{"id":677347,"date":"2026-09-07T19:40:28","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T19:40:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/677347\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T19:40:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T19:40:28","slug":"15-museum-exhibitions-to-see-across-the-us-this-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/677347\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Museum Exhibitions to See Across the US This Fall"},"content":{"rendered":"

The circus is coming to town, although maybe not in the form you\u2019d expect. The art world, in all its acrobatics, pageantry, and occasional fun, is returning to cities across the United States this fall with a spate of acts. Artist Karon Davis ushers us into the big top in an exhibition rife with circus archetypes at the Seattle Art Museum. In a group show at <\/strong>the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, we\u2019re given front seats to the circus that is American democracy. There may be no ringmaster inside this tent, but there\u2019s certainly showbiz: the Denver Art Museum has dedicated an entire show to the diva phenomenon, while at Virginia Commonwealth University\u2019s Institute for Contemporary Art, Tony Cokes takes the shears to the codes of popular culture. The magic act continues elsewhere: every piece of rubbish that jewelry designer Bernhard Schobinger touched turned into gold, as evidenced by a new show at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. And up north, a photography exhibition at the Milwaukee Museum of Art pairs the alchemy of resource extraction with that of photography, a comparison that needs no smoke and mirrors, save for the one in a DSLR camera. \u2014 Phillip Pyle, associate editor <\/p>\n

Read our 2026 fall guides for <\/strong>New York<\/strong><\/a> and <\/strong>Los Angeles<\/strong><\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Turn the volume up! <\/p>\n

Nasher Museum of Art<\/strong><\/a>, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Aug. 27\u2013July 11, 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"Carrie Mae Weems, \u201cOde to Affirmative Action\u201d (1989) (\u00a9 Carrie Mae Weems; courtesy the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York)<\/p>\n

The allusion to NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s celebratory quoting of rapper KRS-One\u2019s \u201cTurn the Volume Up\u201d (2020) in this exhibition\u2019s title is fitting considering its interrogation of democratic participation. Works by artists including Kara Walker, Lyle Ashton Harris, Mike Kelley, and Sam Durant are presented as chronicles of the history of collective action through voting and organizing, inspiring a rare moment of hope amid America\u2019s 250th anniversary.<\/p>\n

Going Underground: The Jewels of Bernhard Schobinger<\/p>\n

Museum of Fine Arts Houston<\/strong><\/a>, Houston, Texas
Sept. 3\u2013Jan. 3, 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"Bernhard Schobinger, \u201cSmall Tear Drop Chain\u201d (2014) (photo courtesy Museum of Fine Arts Houston)<\/p>\n

Fishing lures from Lake Zurich and asphalt chunks from a New York City street are among the materials found in Schobinger\u2019s idiosyncratic jewelry pieces. With influences extending from Concrete Art, Dada, and the Situationists to Japanese culture and punk, Schobinger disrupts jewelry as an elitist luxury through his scavenged, rebellious, and rubbish-composed innovations.<\/p>\n

Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky <\/p>\n

Missoula Art Museum<\/strong><\/a>, Missoula, Montana
Sept. 4\u2013Dec. 31<\/p>\n

\"\"Joe Feddersen, \u201cElk at Spotted Lake\u201d (2016) (image courtesy Missoula Art Museum)<\/p>\n

How do we treat the natural world? Colville artist Joe Feddersen explores the tension in that existential question through decorated woven baskets, spray-painted monoprint collages, and sandblasted blown glass works marked with indigenous symbolisms. This exhibition probes the complex and fragile bond between humans and the environment across four decades of Feddersen’s multimedia practice.<\/p>\n

Grandma Moses: A Good Day\u2019s Work <\/p>\n

Crystal Bridges Museum of Art<\/strong><\/a>, Bentonville, Arkansas
Sept. 12\u2013March 29, 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"Grandma Moses, \u201cBlack Horses\u201d (1942) (\u00a9 Grandma Moses Properties Co., NY; courtesy Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art)<\/p>\n

You can almost hear the festive clamor of the townsfolk in \u201cDeep Snow\u201d (1957), one of the many intimate depictions of rural life in Anna Mary Robertson \u201cGrandma\u201d Moses\u2019s oeuvre. Paintings of farmers knee-deep in hay, green patchwork expanses, and a barnyard wedding (before it became a trend) are part of this major show reviving the postwar legacy of Grandma Moses, who opened her first solo exhibition at 80 years old.<\/p>\n

