Datebook: A retrospective on the influential Charles White lands at LACMA

The work and influences of Charles White, new video art from Africa, a performance festival at the Mak Center and lots and lots of art fairs. Here are nine exhibitions and events to check out in the coming week:

“Charles White: A Retrospective,” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Over the course of a more than four-decade career, this influential artist, teacher and activist produced work that celebrated African American history and black pride and condemned institutional racism. The show, organized by LACMA in collaboration with the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, brings together more than 100 paintings, drawings, prints and photographs from throughout the span of White’s life as he moved between Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. The presentation will include 13 additional works from LACMA’s permanent collection. Opens Sunday and runs through June 9. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, lacma.org.

“Life Model: Charles White and his Students,” at Charles White Elementary School. In conjunction with the Charles White retrospective at LACMA, the museum is organizing this exhibition that looks at the late artist’s impact on the art world as a teacher. The exhibition features work by many of his students, including David Hammons, Judithe Hernández, Kerry James Marshall and Kent Twitchell. Opens Saturday and runs through Sept. 15. 2401 Wilshire Blvd., Westlake, Los Angeles, lacma.org.

Annie Leibovitz, “The Early Years, 1970-1983,” at Hauser & Wirth. Originally presented by the LUMA Foundation in Arles, France, this exhibition brings together more than 4,000 images snapped by the prodigious rock photographer in the early years of her career. The show features personal images as well as the work from Rolling Stone that made her a national figure. Opens today and runs through April 14. A public opening will be held on Saturday at 3 p.m. 901 E. Third St., downtown Los Angeles, hauserwirth.com.

Inaugural Exhibition, at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects. The long-time Culver City gallery is unveiling a new 11,000-square-foot downtown gallery space with a group show featuring work by its stable of artists, including Charles Gaines, Ruben Ochoa, Kim Dingle, Amy Sillman, Andrea Bowers, Rodney McMillian and many more. Opens 5-7 p.m. Friday and runs through March 23. 1700 S. Santa Fe Ave., downtown Los Angeles, vielmetter.com.

Kudzanai Chiurai, Zina Saro-Wiwa and Mikhael Subotzky, “Inheritance: Recent Video from Africa,” at the Fowler Museum. A group show features recent video work by three contemporary African artists who address issues of environment, social issues and historical realities in their work. Opens Sunday and runs through July 28. UCLA, 308 Charles E. Young Dr., Westwood, fowler.ucla.edu.

“Shelter or Playground: Performance Program,” at the MAK Center for Art and Architecture. The center is kicking off a new performance series this weekend that will feature performances and choreographies by figures such as Merce Cunningham, Alison Knowles, Yoko Ono and others. Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. 835 N. Kings Rd., West Hollywood, makcenter.org.

David Alekhuogie, “Gravity,” and Mariah Garnett, “Trouble,” at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery. The gallery is featuring a pair of solo shows. This includes work by Alekhuogie, whose paintings and collaged images touch on tropes of urban hip hop culture and male sexuality. Garnett, in her first institutional exhibition in the meantime, presents various experimental documentaries, including one devoted to Belfast, Ireland and another about military veterans turned Hollywood stunt men. Opens today and runs through April 14. 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, lamag.org.

Kelly Berg and Caroline Larsen, “Textured Environments,” at Barrett Gallery. Two artists known for their mixed-media paintings — including materials such as bits of mirror, acrylic and thread — have a two-woman show on view at Santa Monica College. Through March 23. 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, smc.edu.

All those L.A. art fairs: Frieze LA., Art Los Angeles Contemporary, Felix. The art fairs have landed for a weekend of large tents, wheeling, dealing, air kissing and overpriced snacks. Not to mention industrial quantities of art. This includes the L.A. debut of the SoCal edition of Frieze. If the press releases I’ve gotten are any indication, do not even think of trying to park anywhere near these. Today through Sunday. In locations around Los Angeles, frieze.com, artlosangelesfair.com and felixfair.com.

LAST CHANCE

“Regeneración: Three Generations of Revolutionary Ideology,” at the Vincent Price Art Museum. A group exhibition examines three movements, from three different eras, that served as key moments for the exchange of activist and revolutionary ideas between the U.S. and Mexico. All of this is centered on “regeneración” — or regeneration — a term first employed by the Flores Magon brothers during the era of the Mexican Revolution. It was adopted by Chicano activist circles in the 1970s, for the magazine “Regeneración,” and the ’90s experimental space Regeneración/Popular Resource Center of Highland Park. Through Saturday. 1301 Cesar Chavez Ave. Monterey Park, vincentpriceartmuseum.org.

