Museum Exhibits in Houston This Month: November 2021

A detail of "Asterisks in Dockery (Blues for Smoke" by Rodney McMillian | Courtesy of Contemporary Arts Museum Houston

Grab a last look or first glimpse at opening and closing museum exhibits and installations throughout Greater Houston in November 2021.

This month sees a trickle of new exhibitions ahead of what’s sure to be a busy December. Along with an illuminating exhibition at Discovery Green, you can also catch the opening of a stellar examination of the South at CAMH, plus ancient Egypt returns to HMNS, a new Impressionist exhibition at MFAH, and more.

Elsewhere, both the Menil Collection and Houston Center for Photography closes two exhibitions, and Discovery Green offers a last look at murals by Houston artists from this past Earth Day.

Click here to check out more ongoing installation and exhibitions in museums around Greater Houston.

The Great Temple of Abu Simbel, built by Ramses II | Courtesy of Houston Museum of Natural Science

First Look: 8 Opening Exhibitions in Houston This Month

  • Tiffany Heng-Hui Lee: Embracing the Earth at Jung Center | Wednesday, November 3 to Friday, December 23, 2022 | FREE – The Jung Center hosts the work of Tiffany Heng-Hui Lee, who creates abstract mixed media collages and sculptures of the natural landscape and environment through her exploration of line, shape, color and texture.
  • The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture and the Sonic Impulse at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston | Friday, November 5 to Monday, February 7, 2022 | FREE – Through more than 130 works from artists across the region, including many from Houston and Texas, this exhibition examines the relationship between hip-hop music and its culture against the troubled histories of the African American South and the nation as a whole.
  • Colors of a Place by Harold Joiner at Archway Gallery | Saturday, November 6 to Thursday, December 2, 2021 | FREE – Drawing from his captivating experiences in the American Southwest, painter and multi-media collage artist Harold Joiner crafts abstract landscapes and collages that incorporate the history and culture of the region and its earliest inhabitants.
  • Mosaic of Light by HYBYCOZO at Discovery Green | Friday, November 11 to Sunday, February 27, 2022 | FREE – Along the Brown Promenade in Downtown’s premier park space, visitors will find geometric objects on the ground and suspended from above that recall the Mexican art of papel picado, infused with references to the city’s architecture. During the day, these structures glisten gold in the sunlight, but at dusk and dawn, they illuminate from within and cast mesmerizing shadows on the ground and from the oak trees above.
  • Caroline Mesquita: Noctambules at Blaffer Art Museum | Saturday, November 13 to Sunday, March 13, 2022 | FREE – The French artist is on display in their first solo museum exhibition in the United States, offering sculptures in altered, oxidized and painted copper and brass that play with socio-cultural reference and the intimacy between man and machine. This exhibition also features a newly commissioned, site specific installation for 2021.
  • Maryam Jafri: A Broad and Narrow Point at Blaffer Art Museum | Saturday, November 13 to Sunday, January 9, 2022 | FREE – Through the presentation of multiple series, the artist examines relationships between identity, authenticity and commerce, as well as how the ways therapy has become imbued with convenience and celebrity aesthetics.
  • Incomparable Impressionism from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston | Sunday, November 14 to Sunday, March 27, 2022 – Trace the beginnings and evolution of the French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist style of painting in this exhibition, which features a full spectrum of works in the style that include more than a dozen pieces by Claude Monet, plus Camille Pisarro, Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas, and many others.
  • Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs at Houston Museum of Natural Science | Saturday, November 20 – Dive into the life of one of ancient Egypt’s most celebrated builders, Ramses II (also known as Ramses the Great), in this world premiere exhibition that also includes more than 180 treasures and one-of-a-kind relics that help visitors to explore life some 3,200 years ago. Tickets are $35; $27 for children and ages 60 and up.

Click here to check out more ongoing installation and exhibitions in museums around Greater Houston.

Save on 1-Day & Multi-Day Museum Passes Around Houston

A piece on display at “Enchanted: Visual Histories of the Central Andes” | Courtesy of Menil Collection

Last Chance: 5 Closing Exhibitions in Houston This Month

  • Celebración de Vida by Mexicráneos at Discovery Green | Ends Sunday, November 7, 2021 | FREE – Throughout the park and along Avenida de las Americas, this large-scale installation features 10 vibrant and colorfully adorned 7′ tall painted skulls, each presented by a different Mexican artist to portray an element of Mexican culture or heritage.
  • A Composition of Possibilities: Andrea Martínez, Fabiola Menchelli, and Mike Counahan at Houston Center for Photography | Ends Sunday, November 7, 2021 | FREE – This exhibition features the work of three Mexico City-based artists who press upon the traditions of Mexican and Latinx art to provide a refreshing insight through photography that ranges from abstraction to the landscape genre.
  • Learning Curve 14 at Houston Center for Photography | Ends Sunday, November 7, 2021 | FREE – More than 30 artists from HCP’s various workshops and educational programs are put on display, merging the unique voices and perspectives of students across all levels and photographic experience.
  • Enchanted: Visual Histories of the Central Andes at Menil Collection | Ends Sunday, November 14, 2021 | FREE – This collection explores pre-Hispanic archeological finds, including textiles, ceramic vessels, ceremonial works and religious painting, in combination with photographs by Pierre Verger taken during trips through the Central Andes.
  • Modern and Contemporary at the Menil | Ends Friday, November 19, 2021 | FREE – The latest exhibition of the museum’s Modern and Contemporary collection, loans and recent acquisitions brings together work from Alexander Calder and Piet Mondrian, as well as Suzan Frecon, Theaster Gates, Mona Hatoum and Roni Horn.

Click here to check out more ongoing installation and exhibitions in museums around Greater Houston.

Save on Multi-Day Museum Passes Around Houston

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Justin Jerkins
A longtime Houstonian, Justin Jerkins always keeps an eye out for what's ahead on Houston's horizon while serving as Editor-in-Chief of 365 Things to Do in Houston. When he's not passing along the latest events, destinations and hidden treasures in H-Town, he loves diving into the city's food scene, shopping local and learning about Houston's rich history.