August Openings
Art of Devotion: The Santos de Palo Tradition of Puerto Rico
Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte, North Carolina
August 2, 2025–June 1, 2026
Santos de palo are wooden folk sculptures of Catholic saints, carved in Puerto Rico since colonial times. Originally adorning home altars of isolated peasant farmers without access to churches or priests, they came to be influenced by African and Indigenous modes of expression. The 200-plus works here belong to Puerto Rico–born, Charlotte-based collectors Nitza Mediavilla Piñero and Francisco Toste Santana.
Growing American Craft
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
August 22, 2025–September 7, 2026
Seed art, butter sculpture, narrative textiles, and more appear in this celebration of the distinctive craft culture of state fairs. With live demonstrations and 240 artworks dating from the 19th century to the present on view, this first-of-its-kind exhibition brings together artists and 4-H clubs from 43 states and tribal nations to evoke the energy and spectacle of the fairgrounds within a museum setting.
Elizabeth Catlett: “A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies”
The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
August 30, 2025–January 4, 2026
Boldly delivering messages of resistance to oppression, Catlett (1915–2012) created prints and sculpture inspired by the militant art of Mexico (her home beginning in 1946), German Expressionism, and African forms. The 100 works here underline what organizers call “the significant role this revolutionary artist and radical activist played in her time and the influence she still has today.”