Ellen Berkenblit, “Paintings,” at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects. In bold graphic paintings that often reveal small details and unusual textures close up, Berkenblit often features a mysterious, long-nosed woman in profile attending to aspects of the physical — a meditation on femininity, desire and beauty. Through Saturday. 6006 Washington Blvd., Culver City, vielmetter.com.

Hannah Epstein, “Do You Want a Free Trip to Outer Space?” at Steve Turner. In her second solo exhibition at the gallery, Epstein, a self-described “feminist folklorist of the internet age,” employs objects such as hook rugs and comic-book-panel-style works to create an immersive environment that tells the story of a superhero whose power is being able to stay calm in moments of chaos. Also on view is a show of paintings by Jamie Felton that juxtapose images of the feminine and the grotesque. Through Saturday. 6830 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, steveturner.la.

Dora de Larios, “The Studio is My Church,” at Craig Krull Gallery. The late ceramic artist was as intrigued by pre-Columbian design as she was by Japanese pattern and it was reflected in work that was both majestic and whimsical. This exhibition gathers a group of bold, graphic paintings created by the artist in her last year of her life. Separately, the gallery will also showcase photography by L.A. artist John Humble that records the urban landscape around Vermont Avenue. Through Saturday. Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica, craigkrullgallery.com.

Lisa Adams, “A Piebald Era,” at Garis and Hahn. Adams has long explored the landscape of Los Angeles in canvases that feature fragments of the city and the surreal pieced together in abstracted ways — for a portrait of landscape that isn’t quite portrait, but more refracted reality. Through Saturday. 1820 Industrial St., downtown Los Angeles, garisandhahn.com.

Amoako Boafo, “I See Me,” at Roberts Projects. The Ghanaian artist is known for his intimate portraits rendered in deeply textured paint and a rich color palette, figures who collectively speak to ideas of diaspora. Through Saturday. 5801 Washington Blvd., Culver City, robertsprojectsla.com.

Doug Aitken, “Don’t Forget to Breathe.” In an empty storefront across from Regen Projects, artist Doug Aitken has created an installation that employs strip mall architecture as a setting for three human figures frozen in time and rendered as pulses of light. Through Sunday. 6775 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, regenprojects.com.

Jennifer Bolande, “The Composition of Decomposition,” at Pio Pico. From 2013 to 2015, Bolande clipped photographs from the pages of the New York Times. She now employs that grainy newsprint in installation and video that explores images and their meanings. The perfect show for all of us ink-stained wretches. Through Sunday. 3311 E. Pico Blvd., Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, piopico.us.

Deana Lawson, “Planes,” at the Underground Museum. Lawson is known for portraits that feature black men and women in regal poses, often in humble domestic settings. In the past, she has described her subjects as the “displaced kings and queens of the diaspora.” This show gathers examples of her recent work. Through Sunday. 3508 W. Washington Blvd., Arlington Heights, Los Angeles, theunderground-museum.org.

Robert Pruitt, “Devotion,” at the California African American Museum. Pruitt paints people in ways that capture their spiritual aspects. In his first major museum show in L.A., he uses this framework to explore aspects of devotion in his own life and upbringing. Through Sunday. 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, caamuseum.org.

Nora Shields, “Harder Volumes,” and Tim Presley, “Under the Banner of Concern,” at the Pit. The gallery has a pair of one-person shows on view. There is work by the L.A.-based Shields, who is presenting a new series of metal wall sculptures and reliefs, as well as ink drawings by Presley, presented salon style. Through Sunday. 918 Ruberta Ave., Glendale, the-pit.la.

Trenton Doyle Hancock, “An Ingenue’s Hues and How to Use Cutty Black Shoes,” at Shulamit Nazarian. In his first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, the Houston-based artist is presenting a series of new drawings, paintings and sculptures connected with “The Moundverse,” a narrative, inspired by graphic novels and Greek mythology, that lies at the core of his practice of more than two decades. This includes a series of fantastical characters and a color-wielding goddess names Undom Endgle, inspired by the black women who have supported the artist over the years. Through Sunday. 616 N. La Brea Ave., Hancock Park, shulamitnazarian.com.