The Gift: Emma Amos with Friends <\/p>\n

Cleveland Museum of Art<\/strong><\/a>, Cleveland, Ohio
Sept. 13\u2013Jan. 24, 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"Emma Amos, The Gift (1990\u201394); top (left to right): India Amos, Grace Williams, Kay WalkingStick; bottom: Lorna Simpson, Joan Semmel, Elizabeth Catlett (\u00a9 Emma Amos; courtesy Ryan Lee Gallery, New York)<\/p>\n

As a gift for her daughter India\u2019s 20th birthday, artist Emma Amos painted 48 watercolor portraits of women artists, art historians, and critics in her community. This exhibition brings together the entire suite of paintings in The Gift (1990\u201394), which includes portraits of Elizabeth Catlett, Lorna Simpson, bell hooks, Faith Ringgold, Howardena Pindell, Lucy Lippard, and Kay WalkingStick, for the first time in two decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tony Cokes: Texts, Tracks, Talks (1992\u20132026)<\/p>\n

Institute for Contemporary Art<\/strong><\/a>, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
Sept. 18\u2013Feb. 21, 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"Tony Cokes,\u00a0still from \u201dUntitled (m.j.: the symptom)\u201d (2020) (artwork \u00a9 Tony Cokes; image courtesy the artist; Greene Naftali, New York; Felix Gaudlitz, Vienna; Hannah Hoffman, Los Angeles, and Beverly Hills)<\/p>\n

Tony Cokes\u2019s confrontational text-based, sensory-driven practice samples moments, fragments, and movements across culture and history, spurring new and critical connections that diverge from dominant media narratives. Marking a welcome return to his alma mater, this exhibition presents a survey of the multimedia artist\u2019s existing works alongside newly commissioned ones centering on themes of production, artistic intent, and the development of personal identity. <\/p>\n

From Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America<\/p>\n

Barnes Foundation<\/strong><\/a>, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania\u00a0
Sept. 20\u2013Jan. 10, 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"Isamu Noguchi, \u201cMy Arizona\u201d (1943) (photo courtesy Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York)<\/p>\n

Isamu Noguchi and George Nakashima are among the six Japanese American artists featured in this exhibition that reconsiders the aesthetics of modern America. From album covers to living room lamps, the objects on display illuminate the influence of the artists\u2019 practices in galleries and later, in American homes, where even the most quiet designs were informed by the traumas of World War II and Japanese-American concentration camps in the United States. <\/p>\n

Martin Puryear: Nexus<\/p>\n

High Museum<\/strong><\/a>, Atlanta, Georgia
Sept. 25\u2013Jan. 17, 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"Martin Puryear, \u201cBower\u201d (1980) (\u00a9 Martin Puryear; courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and Art Resource, New York)<\/p>\n

This touring exhibition maps the conceptual evolution of Puryear\u2019s contemplative, craft-driven sculpture practice over the last 60 years. Alongside a selection of new works, the artist\u2019s most recognizable pieces are supplemented with rarely seen drawings, prints, and sculptures that nod to his fastidious research and lifelong curiosity. <\/p>\n

Suzanne Jackson: What Is Love<\/p>\n

Museum of Fine Arts Boston<\/strong><\/a>, Boston, Massachusetts
Sept. 26\u2013Jan. 18, 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"Suzanne Jackson, \u201cWind and Water\u201d (1975) (\u00a9 Suzanne Jackson; photo Ruben Diaz, courtesy Ortuzar, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)<\/p>\n

From ethereal acrylic washes from the 1970s to a hanging patchwork sculpture from 2017, this retrospective spans Jackson\u2019s career as a painter, dancer, poet, and admirer of the Californian landscape. Infusing her art with luminous imagery and daring abstraction, Jackson positions beauty as political, surrealism as material, and Black artists\u2019 right to make peaceful art as inviolable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wilmer Wilson IV: SKIRL!<\/p>\n

Institute for Contemporary Art<\/strong>,<\/a> University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Sept. 26\u2013Feb. 21, 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"Wilmer Wilson IV, \u201cUntitled\u201d (2025) (image courtesy the artist and ICA Philadelphia)<\/p>\n

