Visual arts notes: ‘Universe’ exiting, ‘Dream Cars’ entering High Museum

The High Museum of Art will offer free admission from noon-5 p.m. May 18 as part of the Association of Art Museum Directors' Art Museum Day. Coinciding with International Museum Day, the observance is intended to emphasize the role that art museums play in their communities and highlights the value of the visual arts in society.

May 18 is also the last chance to view the major retrospective by Boston photographer Abelardo Morell, "The Universe Next Door."

The High will open "Dream Cars: Innovative Design, Visionary Ideas," an exhibit of 17 concept cars from the early 1930s to the 21st century that pushed the edge of design, on May 21 for a run through Sept. 7.

1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-733-4444, www.high.org.

Other visual arts events of note in coming days:

‘Kongo’ at Carter Center

“Kongo Across the Waters,” opening May 17 at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, explores the legacy of Africa’s Kongo culture across multiple centuries and continents. The focal point of the Africa Atlanta 2014 cultural initiative of Georgia Tech’s Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and many partners, the 201-work exhibit largely was drawn from the collection of the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium.

Through Sept. 21. $8, $6 ages 60 and up, military and students with IDs; free ages 16 and under. 441 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta. 404-865-7131, www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/events.

Harrison Keys at Get This

With his bright palette and punny text, Harrison Keys’ compositions convey a playfulness that suggests he’d be welcomed at the kids’ art table. But there’s always more going on in the Atlanta artist’s sneakily sophisticated work when you really look at it.

Suggesting many are doing just that, the High Museum of Art added two Keys works to its permanent collection, showing both in its “Drawing Inside the Perimeter” exhibit last year.

“Always Aweigh,” his third solo exhibit at Get This Gallery, opening with a reception 7-10 p.m. May 16, promises Keys’ usual entertaining virtues, with paintings (enamel and oil on panel) joining works on paper for the first time.

Also opening at Get This: “Someone to Ride the River With,” paintings by Austin Eddy, a Brooklyn artist who has made Atlanta a part-time base.

Through July 12. 1037 Monroe Drive N.E., Atlanta. 678-596-4451, www.getthisgallery.com.

Photo landscapes at Hagedorn

Berlin photographer Hans Christian Schink sojourns to Atlanta for a Hagedorn Foundation Gallery solo exhibit of his silver gelatin prints. Joined by High Museum of Art photography curator Brett Abbott, Schink will participate in an artist talk and book signing from 5:30-6:30 May 16.

In the exhibit, titled “1h,” Schink’s minimalist landscapes document the sun’s one-hour path across various surreal locations to record an “unseen” time/space reality.

Also opening at Hagedorn Foundation Gallery (public reception for both shows, 6-8:30 p.m. May 15): “Night Map,” an installation and photographic print series by Danish artist Nanna Debois Buhl, including some pieces shot on night walks in Atlanta.

425 Peachtree Hills Ave., No. 25, Atlanta. 404-492-7718, www.hfgallery.org.

Kathy Yancey at Callanwolde

Atlanta artist Kathy Yancey, who has had recent exhibits in Chicago and Miami but hasn’t had a solo show in the city she calls home since 2008, opens “Paint by Heart” at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center Gallery on May 16 with a 7-9 p.m. reception. The mixed media works, examining selfhood in a rapidly changing world, will be on view through July 11.

980 Briarcliff Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-872-5338, www.callanwolde.org.

Humphrey talks at Marcia Wood

“Blind Handshake,” David Humphrey’s exhibit at Marcia Wood Gallery, closes this weekend, but not before the noted New York artist gives a free artist talk at 3 p.m. May 17. Additional drawings and paintings not part of the exhibit will be on view during the closing party, continuing until 6 p.m.

“I try to make paintings that look very conventional, which fail to be normal, but you can’t tell why,” Humphrey has said.

263 Walker St. S.W., Atlanta. 404-827-0030, www.marciawoodgallery.com.

MOMA curator at Contemporary

Appointed last year as curator of prints and illustrated books at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, David Platzker will give a free talk about his work at 11 a.m. May 17 at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center.

535 Means St. N.W., Atlanta. 404-688-1970, thecontemporary.org.