Whether you want to go deep or just enjoy the bedazzled glitter-filled party, the fall Atlanta art scene offers openings, studio visits, globe-trotting artists and a number of ways to interact with this vibrant scene.
“Harmonia Rosales: Master Narrative”
Los Angeles-based Afro-Cuban American artist Harmonia Rosales references European oil painting and classical mythology, but flips the script. In Rosales’ virtuosic paintings, Black and Latinx women flex and display their power and beauty, overturning historical associations of nobility and might with white skin. Displayed in the artist’s first touring exhibit is a version of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling stretched across the hull of an overturned slave ship.
Through Dec. 2. Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, 350 Spelman Lane SW, Atlanta., 404-270-5607. museum.spelman.edu.
“{UNDER}flow”
Four internationally celebrated Afro-Caribbean artists explore undercurrents of sexuality, power dynamics and history beneath the surface in their work. Featured artists are Firelei Báez born in the Dominican Republic; Cuban-born María Magdalena Campos-Pons; David Antonio Cruz born to Puerto Rican parents in Philadelphia; and Didier William from Haiti. The show was curated by Cynthia Nourse Thompson.
Aug. 29-Dec. 9. Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art, 492 Prillaman Way, Kennesaw. 470-578-3223, arts.kennesaw.edu/zuckerman
“Clean American”
An Atlanta artist with a flair for the theatrical whose work tackles American culture and the pitfalls of consumer culture, Australian-born Georgia State University MFA graduate Coorain Devin presents a solo show at the ambitious, always interesting End Project Space. Look for work incorporating textiles, sculptures and perhaps even some homemade costumes and performances that, in the artist’s words, “celebrate and critique the weird, wonderful and toxic material culture that I live in.”
Sept. 1-Oct. 29. The End Project Space, 1870 Murphy Ave. SW, Atlanta. instagram.com/the_end_project_space
Jan Banning: Artist Talk
Renowned Dutch photographer Jan Banning, whose work often examines institutions and historical trauma, will lecture and sign his 2022 book, “The Verdict: The Christina Boyer Case.” Featuring documentary and staged photographs, the book challenges the conviction of a Carrollton mother accused in 1992 of killing her 3-year-old daughter. Boyer, who is serving her sentence at Georgia’s Pulaski State Prison, is also at the center of the Hulu documentary “Demons & Saviors.”
Sept. 15. Atlanta Photography Group Gallery, 1544 Piedmont Road NE, Atlanta. 404-605-0605. atlantaphotographygroup.org
“We the People”
Lawyer-turned-artist Julie Torres examines the fundamental principles and people behind the grand, occasionally shaky democratic experiment called America. Woven, screen printed portraits of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Abraham Lincoln, John Lewis, Eleanor Roosevelt, Dolly Parton and Maya Angelou are intertwined with excerpts from the Constitution, references to Supreme Court decisions and country music lyrics.
Oct. 6-Jan. 3. Maune Contemporary, 747-A Miami Circle NE, Atlanta. 678-705-4735. maune.com
Credit: ©Rich Frishman
Credit: ©Rich Frishman
“Ghosts of Segregation”
Though we might think of America’s racial past as embedded in statues of Confederates that can be easily toppled, in fact it lies in architecture and land we pass every day. Photographer Richard Frishman’s exhibition, “Ghosts of Segregation,” looks at sites from Alabama to Seattle that represent the truth of America’s legacy of racial injustice.
Oct 16-May 24. David J. Sencer CDC Museum, 1600 Clifton Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-639-0830. cdc.gov/museum. Driver’s license or passport required for entry.
“ATL Hip Hop Innovators”
The Museum of Design Atlanta hosts a multifaceted, multimedia four-week course to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. There will be field trips to the Trap Music Museum, a listening party and lecture with “Chronicling Stankonia” author Regina Bradley and numerous other events that recognize and celebrate the cultural impact of this American musical genre.
Oct. 26-Nov. 16. MODA, 1315 Peachtree St., NE, Atlanta. 404-979-6455. museumofdesign.org
SeekATL studio tours
This artist-centered group has been hosting studio visits at metro Atlanta artist studios for 12 years. For those wanting a deeper dive into how artists think and work, the fall season will feature the three winners of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia’s Working Artist Project award: Namwon Choi, Jose Ibarra Rizo and Jane Foley.
Beginning Oct. 28 at Namwon Choi’s studio at Atlanta Contemporary, 535 Means St. NW, Atlanta. Check website for future dates and locations. 404-688-1970. seekatl.org
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