“Continuant,” at Noysky Projects. A group exhibition organized by artist Sacha Baumann brings together works by Chelle Barbour, Sydney Mills, Jaklin Romine and Camilla Taylor that explore the mutability of identity. Through Sunday. 6727 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, noyskyprojects.com.

B. Wurtz, “This Has No Name,” at the Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles. Is it possible to riff on minimalism and detritus art in a single sculpture? B. Wurtz proves that it is. The artist is known for earnestly odd works that employ take-out tins, product packaging, socks and bits of wood as building blocks for assemblages that elevate the mundane while putting a pin to the balloon of austerity. Do not miss the video of the Bic pen. Through Sunday. 1717 E. 7th St., downtown Los Angeles, theicala.org.

Glenn Ligon, “Untitled (America) / Debris Field / Synecdoche / Notes for a Poem on the Third World,” at Regen Projects. Ligon, an artist whose works often investigate the darker aspects of American history and identity, will be presenting a series of new silkscreen paintings and neon installations, the latter inspired by the shapes of his own hands. In the past, Ligon has worked directly with words and their evocative powers, but for the new paintings series, he is also working on abstracting letters and their forms. Through Sunday. 6750 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, regenprojects.com.

ONGOING

Mark McKnight and Paul Pescador, “Shadow and Shadow of Shadow,” at Roger’s Office. For this exhibition, the two artists employ each other as inspiration and object, with McKnight rendering Pescador in black and white photographs, while Pescador has created a video of McKnight inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni’s “Blow Up.” Through Feb. 23. 5827 York Blvd., Building B, Highland Park, Los Angeles, rogersoffice.la.

“The Archival Impulse: 40 Years at LACE,” at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. LACE, the historic Los Angeles art spot that gave key shows to Mike Kelley and groups such as Survival Research Laboratories in the ’80s, is turning 40 — and to mark the occasion, the organization has been poking around its metaphorical attic (aka its archive) to see what it might turn up. This show gathers elements from that archive as well as video works by a range of Los Angeles artists, including Jim Shaw, Susan Mogul and Reza Abdoh. Through Feb. 24. 6522 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, welcometolace.org.

Helen Rae, at the Good Luck Gallery. Rae creates fractured and fragmented drawings inspired by the imagery of fashion magazines, taking sumptuous images and making them dreamlike. Through Feb. 24. 945 Chung King Road, Chinatown, Los Angeles, thegoodluckgallery.com.

“Take My Money / Take My Body,” at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. A group show organized by Narei Choi and Nicolas Orozco-Valdivia is inspired by the ways in which K-pop fan culture employs social media and technology to create idealized narratives that take on complex issues tied to gender, sexuality, consumerism and politics. The show features work by artists such as Jiwon Choi, Gelare Khoshgozaran, Olivia Campbell, Chung Quin and others. Through Feb. 24. 6522 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, welcometolace.org.

Adam D. Miller, “Between Planets,” at Odd Ark LA. Miller is presenting four new large-scale color pencil drawings that employ rich patterns to explore the mystical. Through Feb. 24. 7101 N. Figueroa, Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, oddarkla.com.

Carolina Caycedo and Mario Ybarra Jr., “Rituals of Labor and Engagement,” at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Garden. For three years running, the Huntington has invited contemporary artists to react to and install work on their grounds. For this go-around, the museum has teamed up with the Vincent Price Art Museum to offer a residency program to two artists — Caycedo and Ybarra — who have spent several months studying the Huntington’s collections and produced work inspired by the collection: in particular around issues of labor within the context of the collection, but also the site of the Huntington itself. Through Feb. 25. 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, huntington.org.

Fred Eversley, “Chromospheres,” and Evan Holloway, “Outdoor Sculpture,” at David Kordansky. Eversley, an important artist of the Light and Space movement, is known for his translucent parabolic lens sculptures, which distort image and refract light and color. The Los Angeles artist will be showing a series of new works in his first show with the gallery. Through March 2. 5130 W. Edgewood Place, Mid-Wilshire, davidkordanskygallery.com.

