The best exhibitions happening fall 2024: United States, Canada and Mexico

This year marks the 150th anniversary of Impressionism, and museums across the globe are celebrating the radical French movement that ushered in modern painting. After a groundbreaking exhibition in 1874, artists including Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas revolutionised artistic norms.

Through 130 paintings, sculptures and drawings, including many that were featured in the legendary first Impressionist exhibition, Paris 1874 captures the transformative essence of that period. By anchoring the works within their broader historical context, the show highlights the shift in artistic expression and illuminates the enduring impact of Impressionism on art history.

A standout survey on American and Mexican artist Elizabeth Catlett will open at the Brooklyn Museum this fall, before travelling to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC followed by the Art Institute of Chicago. An influential artist renowned for her sculptures and prints, Catlett used her creative voice as a means of cultural and political activism.

The exhibition features over 150 sculptures, prints and paintings that consider Catlett’s commitment to artistic discourse and frames those works within the social struggles that informed her output. In its comprehensive view of her legacy, the exhibition highlights the themes of social justice, race, gender equality and resilience that appear throughout her oeuvre.

Arkansas’s Crystal Bridges Museum is known for its extensive collection of American masterpieces from the colonial era to the present day. Knowing the West tells a nuanced story of an American region often subject to stereotype.

The exhibition encompasses a diverse range of voices and media including textiles, baskets, pottery, sculpture beadwork, saddles and prints. By highlighting women and Native American artists, it aims to surface overlooked narratives of the American West and offer insights into the multitude of perspectives that have shaped the region.

Renowned for his large-scale sensory experiences that encourage audiences to consider human perception and environmental issues, Olafur Eliasson blurs the boundaries between art and nature with a series of monumental installations at The Geffen Contemporary in Los Angeles. In these interactive works designed specifically for the MOCA Geffen site, the Icelandic-Danish artist fosters a dialogue around connectivity and climate, drawing on the building’s architecture alongside the kaleidoscopic energy of Los Angeles.

A sweeping show at the Hirshhorn Museum immerses visitors in the dreamlike world of Brazilian twins Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo, known as OSGEMEOS. In their vibrant street art and murals, the brothers blend surrealism with elements of Brazilian culture, often drawing on whimsical characters and intricate patterns.

OSGEMEOS: Endless Story will mark the largest exhibition in the United States dedicated to their work. Visitors can gain insight into the artists’ formative years and ongoing practice thanks to the inclusion of early sketches, sources of inspiration and site-specific installations. This massive survey, which will fill the entirety of the museum’s third floor galleries, encompasses nearly 1,000 objects that display their fantastical visual language, from paintings and photographs to monumental sculpture.

Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Suzanne Valadon and Raoul Dufy are just a few of the icons championed by Berthe Weill, the first woman modern art dealer. Weill, who maintained a gallery in Paris from 1901–1941, was an important yet overlooked figure in art history. Dedicated to promoting the work of emerging avant-garde artists, she fought sexism, antisemitism and fierce competition to become a major influence within 20th century art. Bringing together many works shown in her trailblazing gallery, an exhibition at New York University’s Grey Art Museum offers a portrait of Weill, but also provides a window into a period of radical innovation and creative transformation.

This group exhibition in Mexico City invites viewers into a sensorial experience guided by the hidden narratives in nature. Featuring multimedia works by six contemporary Latin American artists — Ana Mendieta, Frieda Toranzo Jaeger, Minia Biabiany, Nohemí Pérez, Vivian Caccuri and Vivian Suter — Silhouettes in the Undergrowth delves into themes of biodiversity, ecological balance and the human relationship with the natural world.

From the Amazon to the archipelago of Guadeloupe, viewers are taken on a trip across the diverse terrain of Latin America. Through sculpture, installation, photography and more, the exhibition challenges viewers to consider their impact on the environment, while celebrating the beauty and fragility of our planet's ecosystems.

An exhibition presented by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and the Archives of American Art highlights the impactful work of the late Cuban American artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres, who is known for his minimalist and subversive oeuvre. From his famous piles of candy to his poignant light string works, Gonzalez-Torres used conceptual installations to explore themes of love, loss and social justice. This exhibition spotlights his interrogation of what art — and portraiture — could be. It will also continue outside the museum, with curated placement of his light string work Untitled (America) (1994) hung in three public locations throughout the city.

Across photography, painting and collage, the contemporary American artist Mickalene Thomas creates layered, conceptual portraits with a unique visual language. Her bold, riotous imagery celebrates Black womanhood and draws on the ideas of femininity, beauty and identity.

Her first major international touring exhibition arrives in Philadelphia after a four-month run at The Broad, Los Angeles and will hop over to the Hayward Gallery in London in February. With about 50 works made across 20 years, the show reflects her vibrant colour schemes, unique use of mixed-media techniques including rhinestones and enamel and her signature weaving of historical references, personal narratives and cultural commentary into a striking visual feast.

This fall, the Morgan Library will mark 100 years as a public institution with a celebration of its inaugural director, Belle da Costa Greene. An expert in rare books and manuscripts, Greene was first hired by J. Pierpont Morgan to be his personal librarian. She continued under his son, J.P. Morgan Jr., who reimagined the Morgan as a public institution in 1924.

The exhibition outlines Greene’s personal history, beginning with her childhood in a predominantly Black community in Washington DC, through to her influence in shaping The Morgan’s collections and legacy. Featuring rare books and manuscripts as well as letters and objects from her personal collection, it is both a window into this storied institution and an insider’s look at a trailblazer ahead of her time.

Amy Sherald made history in 2017 when she became the first Black woman to paint a presidential portrait for the National Portrait Gallery. This fall, a comprehensive exhibtion at SFMOMA will include this iconic portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama alongside more than 45 paintings made by the artist since 2007. The largest presentation of Sherald’s work to-date, the show highlights early, never-before-seen works as well as new pieces created specifically for the exhibition — offering insight into the artist behind some of the most iconic American images of the last 50 years.

On the heels of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, the Art Gallery of Ontario will open a sweeping survey of the genre’s impact on contemporary creativity. From musicians and designers to artists like Deana Lawson and Hank Willis Thomas, the exhibition bridges hip-hop culture and fine art. Spanning music, video, painting, sculpture, fashion, photography and more, The Culture celebrates the global phenomenon of hip-hop as an ever-evolving cultural movement.