Many an Atlanta artist, at some point in their career, has had to decide whether to stay put and deal with a lack of opportunities or strike out for art centers like New York or L.A. But this fall feels like an assertion of growing opportunities for regional talent. A number of longtime Atlanta artists showing at the city’s contemporary art venues suggest that maybe the local gallery scene has finally risen up to meet them.
“Waffle House Vistas”
Few things are as emblematic of Southern life as Waffle House, which started in Avondale Estates and has transmogrified into a scattered and smothered juggernaut with more than 1,900 locations. Artist Micah Cash has created a compellingly uncanny series of still photography of the landscapes outside the restaurants. Through Aug. 24-June 1, 2025. Georgia Museum of Art, 90 Carlton St., Athens. 706-542-4662, www.georgiamuseum.org
Credit: Brian Bartow
Credit: Brian Bartow
“Jeffrey Gibson: They Teach Love”
Representing the United States at the 2004 Venice Biennale, Jeffrey Gibson is the first Indigenous artist (Gibson is of Cherokee-Choctaw heritage) to have a solo exhibition at the Biennale’s American Pavilion. At the Zuckerman Museum of Art, Gibson will exhibit prints, photography, painting, sculpture, installation and video works that reference a range of experience, from Native American powwows to club culture. The solo show will also feature the immersive work, “To Name an Other,” 51 printed elk hide drums and 50 garments originally commissioned for a performance by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Aug. 27-Dec. 7. Zuckerman Museum of Art, 492 Prillaman Way, Kennesaw. 470-578-3223, kennesaw.edu
“Cultivate”
José Ibarra Rizo’s emotionally resonant portraits of Latino immigrants — construction workers, skateboarders, chicken plant laborers — living in Georgia have been featured at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, MINT gallery and in the collection of the High Museum. Now they will be featured in a solo show at Wolfgang Gallery. Sept. 6-Oct. 26. Wolfgang Gallery, 1240 Old Chattahoochee Ave. NW, UNIT H, Atlanta. 404-549-3297, wolfganggalley.com
ATLANTA ART WEEK / ATLANTA ART FAIR
Atlanta will be ground zero for artists, gallerists and collectors during the first week of October. That’s when Atlanta Art Week, founded three years ago by plucky arts writer and curator Kendra Smith, overlaps with a new kid in town, the Atlanta Art Fair, staged by the same team that puts on events across the country like the Seattle Art Fair. Atlanta Art Week collaborates with local galleries across the city to host a series of fall shows. At Pullman Yards, Atlanta Art Fair will showcase works from a bevy of local galleries in addition to far flung art spaces from Los Angeles to South Korea, Colombia and Ireland. Atlanta Art Week, Sept. 30-Oct. 6, various venues, www.atlantaartweek.co. Atlanta Art Fair, Oct. 3-6. Pullman Yards, Porter Hall, 225 Rogers St. NE, Atlanta. www.pullmanyards.com
“Even the birds gave pause”
R.E.M. frontman and photographer Michael Stipe returns to Atlanta for an exhibition alongside Atlanta-based artist Angela West and San Francisco’s John Chiara in conversation with the landscape. Oct. 1-Dec. 20. Jackson Fine Art, 3122 E. Shadowlawn Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-233-3739, www.jacksonfineart.com
“... an Atlanta Biennial ...”
Temporary Art Center, a combination gallery and warren of artist studios in the booming Southside, will feature a capacious exhibition highlighting 30 of what organizers are calling “arguably the best artists living and working in Atlanta,” including established names like Paul Stephen Benjamin and Craig Drennen alongside Atlanta’s next wave: Sergio Suarez, Aineki Traverso and Shawn Cambell. Oct. 3-Nov. 3. Temporary Art Center, 405 N. Angier Ave. NE, Atlanta. www.thetemporaryatlanta.com
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
“They Didn’t Realize We Were Seeds: We the Roses”
In his first Atlanta gallery exhibition since 2011, Fahamu Pecou looks at “Afrotropes” — objects coded with cultural meaning, from basketball sneakers to graphic T-shirts and “everyday objects transformed and empowered” — in his paintings. Pecou appears alongside former Atlantan (now Los Angeles-based) Cosmo Whyte who draws from his Caribbean roots in a simultaneous show. Oct. 4-Nov. 23. Johnson Lowe Gallery, 764 Miami Circle NE, Suite 210, Atlanta. 404-352-8114, www.johnsonlowe.com
“Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys”
Rolling into town after a successful run at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, this collection owned by a glamorous music industry couple includes works by art icons like Barkley Hendricks and Lorna Simpson and newer works from Michele Obama portrait artist Amy Sherald. Above all, the collection is a guidepost for other Black collectors and a show of self-love. Look for late-night access to the exhibition on Nov. 22 for the Sneaker Ball. Sept. 13-Jan. 19, 2025. High Museum of Art, 1280 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta. 404-733-4400, www.high.org
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