Kenneth Tam, “Tamborine,” and David Alekhuogie, “To Live and Die in L.A.,” at Commonwealth and Council. The gallery is opening two new shows. The first, by Tam, an artist who was featured in the Hammer Museum’s “Made in L.A.” biennial in 2016, consists of video works that explore and are inspired by rituals of masculinity. Alekhuogie’s work, in the meantime, turns details of saggy pants (and all the social and racial signifiers they imply) into photographic abstractions ruminating on nature, color and texture. Through March 2. 3006 W. 7th St., Ste. 220, Koreatown, Los Angeles, commonwealthandcouncil.com.

Noa Yekutieli, “Pedestal,” at Track 16. An artist deconstructing the pedestal might seem like a cliché. But Yekutieli makes the topic seem fresh in a one-person exhibition that explores the material and arquitectonic nature of pedestals, pulling them to bits, as well as dismantling the figures that often reside on their surface. Through March 2. Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave., downtown Los Angeles, www.track16.com.

André Butzer, “Goethe komischer Mann,” at Nino Mier Gallery. Butzer’s bright, large-scale paintings render the human figure in ways both humorous and the cartoonish. Through March 2. 7277 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, Los Angeles, miergallery.com.

Derek Fordjour, “JRRNNYS,” at Night Gallery. In a series paintings and sculpture, Fordjour continues to explore a theme that has long preoccupied his work: crowds and athleticism and the entrenched power systems that these represent, be it the power of gangs or entrenched political parties. Other works are drawn from art history, paying homage to painters such as Kerry James Marshall and Hurvin Anderson. Through March 2. 2276 E. 16th Street., downtown Los Angeles, nightgallery.ca.

Ai Weiwei, “Life Cycle,” at the Marciano Art Foundation. This represents the first significant institutional exhibition for the Chinese dissident artist in Los Angeles and will include iconic works such as “Sunflower Seeds,” Ai’s 2010 installation of thousands of ceramic pieces meticulously hand-painted to resemble seeds, as well as new works that contend with Europe’s ongoing refugee crisis. Through March 3. 4357 Wilshire Blvd., Windsor Square, Los Angeles, marcianoartfoundation.org.

“The Notion of Family” at the California African American Museum. A group exhibition spanning two centuries looks at depictions of the African American family over time — in intimate domestic settings, but also in gatherings both private and public. This includes early photographs, paintings, drawings and other works by a variety of high-profile artists, including Jacob Lawrence, Miguel Covarrubias, Carrie Mae Weems, John Biggers and others. Through March 3. 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, caamuseum.org.

Wang Xu, “Garden of Seasons,” at the Vincent Price Art Museum. When Heritage Falls Park in Monterey Park was built in the 1920s, it included a niche that housed a marble sculpture popularly referred to as “Athena.” The sculpture disappeared shortly after it was installed and was only replaced in 2005, when the Monterey Park Historical Society commissioned a replacement. In 2017, Wang created a work inspired by an image of a woman who worked at the marble quarry and factory where the replacement was created — all of which inspired the work of video on view. Through March 9. East Los Angeles College, 1301 Cesar Chavez Ave., Monterey Park, vincentpriceartmuseum.org.

Mark Dean Veca, “The Troubled Teens: Work of a Decade,” at Jason Vass. Take some popular culture and marinate it in art history. Add a bit of William Blake and stir in some Renaissance wallpaper patterns. Veca’s work is a wild fusion of ideas and styles. This shows gathers some of the artist’s most recent pieces. Through March 9. 1452 E. Sixth St., downtown Los Angeles, jasonvass.com.

Beverly Pepper, “New Particles From the Sun,” at Kayne Griffin Corcoran. With a title inspired by a poem by Frank O’Hara, this exhibition explores the work produced by Pepper in the 1960s and 1970s. The artist, now 96, is known for producing ebullient forms in metal — a material alluded to in O’Hara’s poem, which harks to Greek mythology and the belief that metals were gifts of the gods. Through March 9. 1201 S. La Brea Ave., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, kaynegriffincorcoran.com.

“One Day at a Time: Manny Farber and Termite Art” at the Museum of Contemporary Art. In 1962, artist and critic Manny Farber wrote an essay titled “White Elephant Art vs. Termite Art,” which picks apart the excesses of market-oriented “white elephant” art and celebrates “termite art,” made on a smaller, more personal scale and reflecting deep commitment and attention. This exhibition will feature more than 100 works by 30 artists inspired by Farber’s idea of art as being about “observing and being in the world.” I assume this means no sculptures by Jeff Koons. Through March 11. 250 S. Grand Ave., downtown Los Angeles, moca.org.

