Liliana Porter, among others

At Museums and Auctions, Paintings, Posters and a Magician’s Treasures

Across the nation, shows offer a vast range of creations, including exhibitions focusing on Black and Mexican American artists.

By Ted Loos

Oct. 21, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ET

Artists can never predict who will be affected profoundly by their work. This list of offerings at museums, galleries and auction houses encompasses a vast range of creations in every medium with the idea of improving the odds a little. The more people who experience them this fall and winter, the better chance that art finds its perfect audience.

New York

BEACON

“Joan Jonas”

Large-scale artworks are part of Dia’s DNA, and this show of the museum’s Hudson Valley branch features three big installations in its collection by the pioneering video and performance artist Joan Jonas, perhaps best known for her 2015 show in the U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Ms. Jonas has rethought the works for the museum’s cavernous lower level, and two of the pieces, “Stage Sets” and “After Mirage (Cones/May Windows),” both from 1976, are recent acquisitions. Continuing; Dia Beacon, diaart.org

NEW YORK CITY

“Ruth Asawa: All is Possible”

Organized by the respected curator Helen Molesworth, this show of more than 100 works is part of a continuing effort to familiarize the public with the Japanese American sculptor Ruth Asawa (1926-2013). Her best-known works are looped- and tied-wire sculptures, and the show mixes those with the lesser-known drawings and abstract work, in an effort to see the totality of her career. Nov. 4 to Dec. 18; David Zwirner Gallery, davidzwirner.com

The Ricky Jay Collection

The renowned magician, writer and actor Ricky Jay died in 2018, leaving behind a trove of artifacts and memorabilia. More than 1,000 items spread over 700 lots will go on the block in this two-day sale. Rare books on magic and posters featuring Harry Houdini’s greatest feats are in the mix. Some of the lots are estimated at only a few hundred dollars — get there soon, before they disappear. Oct. 27 and 28; Sotheby’s New York, sothebys.com

Impressionism From the Cox Collection

When he died last November, the oil and investment magnate Edwin L. Cox left behind some choice art collections. First to come on the block at Christie’s are 25 Impressionist pictures by the likes of van Gogh and Gustave Caillebotte. The trove includes Paul Cézanne’s landscape “L’Estaque aux toits” (ca. 1883-85), with an estimate of $35 million to $55 million. Mr. Cox’s decorative arts and furniture will be sold in an online sale Nov. 9 to 19. Nov. 11; Christie’s New York, christies.com

“Bronx Calling: The Fifth AIM Biennial”

Nearly 70 artists who recently participated in the Bronx Museum’s fellowship program, Artists in the Marketplace, are featured in this wide-ranging show — this is a collection of truly emerging talents, as opposed to some other biennials. Trevor King’s “Never” (2021), an installation made of burlap, paper and wood, mixes with videos by Lawrence Mesich and Kris Grey, among other works. Nov. 10 to March 20; Bronx Museum of the Arts, bronxmuseum.org

“Alex Katz”

Few artists get to have a career as long and storied as the one enjoyed by the painter Alex Katz — famed for his pictures of his wife, Ada — who is now 94 and still working. This part of a two-venue show (the other is at the Tramps gallery) features landscapes, all deploying his signature streamlined style, with big, hard-edge blocks of color making a strong impression on the viewer. Nov. 5 to Dec. 18; Gladstone Gallery, gladstonegallery.com

“Sharks”

Though this exhibition prioritizes the scientific over the scary — its tagline is “To be great is to be understood” — the title alone provides a frisson for some. The life-size models may be the biggest draw of all, especially a prehistoric ancestor of the modern shark that is 27 feet long and 10 feet tall. It was large enough to prey on whales, and the model features 130 3-D-printed teeth. Dec. 15 to Aug. 14; American Museum of Natural History, amnh.org

Travel Posters

Auctions of the highest-end artworks tend to get the most attention, but it is not all Rothkos. This sale of more than 230 travel-related posters has estimates in the hundreds and the thousands, not the millions, including Leslie Ragan’s rousingly Art Deco-style “Rockefeller Center New York / New York Central Lines” (ca. 1936), with an estimate of $6,000 to $9,000. Given that many people have curbed their travel during the pandemic, the sale can provide an escapist thrill. Nov. 23; Swann Galleries, swanngalleries.com

“Drift”

Technology keeps transforming the art world, and this gallery show gives a hearty dose of the newest media courtesy of the Dutch designer-artists known as Drift, known for their eye-catching installations. It includes three environmentally themed works from their “Materialism” series. Concurrent is an exhibition of Drift’s work at the Shed, “Fragile Futures.” Nov. 5 to Dec. 18; Pace Gallery, pacegallery.com

“Jennifer Packer: The Eye Is Not Satisfied With Seeing”

Anyone who enjoyed seeing Jennifer Packer’s painting “A Lesson in Longing” at the 2019 Whitney Biennial can now see 30 of her works at once, as part of her biggest solo exhibition yet. Born in Philadelphia and now based in New York, Ms. Packer paints portraits of Black subjects as well as still lifes in an evocative loose style that can be smudgy or drippy, creating an atmosphere with every stroke. Oct. 30 to April; Whitney Museum of American Art, whitney.org

West Coast

LOS ANGELES

“Black American Portraits”

The “Obama Portraits” show has drawn crowds around the country, and to complement that exhibition’s latest stop is this survey of paintings from the museum’s collection dating from 1800, by artists including Titus Kaphar, Kerry James Marshall and Lorraine O’Grady. Contents range from Charles White’s somber lithograph “Frederick Douglass” (1950) to Lezley Saar’s colorful and fanciful painting “Of a bed of night iris shredding petals one by one, like the hours of darkness” (2020). Nov. 7 to April 17; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, lacma.org

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF.

