AOA MUSEUM LISTINGS

All displays and exhibitions below are at US museums unless otherwise noted:

COLORADO: Denver Museum of Art: ""Cities of Splendor: A Journey Through Renaissance Italy," through July 31. This show focuses mostly on second- and third-tier artists — many well-regarded by experts — such as Giovanni da Bologna. Denver has one of just four known signed paintings by the Venetian artist, "The Coronation of the Virgin" (circa 1380). 100 West 14th Avenue Parkway, Denver, CO, (720) 865-5000, deverartmuseum.org.


ILLINOIS: Art Institute of Chicago: "Kings, Queens, and Courtiers: Art in Early Renaissance France," through May 30. One reviewer wrote that this show is so good, they don't even feature the Leonardo da Vinci in their promotions. 111 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, ILL, (312) 443-3600, artic.edu/aic.

INDIANA: Indianapolis Museum of Art: "Hard Truth: The Art of Thornton Dial," through September 18. A twenty year retrospective featuring 70 of Dial's large-scale paintings, drawings and found-object sculpture. 4000 Michigan Rd., Indianapolis, IN, (313)923-1331, imamuseum.org.

KENTUCKY: Owensboro Museum of Fine Art Art: "The Divine in Art," through May 31. More then 150 objects by a range of artists — from European master Rembrandt to Kentucky sculptor Jeanne Dueber, a nun and artist in residence at the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Loretto — are part of a major survey of religious art. 901 Frederica Street, Owensboro, KY, (270) 685-3181, omfa.us.

MARYLAND: Walters Art Museum: ‘Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics, and Devotion in Medieval Europe,’ through May 15. Holy relics — the physical remains of the venerated dead — were objects of Christian devotion from Roman times. 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, (410) 547-9000, thewalters.org.

MISSOURI: Museum of Contemporary Religious Art: "Georges Rouault: Miserere et Guerre," through July 31. A small interfaith museum with a contemporary art focus in a former college chapel, on the residential campus of 221 N. Grand Blvd., Saint Louis University in Saint Louis, MO, (314) 977-2999, slu.edu.edu/x27662.xml.

NEW JERSEY: African Art Museum of the SMA Fathers: "Permanent Collection, Part I," through May 29. SMA is another small unorthodox museum in a stained-glass-windowed hall beside a church, on the residential campus of a Roman Catholic missionary order in a leafy New Jersey suburb. 23 Bliss Avenue, Tenafly, NJ, (201) 894-8611, smafathers.org/museum.

NYCITY: Japan Society: ‘Bye Bye Kitty!!! Between Heaven and Hell in Contemporary Japanese Art,’ through June 12. 333 East 47th Street, NYC, (212) 832-1155, japansociety.org.

NYCITY: Museum of Arts and Design: ‘The Global Africa Project,’ through May 15. A survey mixing contemporary art, design and craft by some 120 participants who are mostly African or of African descent. 2 Columbus Circle, NYC, (212) 299-7777, madmuseum.org.

NYCITY: Museum of Biblical Art: "Passion in Venice: Crivelli to Tintoretto and Veronese," through June 12. This fascinating exhibition presents about 60 paintings, sculptures and objects by famous artists and unidentified artisans, all representing a major iconic image of Christendom: Jesus as the Man of Sorrows, post-Crucifixion, pre-Resurrection. 1865 Broadway, at 61st Street, NYC, (212) 408-1500, mobia.org.

PENNSYLVANIA: Brandywine River Museum: "Barry Moser: Bookwright," through May 22. US 1 in Chadds Ford, PA, (610)388-2700, brandywinemuseum.org.

WASHINGTON (STATE): Jundt Art Museum: "Bolker Collection: Fritz Eichenberg," through July 30. The display includes "Ten Wood Engravings for the Old Testament" and include pieces such as the well-known "The Peaceable Kingdom," "And David Played the Harp" and "The Story of Jonah." The museum is located on the campus of Gonzaga University. 502 East Boone Avenue • Spokane, WA, (800) 986.9585, http://www.gonzaga.edu/.


LAST CHANCE TO SEE:

PENNSYLVANIA: Andy Warhol Museum: "Word of God: Sandow Birk's American Quran," through today, May 1, 2011. The paintings are reflections by an American artist of Persian miniatures and of Christian illuminated manuscripts, having a delicacy and refinement of image centered with panels containing the words of Mohammed. 117 Sandusky Street, Pittsburgh, (412) 237-8300, warhol.org.

UTAH: BYU Museum of Art: "Carl Bloch: The Master's Hand," through May 7. Beloved by members of the LDS church, the exhibition is the most well-attended show the museum has had in 15 years, with more than 250,000 people coming to see the Danish master's paintings. Advance tickets are no longer available, but people can still try to enter through a standby line to see if someone has cancelled a reservation. Bringham Young University, North Campus Drive, Provo, UT, (801) 422-8287, carlbloch.byu.edu/.

COMING SOON:

OKLAHOMA: Oklahoma City Museum of Art: "Passages," opens May 16. The museum will be the first stop for a worldwide traveling exhibition of historic biblical texts and artifacts collected by Hobby Lobby President Steve Green. 415 Couch Drive, Oklahoma City, OK, (405)236-3100, okcmoa.com.