Jeffrey Vallance, “Other Animals,” and Rema Ghuloum, “Love Is a Feeling,” at Edward Cella Art & Architecture. For 40 years, Vallance has brought his curious eye to his drawings of animals, drawings which are often linked to his long-running practice in painting and performance. Through March 16. 2754 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City, edwardcella.com.

“Outliers and American Vanguard Art,” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Like most other areas of culture, art has long been preoccupied with issues of credential: of those who are trained in the academy and those who are not — though credential has never been a guarantee of producing art that is transcendent. This wide-ranging exhibition, organized in collaboration with the National Gallery of Art, presents more than 250 works by more than 80 artists that chronicles moments in time in which the self-taught intersected with the avant-garde. This includes work by Henry Darger, Cindy Sherman, Kara Walker and Martín Ramirez, among many others. Through March 17. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, lacma.org.

Trina McKillen, “Confess,” at the Laband Art Gallery. McKillen explores the legacy of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in an installation — complete with a scale confession box — that places the priest in the position of begging forgiveness from a flock of children. Through March 23. 1 LMU Drive, Westchester, Los Angeles, cfa.lmu.edu.

Rafael Cardenas, “Landscape and Land Dwellers: Photography of Place,” at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes. Cardenas is widely known for his street photography. In this new exhibition he brings together a series of portraits and landscape images that find the connection between people and place in Los Angeles. Through March 25. 501 N. Main St., downtown Los Angeles, lapca.org.

“Laura Owens” and “Zoe Leonard: Survey,” and at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles. The museum’s Geffen branch is opening a pair of exhibitions: the paintings retrospective of Los Angeles painter Laura Owens, whose groundbreaking work reinvigorated painting with canvases that toy with abstraction, figuration and the picture plane itself, as well as Leonard, the New York-born conceptual artist whose work has included visceral sculpture (fruit peeled and sewn back together), photography (both her own and vernacular) and poetry (her famous poem, “I Want a President”). Through March 25. Geffen Contemporary, 152 N. Central Ave., downtown Los Angeles, moca.org.

Titian, “Portrait of a Lady in White,” at the Norton Simon Museum. The 16th century Venetian painter achieved great fame in his lifetime for works such as “Venus of Urbino,” a nude that served as a model for countless nudes to follow. The Norton Simon has four paintings by Titian in its collection and now it is adding “Portrait of a Lady in White” on a temporary basis, as a loan from the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden in Germany. The image shows an unidentified sitter — possibly one of his daughters, possibly a mistress — resplendent in white dress and cherry-red lips. Through March 25. 411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, nortonsimon.org.

Nicolas Roggy at Freedman Fitzpatrick. The gallery is showing works by the French artist whose abstract paintings are composed from layers of imagery, some inspired by aspects of the digital. Through March 30. 6051 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, freedmanfitzpatrick.com.

Merce Cunningham, “Clouds and Screens” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This exhibition pairs well with LACMA’s show on Robert Rauschenberg since Cunningham, the famed choreographer, was a good pal and collaborator. This show delves just into that: Cunningham’s myriad collaborations with artists who helped him create costumes, film, music and sets. Through March 31. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, lacma.org.

Gonzalo Lebrija, “Veladuras Nocturnas,” at Kohn Gallery. The Mexican artist’s first solo exhibition at the gallery features painting (a series of abstract geometric forms inspired by veils), sculpture (which takes its form from a Bic lighter and nods to the concept of the eternal flame) and the social and political history of cigars (a video titled “Vía Láctea”). Through March. 1227 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, kohngallery.com.

Candice Lin, “The Inscrutable Speech of Objects,” at Weingart Gallery. Lin is an artist interested in the material histories of colonialism, the stories of traded goods such as opium, tea, porcelain and sugar. For this work, she has created an installation that uses some of these materials (sugar cane and tobacco) to reflect on a 1980 essay that employed the Chinese language to contend with questions of sentience. Through April 5. Occidental College, 1600 Campus Rd., Eagle Rock, oxy.edu.