“Richard Avedon: Ten Exhibition Prints from ‘In the American West’”

The photographer Richard Avedon (1923-2004), most famous for his fashion work, took thousands of photographs over five years to make his Western series. This show offers 10 unique prints that the photographer selected for the facade of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art when the series debuted there in 1985. The large-scale portraits of weathered faces bring a new dimension to our understanding of Mr. Avedon’s eye. Nov. 4 to Dec. 18; Gagosian, gagosian.com

PORTLAND, ORE.

“Mesh”

The four Indigenous artists featured in this show of 21 works take on thorny issues like race and Indigenous land rights. Ka’ila Farrell-Smith is represented by canvases from her series “Land Back,” inspired by both petroglyphs and graffiti, which are rich with color and painterly gestures. Leah Rose Kolakowski opts for solemn beauty for her portrait “Bring Her Home,” a 2018 photograph. Nov. 6 to May 8; Portland Art Museum, portlandartmuseum.org

SAN DIEGO

“Yolanda López: Portrait of the Artist”

Ms. López died in September at 78, just before the opening of this 50-work show, her first museum solo exhibition. In her most famous work, “Portrait of the Artist as the Virgin of Guadalupe” (1978), Ms. López gives herself a saintly cast, heroically on the run in sneakers and sporting a big smile. It was one of many works she made depicting Mexican American women and their culture, and now her feminism and joyful spirit will get a wider audience. Through April 24; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, mcasd.org

Mid-Atlantic​

POTOMAC, MD.

“Jeff Wall”

Nearly 30 large-scale images by the Canadian photographer Jeff Wall populate this collector-founded museum, a serene spot that opened in 2006 and expanded in 2018. Images like “Mother of pearl” (2016), featuring a young girl, make up the biggest exhibition of Mr. Wall’s work since his 2007 Museum of Modern Art show. His signature style — dreamy, painterly and well composed — lends itself to contemplation. Through March ; Glenstone, glenstone.org

WASHINGTON

“Alma W. Thomas: Everything is Beautiful”

A Georgia native, Ms. Thomas (1891-1978) moved to Washington, D.C., in the 1920s, later becoming an important part of the midcentury abstract art scene in the nation’s capital. She was the first Black woman to get a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, gaining fans for her mesmerizing canvases, patterned all over with gemlike bits of color. Oct. 30 to Jan. 23; Phillips Collection, phillipscollection.org

PHILADELPHIA

“Suzanne Valadon: Model, Painter, Rebel”

The 54 works in this show trace one of art history’s more satisfying unexpected success stories. Ms. Valadon (1865-1938) was born into poverty in central France but moved to Paris and first made a career as a model for the likes of Renoir — and she was closely watching the techniques of the artists she sat for. Ms. Valadon embarked on her own career, gaining international recognition for her paintings, especially for scenes depicting women, like her 1927 “Self-Portrait.” Through Jan. 9; Barnes Foundation, barnesfoundation.org

BALTIMORE

“A Modern Influence: Henri Matisse, Etta Cone, and Baltimore”

Not everyone knows that the Baltimore Museum of Art has the largest public collection of works by Henri Matisse, and it is largely thanks to the local collector Etta Cone and her more famous sister, Claribel Cone. This show tries to bring forward the lesser-known sibling’s role. They formed a decades-long friendship with the artist, eventually donating hundreds of his works to the institution. More than 160 of those works will be on view, including the oil “Purple Robe and Anemones” (1937). Through Jan. 2; Baltimore Museum of Art, artbma.org

Midwest

MINNEAPOLIS

“David Hockney: People, Places & Things”

The beloved British artist, who has been a chronicler of sunny life in Los Angeles, gets a show drawn from the Walker Art Center’s own collection that includes paintings, prints and drawings. Not a few swimming-related pictures will be on hand, including “Gregory in the Pool” (1983) and “Piscine à minuit, Paper Pool 19” (1978). Both may provide succor in the Minneapolis winter. Dec. 18 to Aug. 21; Walker Art Center, walkerart.org

CLEVELAND

“Revealing Krishna: Journey to Cambodia’s Sacred Mountain”

The very old and the right-now come together in this show, which centers on a newly restored piece from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection: a sandstone figure of a Hindu god made 1,500 years ago in what is now Southern Cambodia, “Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan.” With mixed-reality technology, visitors are immersed in the area the piece hails from — down the cave where it was thought to stand — and take other digital excursions. Angelina Jolie even narrated a film for the show. Nov. 14 to Jan. 30; Cleveland Museum of Art, clevelandart.org

