Top 5 Art Exhibits to See This Fall

1. Ragnar Kjartansson
Featured earlier this year in London, Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson’s collection of performances, videos, drawings and paintings arrive at Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden. His works test the line between fact and fiction, myth and identity, while glorifying the idea of an artist as a cultural hero. Oct. 14-Jan. 8, Seventh and Independence Ave. SW, second floor

2. 21st Annual Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards
Eighty-three nature prints and an HD video transport viewers into the wild, where photographers traveled for the perfect shot. Each of these photos in the National History Museum tells a story, and only the best were chosen for the award, named after photographer and conservationist Windland Smith Rice. Oct. 19-September 2017, 10th and Constitution Ave. NW, second floor

3. The Art of the Qur'an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts
Nearly 50 manuscripts boasting elegant calligraphy and dazzling illumination will be on display at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. These pages range in date from as early as the 8th century through the 17th century. Many of these artfully created pages once belonged in the Qur’ans of Ottoman sultans and the ruling elite. Oct. 22-Feb. 20, 1050 Independence Ave. SW

4. Gene Davis: Hot Beat
Bright colors come together in vertical stripes to create artwork that grabs hold of the viewer. The large size of many of these canvases will stop visitors of the American Art Museum and evoke thoughts of color relationships and composition. Nov. 17-April 2, Eighth and F St. NW, third floor

5. Mark Bradford
Bradford’s large-scale abstract paintings are site-specific. His use of color and detail will stand out, occupying almost the entire Inner Ring Galleries of the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden. This cyclorama will likely reflect his research on lost women’s voices of the civil rights movement. Nov. 17-November 2017, Seventh and Independence Ave. SW, third floor