Twin Cities' 5 must-see art shows this weekend

With the weather on the up-and-up, or should I say on the GORGEOUS AND GORGEOUS, we are all leaving our homes without feeling as cold. Such a lovely spring weekend is the perfect time to check out art, of course. This week, some shows open while a few are on the brink of closing. All of these shows are worth your time. Enjoy!

OPENING RECEPTION – MFA Studios and Gallery, Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Opening on Friday, May 12 from 6-9 p.m.

Location: 2501 Stevens Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55404

Event info: http://mcad.edu/event/spring-2017-mfa-thesis-show

What's next for graduating MFAs as they transition into the next phase of their artist careers? That's always on my mind when I browse through an MFA exhibition. This year's MCAD MFA exhibition features a variety of work from students who have spent two years working concurrently on research and in their studios. Nineteen graduates strut their polished works, which span illustration, drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, and interdisciplinary studies. Congrats and bon voyage to graduates Dana Kristine Cheit, Michaela M. Chorn, Bianca Jarvis, Jesse R. Lentz, Joe Letchford, Yijia Li, Xiaohan Ma, Shiraz Mukarram, Aaron Olson-Reiners, Heather Peebles, Chelsea Reeck, Dan Romanoski, Samantha Russell, Erin Sandsmark, Cole Seidl, Joel Terry, Suyao Tian, Jacob Yeates, and Sihai Zhu!

Image via: http://mcad.edu/event/spring-2017-mfa-thesis-show

Opening: Friday, May 12^th from 7-9 p.m.

Location: David Petersen Gallery (2018 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55405)

Event info: http://davidpetersengallery.com/

What is a window but an opening, a passage from one side to the other? The spacial and metaphorical significance of a window is not to be overlooked, but hey, it could easily be looked through. In this context, "Windows" is a group exhibition curated by LA-based artist Adam Marnie, who is also the publisher of F Magazine. Artists Aaron Aujla, Heather Bursch, Barbara Ess, Raina Hamner, Thatcher Keats, Rose Marcus, NOWORK, Kelsey Olson, Aura Rosenberg and Steel Stillman all consider the window's myriad meanings. This exhibition runs through June 17.

Image via David Petersen Gallery.

Weisman Art Museum (333 E River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455)

Event info: http://wam.umn.edu/calendar/cajal/

This is your brain . . . and THIS is your brain on Cajal! That is, this is what your brain looks like as seen through the delicate renderings of artist/neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal, drawn nearly 100 years ago. Many of the drawings look like forms that could been encountered in the forest. Eighty of Cajal's 2,900 brain-y drawings are on display at the Weisman Art Museum as part of the traveling exhibition "The Beautiful Brain." Let this show *blow your mind* before it leaves on May 21. Read my review of this show here: http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-gets-a-brainful-of-beautiful-drawings-at-weisman-art-museum/421323743/

Image via wam.umn.edu

ONGOING – Art is Why I Wake Up in the Morning: New Work by Sherry Muyuan He

Runs through May 20

Exhibition info: http://www.soovac.org/index.php/shows/view/art_is_why_i_wake_up_in_the_morning_new_work_by_sherry_muyuan_he/

In singer/songwriter Ani Difranco's song "Out of Habit," she has a lyric that goes: "Art is why I get up in the morning / But my definition ends there / And it doesn't seem fair / That I'm living for something I can't even define / There you are right there / In the meantime." I thought of it when I encountered the title of Sherry Muyuan He's exhibition at SooVac, which was inspired by her recent trip to Tokyo in early 2017, where she learned how to make paper. Her jovial designs, which look like egg and toast morning pleasantries, also integrate origami elements. There's a lightness and fun to this work that is both enticing and delicious.

CLOSING WEEKEND – Andy Warhol: Minnesota Goes Pop

Location: Rochester Art Center (40 Civic Center Dr SE, Rochester, MN 55904)

Exhibition closes May 14

Pop goes the Warhol! It's the last weekend of this exhibition about the Warholian nature of Minnesota, as seen through the eyes of artists who live here. Twenty-six Warhol prints appear alongside 11 Minnesota artists, who work with a variety of materials ranging from terrorist attack victims' videos to old lottery tickets and Mexican advertising. In the realm of pop art, all commercial items are fair game. Artists Jim Denomie, Frank Gaard, Maria Cristina Tavera, Ziyang Wu, Rory Wakemup, Krista Kelley Walsh, Star Wallowing Bull, Bianca Pettis, Dylan Redford, Nick Medearis and Katayoun Amjadi are all represented in this show.