DETROIT

“Black is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite”

The New York-based photographer Kwame Brathwaite is credited with popularizing the phrase “Black is beautiful,” and lately there has been a resurgence in interest in his work. The exhibition includes more than 40 photographs, many of them beautifully composed in black and white, including “Man smoking in a ballroom, Harlem” (ca. 1962). Through Jan. 16; Detroit Institute of Arts, dia.org

CHICAGO

“Andrea Bowers”

The Los Angeles-based artist Andrea Bowers epitomizes the contemporary art scene in two ways: She addresses social justice in much of her work, and she varies her use of media depending on the piece. This exhibition, her biggest museum survey to date, includes two pieces touching on the environment, the sculpture “Memorial to Arcadia Woodlands Clear-Cut” (2013) and the video “My Name Means Future” (2020). Nov. 20 to March 27; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, mcachicago.org

New England

SALEM, MASS.

“The Great Animal Orchestra: Bernie Krause and United Visual Artists”

This show engages the ears, not the eyes. The musician Bernie Krause has spent 50 years traveling the world to record animal sounds, which he then turns into aural art. The engaging results address changes in climate and the environment in a new way, and it makes the topic accessible for children. The work was commissioned by the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art in Paris. Nov. 20 to May 22; Peabody Essex Museum, pem.org

BOSTON

“Deana Lawson”

The New York-based photographer Deana Lawson turns her camera on Black subjects with an approach somewhere between the warmth of a family photo session and the formality of a portrait — staged but never stagy. The show has more than 50 images, including large-format color photographs like “Nation” (2018) and “Hair Advertisement” (2005). It is the first museum survey for Ms. Lawson, who last year won the Hugo Boss Prize. Nov. 4 to Feb. 27; Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, icaboston.org

South

ATLANTA

“Picturing the South: 25 Years”

The High Museum of Art takes a victory lap for its influential photography show, which has been turning the lens on its home region for 25 years. Three new commissions made this year, from the photographers Sheila Pree Bright, Jim Goldberg and An-My Le, will be shown along with past images from the series. Nearly 200 works in total are featured, by the likes of Sally Mann, Richard Misrach, Martin Parr and Alec Soth. Nov. 5 to Feb. 6; High Museum of Art, high.org

NASHVILLE

“American Art Deco: Designing for the People, 1918-1939”

The Frist Art Museum, in an Art Deco-style former post office, is a natural home for this exhibition of about 140 objects. Art Deco’s confidence and monumental style echoed the revelry of the 1920s, then comforted audiences through the challenges of the Great Depression. As seen in the show, it filtered into the most common household objects, like radios, dinnerware and even a gleaming Electrolux vacuum. Through Jan. 2; Frist Art Museum, fristartmuseum.org

SARASOTA, FLA.

“Rhodnie Désir: Conversations”

A Canadian performer and choreographer with Haitian roots, Rhodnie Désir frequently blends documentary with dance in her work. She traveled around the world for four years and, collaborating with Manuel Chantre and others, produced the films in this show, mixing her performances with chronicles of her visits. At its core, the show takes inspiration from the dance traditions of enslaved people and their descendants. Dec. 11 to April 3; John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, ringling.org

Southwest

HOUSTON

“Spatial Awareness: Drawings from the Permanent Collection”

Museum visitors often make a beeline for paintings, but this exhibition of around 30 drawings will pull in viewers with its thoughtful and often playful exploration of the medium’s limits. Sam Gilliam uses a folding technique to add unusual texture to his vibrant colors, whereas the choreographer Trisha Brown used her toes to draw with charcoal for part of one work. Both Liliana Porterand Richard Tuttle made the ultimate leap: They decided to to draw on the wall and make it part of their picture. Oct. 29 to March 13; Menil Collection, menil.org

AUSTIN, TEXAS

“Pop Crítico/Political Pop: Expressive Figuration in the Americas, 1960s-1980s”

Pop Art has a reputation for being colorful, striking and fun, but this show looks at Pop work with a bite. In both the United States and Latin America, many artists used the movement’s style to make a point about racism, inequality, war and other serious topics. The 36 works include Peter Saul’s oil “Criminal Being Executed” (1964) and Jorge de la Vega’s acrylic and collage “Go, Go, Go” (1967). Oct. 31 to Jan. 16; Blanton Museum of Art, blantonmuseum.org

PHOENIX

“Landscapes of Extraction: The Art of Mining in the American West”

Well suited to a museum in the Copper State, as Arizona is also known, this show of more than 80 works presents beautiful landscapes, like Helen Katharine Forbes’s “Mountains and Miner’s Shack” (1940), as well as portraits of those who do the work of mining, as in Lew Davis’s “Morning at the Little Daisy, Jerome” (1936). More recent artists, including Edward Burtynsky and Cara Romero, tackle the environmental costs of the process. Nov. 7 to March 6; Phoenix Art Museum, phxart.org

A version of this article appears in print on Oct. 24, 2021, Section F, Page 36 of the New York edition with the headline: Art to Discover.