Twin Cities' 5 must-see art shows this weekend

OPENING THIS WEEKEND

The end-of-summer exhibition "New to Mia: Art From Chicago" opens this Saturday in Mia's first-floor Cargill Gallery. It's a collection of work from the 1960s to '80s by a group broadly known as the Chicago Imagists, a network of artists who portrayed the surreal, psychological and traumatic, bucking the New York art world's bias toward cleanliness and abstraction. For more info, call 1-888-642-2787 or visit new.artsmia.org. Exhibition ends Jan 6, 2019. Read more here: http://www.startribune.com/a-treasure-trove-of-chicago-art-finds-a-new-home-at-minneapolis-institute-of-art/491559091/

Acclaimed New York jazz pianist Jason Moran is also an interdisciplinary visual artist. The centerpieces of his exhibit at the Walker are three historic installations about the jazz history of New York City: Harlem's Savoy Ballroom for big bands in the '20s, the Three Deuces bebop nightclub in the '40s and Slug's Saloon with its '60s jukebox. Whether you're a jazz fan or not, this is a show to see. Ends Aug. 26. Read more here: http://www.startribune.com/a-jazz-pianist-plays-the-museum-jason-moran-s-remarkable-show-at-walker-art-center/481760221/

Gallery hours: Tues. & Thurs. 12-6 p.m., Fri. 3-7 p.m., Sat. 12-5 p.m.

Exhibition ends Sept 8.

In artist Christopher E. Harrison's artwork, glitter, fur, sand, plaster, and acrylic paint are essential materials for creating an imagined species' new world mythology. Occupying several galleries in the spacious, Harrison's amorphously shaped creatures are birthed into the universe, exploded and then destroyed by forces of nature. At the end of it all, a creature that combines male and female genes, perhaps something even post-gender, is reborn as "XYOYX," a grayish blob with recognizable feet and eyes. It came from a pile of rocks and sand that Harrison positions below it, entitled "Nest." Harrison's artwork is inspired by science-fiction, African, Pre-Columbian and Native American cultures, science, and more.