“Stargazers: Intersections of Contemporary Art and Astronomy,” at the Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion. This group exhibition, inspired by the opening of a new planetarium at Orange Coast College, brings together works by artists such as Lita Albuquerque, Lia Halloran, Russell Crotty, Laura Gruenther and other figures whose works reflect on aspects of space and time. Through April 6. Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa, orangecoastcollege.edu.

“Artful Words,” at the Getty Museum. Words have never just been words. They have also been art — rendered with flamboyant lines, golden inks and other embellishments. This exhibition gathers various examples of the artful ways in which texts have been rendered on various surfaces, including illuminated manuscripts, a Koran and Italian ceramics. Through April 7. 1200 Getty Center Dr., Brentwood, Los Angeles, getty.edu.

Yevgeniya Mikhailik, “A Slow Conflict,” at Grand Central Art Center. Paintings explore the evolution of the world at scales both geological and minute, calling for a deeper, more personal engagement with the natural landscape. Through April 14. 125 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, grandcentralartcenter.com.

“West of Modernism: California Graphic Design, 1975-1995,” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. A show drawn from LACMA’s growing collection of design objects looks at a transformative moment in graphic design, when individual designers were becoming more high-profile, the home computer was shaking up the ways in which design could be produced and images were becoming increasingly fragmented and layered. Through April 21. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, lacma.org.

“MONUMENTality” at the Getty Research Institute. An exhibition about monuments and monumentality looks at the role that these structures play as symbols of power. The show includes a wide array of works from across cultures and time, including depictions of the pre-Columbian Nazca lines in the Peruvian desert, a grandiose reconstruction of ancient Rome as depicted by 18th century printmaker Piranesi, rare 19th century photographs that show a citizens uprising during the days of the Paris Commune in 1871 and documentation of contemporary earthworks. Through April 21. 1200 Getty Center Dr., Brentwood, getty.edu.

Desert X, in locations around the Coachella Valley. The desert biennial is back with a series of installations by artists such as Mary Kelly, Cara Romero, Julian Hoeber, Nancy Baker Cahill and and others, all reflecting on the state of our fragile environment. Through April 21. See the website for programming and locations, desertx.org.

Tschabalala Self, “Bodega Run,” at the Hammer Museum. For her Hammer Project, Self is presenting the final iteration of a project inspired by the corner convenience store, or bodega. Drawings and neon signs evoke the shelves of these urban commercial centers that also function as impromptu gathering spaces. Through April 28. 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, hammer.ucla.edu.

Pontormo, “Miraculous Encounters,” at the Getty Museum. In the 1520s, Florentine painter Pontormo created a luminous larger-than-life painting of the Virgin Mary’s meeting with her cousin St. Elizabeth. The painting remained virtually unknown until it appeared in a small church in Carmignano in the early 20th century. It is now on view in Los Angeles for the very first time, along with related drawings and two portraits. The show was organized by the Getty in collaboration with the Gallerie degli Uffizi in Florence and the Morgan & Library Museum in New York. Through April 28. 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood, Los Angeles, getty.edu.

“Unsettled,” at the Palm Springs Art Museum. A group show features work by more than 75 artists living or working in the “Greater West,” encompassing a region from Alaska to Central America, as well as a diverse range of media, including painting, sculpture, photography and performance. There will even be Twitter poems. Through April 30. 101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs, psmuseum.org.

Sandra de la Loza, “Mi Casa Es Su Casa,” and Sara Kathryn Arledge, “Serene for the Moment,” at the Armory Center for the Arts. The Armory has a pair of shows on view. The first, by De la Loza, is an immersive installation constructed from collaged images that dwell on the nature of identity and community. Also on view are a series of paintings by the late Arledge, an artist known for her bright landscapes and experimental filmmaking. Through May 12. 145 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, armoryarts.org.

Beatriz Cortez, “Trinidad / Joy Station,” at the Craft Contemporary. At a moment of political dystopia, the L.A. artist imagines a bit of utopia: a futuristic space station that suggests a communal, indigenous space apart from capitalism and Western civilization. She also recycles symbols of the military-industrial complex — say, a form that evokes the container where the first atomic bomb was detonated, turned into a seed repository. The show wrestles with our difficult present, too: one series is inspired by the beds inhabited by children in border detention centers. Through May 12. 5814 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, cafam.org.

