Art from Central and South America, beloved Ojibwe artist Jim Denomie and Filipina-American artist Pacita Abad are among the best in visual arts this year.

By Alicia Eler

December 18, 2023 at 12:10PM

1. "The Lyrical Artwork of Jim Denomie" at Minneapolis Institute of Art

The sudden death of beloved artist Jim Denomie, who tackled colonialism and genocide of Native people with dark humor, shook the Twin Cities back in March 2022. This exhibition, intended as a midcareer survey and planned long before his death, runs through March 24 and includes 60 works from the late artist.

2. "ReVisión: Art in the Americas" at Minneapolis Institute of Art

Valéria Piccoli, Mia's inaugural curator of Latin America art, brought in this exhibition from the Denver Art Museum, and added some works from Mia's collection. The show uses ancient and contemporary works to consider changing continents, the effects of colonialism, environmental impacts and cultural identities of the Americas.

3. Pacita Abad at Walker Art Center

Filipina American artist Pacita Abad combined painting with trapunto, quilts made by stitching and stuffing canvases rather than stretching them. The first retrospective of her work showcased more than 100 pieces, many of which had never been seen in the United States.

4. New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast at ArtReach St. Croix

New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast's cartoons landed in Stillwater for the exhibition "Upper West Side Meets Upper Midwest." There was even a special one about her first visit to Minneapolis. Her husband, Bill, is from Golden Valley.

5. "Ukraine: War and Resistance" at the Mill City Museum

The war in Ukraine has been raging on for nearly two years. An exhibition of 41 photographs shot by Fulbright scholars in Ukraine, including some dating back to Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and the invasion of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, brought the war back into focus.

6. "TESTIFY: Americana From Slavery to Today" at Minneapolis Central Library

African American artifacts and artworks from the collection of retired Minnesota Supreme Court justice and former Minnesota Vikings star Alan Page and his late wife, Diane Sims Page, went on display at the Minneapolis Central Library's Cargill Gallery.

7. "In Our Hands: Native Photography, 1890 to Now" at Minneapolis Institute of Art

This ambitious exhibition presents more than 150 photographs of works by Indigenous people, as seen through the lens of Native photographers. The show was organized by a Native council in collaboration with Mia.

8. "Message From Our Planet: Digital Art From the Thoma Collection" at Weisman Art Museum

Former Thoma Foundation Digital & Media Art Curator Jason Foumberg organized an exhibition around how the digital age may be remembered in the future through the work of 19 international artists.

9. "Multiple Realities: Experimental Art in the Eastern Bloc, 1960s-1980s" at Walker Art Center

Walker curator Pavel Pyś' large-scale exhibition looks at how artists navigated making work during this notoriously restrictive period. The show, which runs through March 10, defrosts some stereotypes and upholds others.

10. "The Life and Art of Charles M. Schulz" at Minnesota History Center

Throw a rock anywhere in the Twin Cities and you're likely to hit a life-size "Peanuts" sculpture. Exhibition wall panels traveled from the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, Calif., and the objects in the show, which runs through June 9, came from the Minnesota Historical Society and local "Peanuts" fanatic and Snoopy super fan Peg Olson. Schulz was born in Minneapolis.