The cheeky, nutty, tenacious, and ubiquitous eastern gray squirrel gets its long-overdue spotlight in Wilmer Wilson IV\u2019s new series of installations, sculptures, performances, and works on paper. As the product of the inaugural edition of the museum\u2019s new research-driven residency, Wilmer\u2019s project examines the social, civic, and cultural relevance of the species whose identity ping-pongs between pest, pet, and wildlife.<\/p>\n

DIVA <\/p>\n

Denver Art Museum<\/strong><\/a>, Denver, Colorado
Oct. 4\u2013Jan. 31, 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"David Corio, “Whitney Houston performing at Wembley Arena” (1988) (\u00a9 David Corio; courtesy Denver Art Museum)<\/p>\n

What drives star power? DIVA answers this by mapping the on- and offstage expectations of performing virtuosas across nearly 150 years of entertainment and fashion history. Honoring the goddesses of opera and silent film, the sex symbols of Hollywood\u2019s Golden Age, jazz and soul icons, and the various iterations of the modern pop star, this exhibition explores the social currency and radical impact of stardom.<\/p>\n

Fighting for Freedom: Black Craftspeople and the Pursuit of Independence<\/p>\n

Gibbes Museum of Art<\/strong><\/a>, Charleston, South Carolina
Oct. 16, 2026\u2013May 9, 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"David Drake, \u201cJar\u201d (1861) (photo courtesy Gibbes Museum of Art, Daughters of the American Revolution Museum)<\/p>\n

This exhibition examines Black craftwork from the Revolutionary War through the present, identifying how the resilience, agency, and personal expression of African American artisans were integral to the route to freedom. These artifacts and design objects, which demonstrate mastery in smithing, carpentry, weaving, and pottery, also shed light on Black communities\u2019 critical contributions to the material culture of the United States. <\/p>\n

Beneath the Surface: Mining and American Photography<\/p>\n

Milwaukee Art Museum<\/strong><\/a>, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Oct. 23\u2013Jan. 18, 2027 <\/p>\n

\"\"Edward Weston, \u201cGulf Oil\u2013Pt. Arthur\u201d (1941) (\u00a9 1981 Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents; courtesy Milwaukee Art Museum)<\/p>\n

If you drive a car, have a cellphone, use a camera, or own a single piece of plastic, this exhibition is for you. Beneath the Surface juxtaposes the history of American mining, drilling, and fracking with the evolution of photography over nearly two centuries, tracing the social, economic, material, and political evolution of the polarizing industry taking place beneath our feet. <\/p>\n

Karon Davis: Not My Circus<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Seattle Art Museum<\/strong><\/a>, Seattle, Washington
Nov. 5\u2013July 4, 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"Installation view of Karon Davis’s \u201cHuman Porcupine\u201d (2021) (\u00a9 Karon Davis; photo courtesy Wilding Cran Gallery, Los Angeles)<\/p>\n

In this exhibition themed around the big top, Karon Davis introduces carnivalesque tableaux made from plaster-cast sculptures modeled on those most familiar to her, including herself. As the specters of circuses past haunt today\u2019s oft-empty or repurposed tents, Davis\u2019s subjects carry an unnerving energy, with a despairing clown and a vulnerable knife-thrower’s assistant creating an insidious tango between the lighthearted and bleak aspects of performance. <\/p>\n

Abbas Akhavan: Variations on a Garden<\/p>\n

Walker Art Center<\/strong><\/a>, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Nov. 12\u2013April 18, 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"Abbas Akhavan, \u201ccurtain call, variations on a folly\u201d (2021\/23) (photo David Stjernholm, courtesy the artist and Walker Art Center)<\/p>\n

Abbas Akhavan\u2019s ephemeral installations probe various conflicts between humans and the natural world through lenses of privacy and preservation. As the first United States museum survey of the Iranian-Canadian artist who represented Canada during the 61st Venice Biennale, this exhibition highlights Akhavan\u2019s use of soil, fauna, and water to emphasize humanity\u2019s role in negotiating the ceaseless and sometimes indifferent forces of biology. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The circus is coming to town, although maybe not in the form you\u2019d expect. The art world, in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":677348,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,366,18,117,19,17],"class_list":["post-677347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117231462303651429","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=677347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/677348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}