEGO bricks. This is the first major museum exhibition to use LEGO bricks as the sole medium.
There are also original works, including a series of life-size human figures and a 20-foot-long T-Rex. (Art on the site also shows a pig flying. Yes, it has wings.) And there's an interactive installation, Brickopolis, covering 5,000 square feet. Visitors are encouraged to "unleash your mind and imagination" by building their own unique creations.
MORE INFO: HERE
4. Renwick Gallery (DC)
http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/wonder/villareal.cfm
Wonder
Second floor: NOW- May 08, 2016
First floor: NOW- July 10
After a two-year renovation, the Renwick Gallery has (finally) re-opened, kicking off its return with “Wonder,” an exhibition of nine contemporary artists who each have created room-size installations from unexpected materials (Index cards, marbles, strips of wood, etc.)
There's a pink room of geometric designs that upon closer inspection are actually bugs. (The pink walls are made of bug dye). Sound gross. Looks amazing. There's another room where an artist hung thousands of strands of colored thread to create a rainbow. Above the Grand Staircase at the entrance is what looks like a simple chandelier (pictured above), but is a actually over 23,000 LEDs programmed to display a code with endless variations.
MORE INFO: HERE
5. The Museum at FIT (NY)
http://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/fairy-tale-fashion.php
FairyTale Fashion
January 15 - April 16, 2016
Fairy Tale Fashion uses more than 80 looks from designers such as as Dolce & Gabbana, Thierry Mugler, Comme des Garçons, Alexander McQueen, Prada, and Rodarte to illustratefifteen fairy tales, including well-known tales such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Little Red Riding Hood.
MORE INFO: HERE
ALSO: For the fashionistas, FIT also has an exhibit, "Denim: Fashion's Frontier", chronicling the history of denim and its relationship with high fashion since the 1800s century, .running until May 7.
MORE INFO: HERE.
6. SCAD FASH (ATL)
"Be Yourself; Everyone Else is Already Taken'
Jan. 22-Friday, April 1
London-based artist, stylist and designer Daniel Lismore's distinctive flamboyant style has earned him the title “London’s Most Outrageous Dresser” by Vogue. His personal style combines haute couture garments with charity-shop finds, yards of vintage fabrics and tartans, ribbons, feathers, ethnic jewelry, retro accessories, millinery and more. For his sartorial sensibilities, Lismore has been the subject of exhibitions at Tate Modern, London and Tate Britain, London. The retail clothing company H&M selected Lismore in September 2015 to be the face of their “Close the Loop” print and video campaign.
“Be Yourself; Everyone Else Is Already Taken” features 30 ensembles styled by Lismore exclusively for SCAD FASH. .
MORE INFO: HERE
7. Harvey B. Gantt Center for AA Culture (NC)
Dance Theatre of Harlem: 40 Years of Firsts exhibition.
January 22 - June 26, 2016
This "majestic" exhibition features costumes, set pieces, and historic photographs and video excerpts, original tour programs, and design bibles from the Dance Theatre of Harlem, which made history shattering barriers and defying prejudice. The presentation shows special favor to company founder, Arthur Mitchell, the only African American dancer of a major ballet company in pre-Civil Rights America.
MORE INFO: HERE
8. Aperture Foundation (NYC)
Muse: Mickalene Thomas Photographs and tête-à-tête
January 28 – March 17, 2016
Mickalene Thomas is best known for her large-scale, multi-textured, and rhinestone-encrusted paintings , but she's also a photographer, using her lens to asserts new definitions of beauty. She draws heavily on 1970s black-is-beautiful images and the studio portraiture of James Van Der Zee.
This very personal collection of portraits and staged scenes include Thomas herself, her mother, her friends and her lovers.
If you enjoy the exhibit (or can't make it), pick up a copy Muse: Mickalene Thomas Photographs, the accompanying Aperture publication, which compiles Thomas's various approaches to photography, including portraits, collages, and Polaroids.
MORE INFO: HERE
9. Bellevue Arts (Seattle)
http://www.bellevuearts.org/exhibitions/louis_kahn.html
Louis Kahn: The Power of Architecture
January 29 – May 1, 2016
American architect Louis Kahn (1901 – 1974) is considered one of the great master builders of the twentieth century. Among his most celebrated works are the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California (1959 – 65), the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas (1966 – 72), and the National Assembly Building in Dhaka, Bangladesh (1962 – 83). The exhibition includes architectural models, original drawings, photographs and films documenting all of Kahn's important projects
MORE INFO: HERE
10. Columbia Museum of Art (SC)
Remix
February 5- May 8, 2016
The title is a nod to the practice among Black artists of "sampling", reinterpreting older music to create new art. The same theory applies to the visual arts, especially here. The same process goes on in the visual arts, as shown in this exhibition where artists "retell or refashion themes, ideas, and objects in new ways and from their own unique perspective". REMIX promised to impress viewers with highly creative objects, and create a bridge between the past and present.
11. NSU Art Museum (Fort Lauderdale)
Bellissima: Italy and High Fashion 1945 to 1968
February 7 – June 5, 2016
A showcase of vintage fashion from the Italian fashion houses of Emilio Schuberth, Sorelle Fontana, Germana Marucelli, Mila Schön, Valentino, Simonetta, Roberto Capucci, Fernanda Gattinoni, Fendi, Renato Balestra, Biki, Irene Galitzine, Emilio Pucci, and Fausto Sarli.
MORE INFO: HERE
12. Seattle Art Museum
KEHINDE WILEY: A NEW REPUBLIC
Februrary 11- May 08, 2016
I can't go to a museum or art show anywhere in the country these days without seeing a Kehinde Wiley painting. The man's work ethic rivals Tupac's. Working in the portraiture traditions of the 18th century aristocracy, Wiley plays on notions of identity politics, highlighting and empowering modern day Black men who have traditionally been excluded from the medium.
MORE INFO: HERE
13. Cincinnati Art Museum
http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/art/exhibitions/upcoming-exhibitions/details/2055-30-americans
March 19, 2016 - August 28, 2016
30 Americans just closed in Detroit and now moves to Cincinnati. The exhibition showcases art by "important" African-American artists of the last three decades. This provocative exhibition, drawn primarily from the Rubell Family Collection, explores issues of racial, sexual, and historical identity in contemporary culture.
- See more at: MORE INFO
14. The Broad (LA)
http://www.discoverlosangeles.com/blog/broad-announces-ticketing-hours-visitor-information
Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away
NOW- ?? (There's no end date... yet)
Yayoi Kusama (aka the Japanese artist who collaborated on the Louis Vuitton bags in 2012) created a mirror-lined chamber housing a dazzling and seemingly endless LED light display. And you don't have to see it right now, as there's no expiration date, but wouldn't you be mad if I knew about something this awesome and didn't put it on the list?
PLEASE NOTE: The installation has a limited capacity, accommodating one visitor at a time for approximately 45 seconds. To visit, you need a timed ticket, which general admission ticket holders will be able to reserve after arrival at the museum. Free tickets are available for reservation at thebroad.org/tickets
I haven't been. If you go, use the hashtag #seesomeworld on Instagram so I can see :-)