As the days grow shorter and the year seems to slip into a fugue state of sorts (especially this year), we look to find beauty and enlightenment and new perspectives to inspire and shake us up. This fall’s (and beyond) slate of visual arts exhibitions and happenings promises energizing jolts to the system.
Orlando Museum of Art is happily delivering on the shock of the new with both the Baggage Claims exhibit – an international group show exploring themes of travel and immigration across all media – and Virtual Views: Digital Art from the Thoma Foundation, which surveys new work utilizing digital and LED technology. (Both run through Dec. 31.)
Amy Galpin, curator of the Cornell Fine Arts Museum, is everywhere this fall, with an ambitious slate of shows at CFAM as well as shows curated at two other Orlando museums. At Orlando Science Center, she presents the group show Steady Observation (through Jan. 7, 2018), a freeform exploration of the throughlines of science and art in our lives featuring the likes of Trevor Paglen, Anna Cruz, Dina Mack and Andy Goldsworthy. And at the Mennello, Time & Thought brings together a fascinating collection of historic and contemporary American art on loan from CFAM.
A number of exhibits focus on the work of innovative female artists as well in this particular arts season. In January of next year, the Mennello Museum features a rare survey of the works of Abstract Expressionist painter and collage artist Grace Hartigan. In May, the Cornell fixes the spotlight firmly on the eye and lens of influential early 20th-century photographer Margaret Bourke-White. And the Maitland Arts Center features the works of two artists-in-residence Nikki Painter and Elisabeth Condon in the Women of the Research Studio exhibit in January and February.
We’re always happy to see art in the library. To that end, we’re excited to see the Horror by Design collection of monster movie poster art by the likes of Saul Bass and Drew Struzan (through Oct. 31) and the more sobering The Lines That Join Us photo exhibit collecting the testimonials of those who have gotten tattoos to help them remember and honor those lost in the Pulse nightclub shooting (Oct. 2-Nov. 30).
Adventurous art festivals are coming on strong this season, too. In October, Creative City Project’s Immerse 2017 promises to take over downtown Orlando with a variety of mixed media and performance pieces. Then Art in Odd Places returns in November, a performance art festival downtown with the intriguing but evocative theme of “Noise,” and promises challenges aplenty. We’re ready to leave the summer behind and soak in the new and unexpected.
Art in Odd Places
Nov. 10-12
Art in Odd Places: NoisePublic art and performance festival that activates the downtown Orlando cityscape. (free)
Art & History Museums – Maitland
Oct. 6-Dec. 17
Drawing the Unseen: Artists Explore the Subconscious
Contemporary artists make visible the wrestlings of their subconscious. ($3)
Jan. 5-Feb. 18, 2018
Women of the Research Studio
This exhibition will feature works by February 2017 Artist-in-Residence Nikki Painter and January 2017 Artist-in-Residence Elisabeth Condon. ($3)
March 2-April 22, 2018
Art31: Fiber
For 31 days in March, contemporary artists from across the U.S. create new works and engage the public in the creative process. Art31: Fiber features the work of internationally recognized artists who create with cloth, paper and other fibers, using techniques like stitching, quilting and more. (free-$3)
Cornell Fine Arts Museum
Ongoing
Tomas Saraceno: Cloud Cities – Nebulous Thresholds
This installation composed of metal, polyester rope, iridescent plexiglass and steel thread hovers inside the dome of the Alfond Inn, materializing as a weightless and interconnected web of color and form. (Alfond Inn, free)
Sept. 29-Dec. 31
Time as Landscape: Inquiries of Art and Science
Group show featuring art inspired by the union of art and science. (CFAM, free)
Jan. 20-April 8, 2018
Towards Impressionism: Landscape Painting From Corot to Monet
More than 40 19th-century French landscape paintings on loan from the Musée des Beaux Arts in Reims, France. (CFAM, free)
Jan. 20-May 13, 2018
Ria Brodell: Devotion
Works from the artist’s series Butch Heroes and The Handsome & The Holy.
April 13-May 13, 2018
2018 Senior Student Exhibition
Work by graduating Rollins art students.
April 13-May 20, 2018
2018 Rollins Faculty Exhibition
The 2018 edition of the Rollins Faculty Exhibition showcases work by Rollins College faculty artists Joshua Almond, Rose Casterline, Dana Hargrove, Dawn Roe and Rachel Simmons.
May 24-Aug. 26, 2018
Margaret Bourke-White’s Different World
Exhibition of work that trailblazing early-20th-century photographer Margaret Bourke-White produced abroad.
