Fall is usually the busiest season in the visual arts and offerings in metro Atlanta promises to be rich and engaging.
Photography will again take Atlanta in October, thanks to Atlanta Celebrate Photography’s ever-growing program. Exhibitions of historical import share the stage with proliferating temporary public art projects and the celebration of home-grown achievement. A selection of highlights follows.
Elevate/Art Above Underground. Friday-Oct. 30. Performances, sculptures, murals and more will enliven downtown Atlanta during this public-art festival. Organized by Atlanta’s Office of Cultural Affairs. elevateatlanta.blogspot.com.
Working Arts Project exhibitions. The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia’s program to nurture Georgia artists bears fruit in solos shows from awardees Micah Stansell (Saturday-Dec. 3) and Katherine Mitchell (Dec. 17-March 31). www.mocaga.org
“Life and Death in the Pyramid Age: The Emory Old Kingdom Mummy.” Sept. 10-Dec. 11. The oldest mummy in the Western Hemisphere, which Emory owns and has recently restored, is the centerpiece of this examination of the society and politics of ancient Egypt as well as the high-tech research that yields new understanding. www.carlos.emory.edu
“Moulthrop: A Southern Legacy. Three Generations of Wood Turning.” Sept. 24 — Dec. 18. The Marietta-Cobb Museum of Art hosts this major survey of the elegant wood vessels made by the Moulthrop dynasty — father Ed, son Philip and grandson Matt — and drawn from collections across the country. www.mariettacobbartmuseum.org
“Picasso to Warhol.” Oct. 15, 2011-April 29, 2012. The High Museum’s marquee fall exhibition showcases 20th-century giants, from Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse to Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol, with mini-solo displays of works from the vaunted collection of The Museum of Modern Art. www.high.org
FLUX. Sept. 30. The annual extravaganza in the streets of the Castleberry Hill district is always a gas and a family-friendly one, too. Expect projections, dance, theater, music, sound and light installations, parades, puppetry and iron pours, not to mention wonderful people-watching. www.fluxprojects.org
“Graphic Intervention: 25 Years of International AIDS Awareness Posters 1985-2010.” Oct. 1, 2011-Jan. 1, 2012. The Museum of Design Atlanta’s display of public health announcements from across the world speaks to the power and richness of graphic design, poignantly juxtaposed to a display of the AIDS Quilt. www.museumofdesign.org.
“Sex Drive.” Oct. 14-Dec. 18. Paintings, sculptures, videos, drawings and installations from local and national artists explore a topic of unfailing interest from a variety of viewpoints, among them, politics, romance and religion. www.thecontemporary.org/.
“In a Landscape Anew: Gyun Hur.” Dec. 6, 2011-Feb. 11, 2012. The rising star and winner of the Hudgens Prize, Hur makes magic with shredded silk flowers laboriously laid in color stripes. Inspired by childhood memories, Hur will create floor installations that respond to the space and architecture of the galleries. thehudgens.org.
Catherine Fox is visual arts critic of ArtsCriticATL.com
About the Author
