10 must-see exhibits this fall

CHANGING PERCEPTIONS: World War I and the Visual Arts 

Through Dec. 14, Emily Lowe Gallery, Hofstra University Museum, Hempstead

WILD KINGDOM: Hunt Slonem and a Hundred Years of Animal Art

Nov. 17-March 3, Nassau County Museum of Art, 1 Museum Dr., Roslyn Harbor

In a diverse season of new exhibitions on Long Island, the number 100 emerges as a theme in two major shows. On this centennial year of World War I’s end, Hofstra explores the horrific conflict’s influence on previously romanticized war art by addressing grim realities captured by such painters as Marc Chagall and George Grosz and battlefield photographers. Nassau County Museum observes a century of works by artists for whom animals are their muse. Popular curator Franklin Hill Perrell assembles a show ranging from Pablo Picasso’s bullfight paintings to French illustrator Jean de Brunhoff’s Babar the Elephant. But the headliner is Hunt Slonem, considered among the foremost living American artists in wildlife painting and sculpting.

INFO 516-463-5672, hofstra.edu/museum; 516-484-9337, nassaumuseum.org

SOUL OF A NATION: Art in the Age of Black Power

Sept. 14-Feb. 3, Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Pkwy.

EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED: Art and Conspiracy

Sept. 18-Jan. 6, The Met Breuer, 945 Madison Ave., Manhattan

In this time of cultural division, two exhibits with distinct political points of view are about to open. “Soul of a Nation” attempts to represent the broad spectrum of black artistic expression from 1963 to 1983, while “Everything Is Connected” gives voice to those who suspect a hidden symbiosis between the government and certain classes of citizens. Social injustice is expressed in “Art in the Age of Black Power” through Faith Ringgold’s painting of a bleeding flag and Jack Whitten’s abstract post-assassination tribute to Malcolm X. Conspiracy is the theme in pieces created by 30 artists in the Breuer show, working from 1969 to the present in media ranging from painting to installation art and everything in between, all more or less connected. Some artists adhere strictly to documentation; others dive into sheer speculation, both reflecting alienation.

INFO 718-638-5000, brooklynmuseum.org; 212-731-1675, metmuseum.org

SHAPING SILVER: Contemporary Metalsmithing

Sept. 21-Dec. 30, Long Island Museum, 1200 Rte. 25A, Stony Brook

A companion to an exhibit of works by Colonial Southampton silversmith Elias Pelletreau, “Shaping Silver” showcases artists working in New York and on Long Island, including Eric Messin of Pelletreau Silver Shop, still in Southampton.

INFO 631-751-0066, longislandmuseum.org

SYD SOLOMON and PLEASE SEND TO: RAY JOHNSON

Oct. 20-Dec. 17, Guild Hall, 158 Main St., East Hampton

A self-described “Abstract Impressionist,” snowbird Solomon was inspired by the natural surroundings of his homes in the Hamptons and Florida. Meanwhile, Johnson used the postal service to create his “Mail Art,” forming a chain of correspondent artists who added their touches to his drawings, collages and poems.

INFO 631-324-0806, guildhall.org

LOUISA CHASE: Below the Surface and INTO THE ARTIST’S WORLD: Photographs of Fred W. McDarrah

Nov. 11-Oct. 27, 2019, Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Hwy., Southampton.

Two exhibits from the Parrish’s permanent collection feature paintings and works on paper by Long Island artist Louisa Chase, once selected to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale, and photos by Fred W. McDarrah of late artists at work in their Hamptons studios, among them Elaine and Willem de Kooning, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Motherwell and James Brooks.

INFO 631-283-2118, parrishart.org

RIVER AND BEYOND: Latin American Art From the Joan and Milton Bagley Collection

Nov. 17-March 31, Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Ave., Huntington

The collection of the Bagleys of Woodbury features paintings by Mexican master Diego Rivera and Cuba’s Wilfredo Lam, among others, plus sculptures by Chile’s Fernando Botero.

INFO 631-351-3250, heckscher.org

DELACROIX

Sept. 17-Jan. 6, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave., Manhattan

Among the greatest 19th century artists, Eugène Delacroix came of age after the fall of Napoleon. His vibrant body of work represented in this major retrospective includes 150 paintings, many never seen in the United States.

INFO 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org

HILMA AF KLINT: Paintings for the Future

Oct. 12-Feb. 3, Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave., Manhattan

Convinced that the world was not ready for her artistry in 1906, particularly as an underrepresented female in her field, af Klint of Sweden kept her work private. Her paintings anticipated by years “breakthroughs” by Kandinsky, Mondrian and others and were unseen before 1986. The Guggenheim rediscovers her.

INFO 212-423-3500, guggenheim.org

BRUCE NAUMAN: Disappearing Acts

Oct. 21-Feb. 18, Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St., Manhattan; and Oct. 21-Feb. 25, MoMA PS1, 22-25 Jackson Ave., Long Island City

This first comprehensive retrospective of living American artist Nauman’s career covers his wide range of media — from drawing, printmaking, photography and sculpture to film, neon, large-scale installation and performance art — created from the 1960s to the present.

INFO 718-784-2084, momaps1.org

ANDY WARHOL: From A to B and Back Again

Nov. 12-March 31, Whitney Museum of American Art, 99 Gansevoort St., Manhattan

Building on newly discovered artworks, the Whitney — in this first U.S. Warhol retrospective since his death in 1987 — endeavors to introduce a posthumous 21st century Warhol in all his pop experimental glory.

INFO 212-570-3600, whitney.org