Sept. 8-Dec. 30, 2018
Dangerous Women
More than 20 works from the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art that explore different artists’ responses to the women of the Bible.
Crealdé School of Art
Through Jan. 13, 2018
The Lake: A Documentary Exploring the Land and People of Lake Apopka
Collaboration between Crealdé and the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation offers a contemporary and historic window into the culture and landscape of Lake Apopka. (free)
Creative City Project
Oct. 21
Immerse 2017
Art takes over downtown Orlando with live performances, music and installations scattered throughout the neighborhood. (free-$100)
The Gallery at Avalon Island
Through Oct. 14
Memories of Underdevelopment
Group show with works by Dawn Roe, Noelle Mason, Jason Lazarus, Brooks Dierdorff and Matthew Mosher. (free)
McRae Art Studios
Oct. 21
8×10 Inches of Art
Group art show with pieces no larger than 10 inches, all priced at $100. (free)
Mennello Museum of American Art
Through Jan. 7, 2018
Time & Thought: Art of the United States from the Cornell Fine Arts Museum
American art from the collection of the Cornell Fine Arts Museum, curated by Dr. Amy Galpin. ($5)
Jan. 20-March 11, 2018
Grace Hartigan 1960-1965: The Perry Collection
A rare selection of paintings and collages that represent Hartigan’s noted Abstract Expressionist style as it evolved in the early 1960s. ($5)
Morse Museum of American Art
Through Oct. 1, 2017
The Bride Elect: Gifts from the 1905 Wedding of Elizabeth Owens Morse
Gifts from the 1905 Morse-Genius wedding, including Tiffany art glass, Rookwood pottery and Gorham silver. ($6)
Through Jan. 7, 2018
Focus Exhibition: Tiffany Studios’ Daffodil Reading Lamp
Exhibition explores Tiffany’s love of daffodils, from inspiration and significance to the lamp’s design and production. ($6)
Orlando Museum of Art
Through Oct. 29
Bravo! Chris Raschka
More than 50 works from Chris Raschka, an American illustrator and writer who has won two Caldecott Medals for his work. ($15)
Through Dec. 31
Baggage Claims
This exhibition presents the work of an international group of 18 artists who explore the impact of the vast scale of commerce and immigration worldwide on contemporary life. ($15)
Through Dec. 31
Virtual Views: Digital Art From the Thoma Foundation
Explores the growing importance of electronic media in contemporary art as seen in the work of pioneering artists of the genre. ($15)
Jan. 26-April 29, 2018
State of Excellence: Treasures From Florida Private Collections
Sixty outstanding works of art from private collections throughout the state. ($15)
March 30-July 8, 2018
Enduring Beauty: Two Centuries of Seminole Art
An exhibition of traditional articles of adornment and domestic crafts produced by Seminoles from the early 19th century to the mid-20th century. ($15)
Orlando Public Library
Through Sept. 29
The Art of Alison LaMons
Pencil and watercolor works. (free)
Through Oct. 31
Horror by Design
Celebrate the spooky season by visiting this exhibit of classic horror movie posters.
Oct. 2-Nov. 30
The Lines That Join Us
Portraits by photographer Carrie Moran tell the stories of people who got tattoos in response to the Pulse tragedy. (free)
Orlando Science Center
Sept. 29, 2017-Jan. 7, 2018
Steady Observation: The Intersection of Scientific Inquiry, Art, and Life
Art that explores the structures and systems of the natural world by artists including Anna Cruz, Andy Goldsworthy, Dina Mack, Trevor Paglen, Leah Sandler, and more. (contact for price)
Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens
Through Dec. 3
Captured in Paint: Central Florida in Art
Contemporary landscapes. ($5)
Redefine Gallery
Through Oct. 14
Wilderness
Art from Johanna O’Donnell, Scott Scheidly and Samantha Shumaker. (free)
Snap Space
Through Dec. 31
Limited Edition
Group show of paintings, photographs and video art, curated in collaboration with Flying Horse Editions. (free)
UCF art gallery
Oct. 16-Nov. 3
From the Margins: A Retrospective of Experimental Cinema at UCF
Collection of installation, video art and experimental films from current and previous UCF students and faculty. (free)
Valencia College Anita S. Wooten Gallery
Through Oct. 19
Hye Shin: Embrace the Hope
An installation unfolds from a ceiling hung with Korean medicine bags. From these spill long crimson arteriole threads that form schemas of concentric circles as they meet with the ground. (free)
This article appears in Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2017.