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Fall Arts Preview: Art Picks

Thomas Chambers’s “Lake George and the Village of Caldwell” is in “Poetry of Nature.”
Thomas Chambers’s “Lake George and the Village of Caldwell” is in “Poetry of Nature.”Courtesy of Worcester Art Museum

ANIMAL-SHAPED VESSELS FROM THE ANCIENT WORLD: FEASTING WITH GODS, HEROES AND KINGS Come to the party! These symbol-laden vessels fashioned after beasts from gazelles to griffins were used in ceremonies revolving around food and drink, from the Bronze Age to the seventh century. Through Jan. 6. Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., Cambridge. 617-495-9400, www.harvardartmuseums.org

TUESDAY SMILLIE: TO BUILD ANOTHER WORLD In multimedia works, Smillie, the winner of the Rose Art Museum’s 2017-
18 Ruth Ann and Nathan Perlmutter Artist-in-Residence Award, blends transgender and feminist themes, the history of protest signs, and an inquiry into the language of activism. Through Dec. 2. Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, 415 South St., Waltham. 781-736-3434, www.brandeis.edu/rose


POETRY OF NATURE: HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL LANDSCAPES FROM THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY More than 40 paintings by artists such as Thomas Cole, Asher B. Durand, and Albert Bierstadt represent the first truly American art movement: sublime, majestic, and numinous landscapes. Through Nov. 25. Worcester Art Museum, 55 Salisbury St., Worcester. 508-799-4406, www.worcesterart.org

CARRIE MAE WEEMS: STRATEGIES OF ENGAGEMENT In this exhibition of photography, video, and mixed-media works — more than 120 pieces made over three decades, including immersive installations — Weems interrogates the past, dismantles notions of power, and confronts racism. Sept. 10-Dec. 13. McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, 2101 Commonwealth Ave. 617-552-8587, www.bc.edu/artmuseum

FROM STARFIELD TO MARS: PAUL MANSHIP AND HIS ARTISTIC LEGACY A two-part exhibition: the Art Deco sculptor’s works, and pieces by artists at the Manship Artists Residence + Studios program in Gloucester, including Abelardo Morell and Barbara Bosworth. Sept. 15-Jan. 20. Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, 180 Main St., Andover. 978-749-4000, addison.andover.edu

CHRISTIANE BAUMGARTNER: ANOTHER COUNTRY This maverick German printmaker investigates time, vision, and image-making itself, crafting labor-intensive prints (such as monumental woodcuts) of split-second imagery found in movies and television. This is her first monographic museum show in America. Sept. 21-
Dec. 16. Davis Museum, Wellesley College, 106 Central St., Wellesley. 781-283-2051, www.wellesley.edu/davismuseum


WINNIE-THE-POOH: EXPLORING A CLASSIC Where did that tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff come from? Where has he been? Close to 200 objects explore Pooh’s inspirations and influences, and delve into the collaboration between his creators, writer A.A. Milne and illustrator E.H. Shepard. Sept. 22-Jan. 6. Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave. 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org

COMMON THREADS: WEAVING STORIES ACROSS TIME Fiber art has come a long way since Mrs. Gardner allotted a room in the palace for tapestries. On view: cutting-edge, tech-savvy, meaning-laden textiles by artists such as El Anatsui, William Kentridge, and the Raqs Media Collective. Oct. 4-Jan. 13. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 25 Evans Way. 617-566-1401, www.gardnermuseum.org

BEYOND THE PEDESTAL: ISAMU NOGUCHI AND THE BORDERS OF SCULPTURE The modernist sculptor (and landscape architect, set designer, and furniture designer) forged new formal frontiers as he studied how people addressed, avoided, and moved around objects in space. Oct. 5-Jan. 6. Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Square, Portland, Maine. 207-775-6148, www.portlandmuseum.org

INTRODUCING TONY CONRAD: A RETROSPECTIVE Conrad (1940-2016), known for innovations in minimal music and structural film, had his hand in many pots. This show, cohosted by Harvard’s Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, celebrates his range of contributions, including painting, video, performance, and installation. Oct. 18-Jan. 6. MIT List Visual Arts Center, 20 Ames St., Cambridge. 617-253-4680, listart.mit.edu. Oct. 18-Dec. 30. Carpenter Visual Arts Center at Harvard University, 24 Quincy St. Cambridge. 617-496-5387, carpenter.center


SHEILA PEPE: HOT MESS FORMALISM Pepe’s art puts a feminist spin on domestic crafts, celebrates family traditions, and taps public participation. This midcareer survey of an artist with Boston roots spotlights her sprawling crocheted environments and more. Oct. 19-March 10. DeCordova Sculpture Park + Museum, 51 Sandy Pond Road, Lincoln. 781-259-8355, www.decordova.org

MONSTERS & MYTHS: SURREALISM AND WAR IN THE 1930S AND ’40S Surrealism sprang from Dada’s anti-rationalist reaction to the horrors of World War I. In the following decades, Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, Max Ernst, and others made lush, bizarre, mythic works that reflected a world struggling with hardship. Oct. 20-Jan. 13. Wadsworth Atheneum, 600 Main St., Hartford. 860-278-2670, www.thewadsworth.org

WILLIAM FORSYTHE: CHOREOGRAPHIC OBJECTS Coinciding with the choreographer’s residency at Boston Ballet, this exhibition features interactive architectural installations, kinetic sculptures, and video projections that prompt viewers to move, think with their bodies, and coincidentally design their own dances. Oct. 31-Feb.24. Institute of Contemporary Art, 25 Harbor Shore Drive. 617-478-3100, www.icaboston.org

ANSEL ADAMS IN OUR TIME This exhibition positions the modernist photographer at the center of a continuum, highlighting his iconic images of the West alongside those of 19th-century predecessors such as Timothy O’Sullivan, and 21st-century successors such as Mark Klett. Dec. 13-Feb. 24. Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave. 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org

TURNER AND CONSTABLE: THE INHABITED LANDSCAPE These two towering British painters witnessed the landscape as a site of change, as social, political, and industrial forces reshaped society in the 19th century. On view: more than 50 paintings, watercolors, drawings, and prints. Dec. 15-March 10. Clark Art Institute, 225 South St., Williamstown. 413-458-2303, www.clarkart.edu