Critics Picks: Museums + Galleries

Women all around the globe make pottery. It’s a common thread that bridges indigenous and modern cultures. The Northern Clay Center’s World Ceramics: Transforming Women’s Traditions demonstrates that connection with contemporary ceramics from Berbers in Tunisia, the Quichua in Ecuador, Native Americans in the Southwest, and more. All of the ceramics make a cultural statement in the growing marketplace for global products. Sept. 19–Nov. 2. Northern Clay Center, 2424 Franklin Ave. E., Mpls., 612-339-8007 

Pay Attention: Greater Minneapolis 08 is guaranteed to be a surprising show—even to its curators. It features experimental new work made specifically for the exhibition by twenty-three emerging and midcareer Minnesota artists working in a range of media. The title of the show hints at its premise—it’s a collective call to sit up and take a fresh look at the city we call home. Sept. 13–Oct. 26. The Soap Factory, 110 5th Ave. SE, Mpls., 612-623-9176

When describing the work of Tetsumi Kudo, Walker Art Center curator Doryun Chong uses words such as colorful and figurative, but he’s quick to add that no single word captures the style of this rather enigmatic and influential artist. Kudo, whose work spanned four decades, produced some of the most groundbreaking art in postwar Japan. In Tetsumi Kudo: Garden of Metamorphosis, the Walker hosts America’s first solo exhibition of Kudo’s work, which includes seventy pieces, from full-blown installations to sculptures and paintings. Oct. 18–Jan. 11, 2009. Walker Art Center

How do you structure a show that takes on the contradictions of American culture, from denial and loss to consumerism and obsession with celebrity? For Form + Content’s show Party Party in a Tweety Land b/w This Republic of Suffering, curators Colleen Sheehy and Camille Gage landed on an analog solution to a postmodern problem. They adopted the A/B side structure of old forty-five records to get at the contradictions at the heart of contemporary American culture. The show features nine Minnesota artists whose work comments on our conflicted collective. Aug. 28–Oct. 4. Form + Content Gallery, 210 N. 2nd St., Mpls., 612-436-1151

The Minnesota Historical Society is hosting one of the hottest exhibits in the country, Vatican Splendor, a first-rate collection of artifacts from St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums, and the Swiss Guard. More than 200 items will be on display, including mosaics, portraits, sculptures and even some items created by the popes themselves. Among the most heralded artifacts are the famous painting, The Madonna a del Sassoferrato, which has never been exhibited outside of Rome, and the Mandylion of Edessa, an image of Jesus that the church has officially declared “not made by human hands.” Sept. 27–Jan. 11. Minnesota Historical Society, 345 Kellogg Blvd. W., St. Paul, 651-259-3000