EVERYWHEN: THE ETERNAL PRESENT IN INDIGENOUS ART FROM AUSTRALIA An overview of indigenous art from Australia, most of it made over the last 40 years. Feb. 5 through Sept. 18. Harvard Art Museums. 617-495-9400, www.harvardartmuseums.org
ROSALYN DREXLER: WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS?A retrospective of paintings, collages, sculptures, and writings by the pioneering pop and political artist, who was also a playwright and novelist. Feb. 12 through June 5. Rose Art Museum, Waltham. 781-736-3434, www.brandeis .edu/rose
WALID RAAD A survey of disorienting, provocative photographs, videos, sculptures, and more, made over the past 25 years by the Lebanese-born artist who tackles politics, war, and museums, blurring lines between fact and fiction. Feb. 24 through May 30. Institute of Contemporary Art. 617-478-3100, www.icaboston .com
ASIA IN AMSTERDAM: THE CULTURE OF LUXURY IN THE GOLDEN AGE A collaboration with the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, this exhibition of around 170 objects addresses the rich connections between luxury goods imported from Asia and paintings and objects made in response by the Dutch in the 17th century. Feb. 27 through June 5. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem. 978-745-9500, www.pem.org
OFF THE WALL: GARDNER AND HER MASTERPIECES Twenty-five of the museum’s most celebrated works of art, by masters such as Rembrandt, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Rubens, move from Mrs. Gardner’s palace into the contemporary Hostetter Gallery, while the leaking roof is repaired and an entire floor of the palace is closed for nine months. March 10 through Aug. 15. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 617-566-1401, www.gard nermuseum.org
THE IDEA OF NORTH: THE PAINTINGS OF LAWREN HARRIS The great Canadian visionary landscape painter is the subject of a retrospective organized by the comedian, actor, novelist, playwright, and art collector, Steve Martin. March 12 through June 12. Museum of Fine Arts. 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org
OVERGROWTH A look at the phenomenon of growth — both in nature and in the process of creating art — in works from the deCordova’s permanent collection by such artists as Jean Arp, Gary Webb, Jebediah Caesar, Edward Steichen, and Rachel Perry Welty. April 1 through Sept. 5. DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln. 781-259-8355, www.decordova.org
MEGACITIES ASIA Sculptures, installations, and other ambitious works made by contemporary artists, including China’s Ai Weiwei, responding to the energy and stresses of some of the world’s biggest cities, including Mumbai, Beijing, Shanghai, Delhi, and Seoul. April 3 through July 17. Museum of Fine Arts. 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org
REVOLUTION OF THE EYE: MODERN ART AND THE BIRTH OF AMERICAN TELEVISION More than 260 objects open a window onto the ways in which avant-garde art affected the look of early television, and the ways in which TV in turn spread people’s awareness of modern art. April 9 through July 31. Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover. 978-749-4015, www.andover.edu/Museums/Addison
RODIN TRANSFORMING SCULPTURE A survey of sculptures in plaster, bronze, and marble, along with related drawings by the greatest sculptor of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. May 14 through Sept. 5. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem. 978-745-9500, www.pem.org
Sebastian Smee
Sebastian Smee can be reached at ssmee@globe.com.