“Focus Iran 3: Contemporary Photography and Video,” at the Craft & Folk Art Museum. The third iteration of this biennial devoted to Iranian art and culture turns its lens to youth culture. The show is organized in collaboration with the Farhang Foundation and features 42 works from Iranian artists from around the world. Through May 12. 5814 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, cafam.org.

Allen Ruppersberg, “Intellectual Property 1968-2018,” at the Hammer Museum. Over the course of his career, the U.S.-based conceptual artist has employed elements of popular culture — newspapers, magazines, band posters and more — to create curious juxtapositions of image and text. This is the first comprehensive survey devoted to his work in more than 30 years and will feature some of his groundbreaking early environmental installations, including “Al’s Cafe” from 1969 and “Al’s Grand Hotel” from 1971. Through May 12. 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, Los Angeles, hammer.ucla.edu.

“Dirty Protest: Selections from the Contemporary Collection, at the Hammer Museums. An exhibition drawn from recent acquisitions to the museum’s permanent collection brings together contemporary works by more than 30 international artists. The show takes its title from a 2015 painting by Tala Madani included in the show. Through May 19. 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, Los Angeles, hammer.ucla.edu.

“Once Upon a Tapestry: Woven Tales of Helen and Dido,” at the Norton Simon Museum. Helen of Troy was the beautiful ancient heroine whose kidnapping launched the Trojan War. Dido was the first queen of Carthage, who famously killed herself on a funeral pyre. This exhibition looks at the ways in which these women and their stories have been depicted in a series of five 16th and 17th centuries tapestries. Through May 27. 411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, nortonsimon.org.

Rauschenberg: The 1/4 Mile, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The print maker Robert Rauschenberg was known for making obsessive works, including a monumental 190-panel installation that when assembled reaches approximately a quarter-mile in length. The show includes ambient sound and other additional elements. Through June 9. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, lacma.org.

“The Jeweled Isle: Art from Sri Lanka,” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The first comprehensive survey of historic Sri Lankan art organized by a U.S. museum is featuring 240 works of art drawn from nearly 2,000 years of the country’s history. This includes decorative objects crafted in gold, silver and ivory, furnishings, historic photographs and relics from sacred Buddhist sites. Through June 23. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, lacma.org.

“Auto-Didact: The Juxtapoz School,” at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Custom car culture has had a far-reaching influence on American culture in general, including art, where representation, design and finishes have all had an influence. The show features works by Von Dutch, Sandow Birk, Gary Panter, Mister Cartoon, Robert Williams, Suzanne Williams and many others. Through June. 6060 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, petersen.org.

“Tsuruya Kōkei: Modern Kabuki Prints Revised & Revisited,” at the USC Pacific Asia Museum. Kōkei, a key postwar artist, is known for his 20th century take on the Kabuki print, rendering historic leading actors and important stage works in ways that employ intense color and motion. This exhibition gathers 77 prints from the ’80s and ’90s and also explores how Kabuki imagery has inspired Pop and other forms of contemporary art. Through July 14. 46 N. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena, pacificasiamuseum.usc.edu.

Adia Millett, “Breaking Patterns,” at the California African American Museum. Millett creates work inspired by the nature of quilts — pieces in which disparate pieces come together to form a cohesive, sheltering whole. Through Aug. 25. 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, caamuseum.org.

“L.A. Communities Through the Eyes of Artists,” in the Passageway Gallery at Union Station. For 15 years, L.A.’s principal train station has been showcasing work that reveals the city through the eyes of its artists. This year, it is showing a series of newly commissioned pieces — including Shizu Saldamando’s depiction of Little Tokyo, Sam Pace on Leimert Park and Artemio Rodriguez on East L.A. On long-term view; no closing date set. Union Station, 800 N. Alameda St., downtown Los Angeles, metro.net.

Daniel Hawkins, “Desert Lighthouse.” The Los Angeles-based artist is obsessed with producing works that toy with ideas of grandiosity, failure and gestures that border on the Sisyphean. (One of his goals as an artist is to ultimately build a scale replica of the Hoover Dam.) Now, Hawkins has installed a 50-foot tall, fully functioning lighthouse in the Mojave Desert in the vicinity of Barstow. The piece even features a light to guide travelers through this rugged landscape. Directions and coordinates can be found on the website. On long-term view, Hinkley, Calif., desertlighthouse.org.

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carolina.miranda@latimes.com

Twitter: @cmonstah