Visual art
MARÍA BERRÍO: THE CHILDREN’S CRUSADE Legend has it that the Children’s Crusade of 1212 saw thousands of kids trekking through France and Italy converting Muslims to Christianity. Berrío’s work draws on centuries of paintings and drawings depicting the story for her own work, which conflates the age-old parable with the very real and devastating movement of migrants, especially unaccompanied minors. Through Aug. 6. Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, 25 Harbor Shore Drive. 617478-3100, icaboston.org
MAKING PAST PRESENT: CY TWOMBLY Twombly was something of a misfit in mid-century American art: an abstract painter who didn’t hew to the zeitgeisty notion of abstraction’s formal purity, and a peer of Pop artists like Andy Warhol who had no interest in Pop’s cheeky postmodern critique. Twombly loved the classics: Greek and Roman dramas of violence, sex, and war, which this show embraces fully, installing classical sculpture alongside his sparse, energetic paintings, and situates him as an outlier with a singular, powerful vision. Through May 7. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 465 Huntington Ave. 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org.
HISTORICAL IMAGINARY Emmanuel Leutze’s incomplete study of his iconic 1851 painting “Washington Crossing the Delaware” is the impetus for this exhibition, which assembles both contemporary and historical works to help illustrate how selective and subjective most official accounts of American history have been. Through Nov. 12. Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, 6 East Wheelock St., Hanover, N.H. 603-6462808, hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu
MURRAY WHYTE
SEAWORTHY SEDUCTIONS: A TASTE OF INTIMACY Kyle Browne’s mixed-media installation delves into the sensual pleasures of seafood, the body, and the divine feminine. In her works, shrimp morph into fingers, oysters open to reveal vaginas. With titles such as “Bliss Pearls,” “Shrimp Cocktail Caress,” and “Shucked & Raw, Serve Yourself,” the artist titillates, entices, and invites viewers to play. Plus, there’s a free, ticketed sound bath on Saturday, April 29. Through June 11. Gallery at Spencer Lofts, 60 Dudley St., Chelsea. https://kylebrowne.com/
CATE McQUAID