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Boston's Best Museum Exhibits This Spring

There are new exhibits at Boston museums all the time, which makes it easy to miss some of the great ones. It doesn't help that there are so many museums scattered throughout the city. Of course, you won't find any Bostonians complaining about having too many options. Some of the best upcoming exhibits feature easily recognizable works while others feature pieces that are beautiful in their rarity. That kind of diversity is just what museum lovers want, and Boston has it.
boston loves impressionism
Photo credit: MFA

"Boston Loves Impressionism"
Museum Of Fine Arts
465 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 267-9300
www.mfa.org

Date: Through May 26, 2014

The title of this exhibit doesn't just give an impression of what it is about, it gives it away. Visitors to this exhibit will see a wide range of impressionist pieces from greats such as Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet. There will also be a running vote for everyone's favorites. It will be hard to choose between pieces like Monet's "Water Lilies,"Vincent van Gogh's "House at Auvers" and Renoir's "Children on the Seashore." The exhibit has only fantastic works so there is nothing not to love about it.

5000 moving parts
Photo credit: MIT Museum

"5,000 Moving Parts"
MIT Museum
265 Massachusettes Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 253-5927
web.mit.edu

Date: Through Nov. 30, 2014

"5,000 Moving Parts" is an interesting art exhibit from this technological university that concerns moving or "kinetic" art. Some pieces in this exhibit, such as John Douglas Powers' "Ialu and Haliades," take obvious forces and turn them into works of art. Other pieces, specifically "Electro-Magnetic I" from Vassilakis Takis, use forces that people cannot see to make the art move. Luckily for those who do not have a lot of time to get to museums, this exhibit is running for about a year, so there is plenty of time to see it.

Related: Boston's Weirdest Museums

boston athenaeum
Photo credit: Facebook/Boston Athenaeum

"Collecting For The Boston Athenaeum In The 21st Century"
Boston Athenaeum
10 ½ Beacon St.
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 227-0270
www.bostonathenaeum.org

Date: Through September, 2014

The Boston Athenaeum has a wonderful rare books and manuscripts collection that makes bibliophiles drool. Some of the pieces in it have been collected since the turn of the 21st century. This exhibit is a look at those books, and it highlights what makes them so special, such as their rarity, their authors or even their bindings. One standout piece, "The Truest and Largest Account of the late Earthquake in Jamaica," was bound in tortoise shell in 1693.

peabody museums
Photo credit: Facebook/Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology

"Storied Walls: Murals Of The Americas"
Peabody Museum
11 Divinity Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 496-1027
www.peabody.harvard.edu

Date: Through Sept. 29, 2014

"Storied Walls" is a fascinating look at the history of murals mostly through photographs and drawings of important works all over the world. Humans have long used natural and constructed walls to do more than just draw and paint. They have used them to tell stories using drawings and finally language to accompany pictures. This exhibit looks at everything from ancient walls to the Sistine Chapel. While it has been up for some time, its run is over in 2014, so this spring is a great time to see it.

ica
Photo credit: Facebook/Institute of Contemporary Art

"A World Of Glass"
Institute Of Contemporary Art
100 Northern Ave.
Boston, MA 02210
(617) 478-3100
www.icaboston.org

Date: March 19, 2014 to July 6, 2014

Artists Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg are behind this upcoming contemporary art exhibit that features polyurethane pieces. With 193 sculptures, there is plenty to see. The exhibit uses these sculptures by Djurberg and combines them in four video projections with the work of composer Hans Berg to create an experience that draws parallels between the easily broken glass and humanity. Whether the point gets across or not, the visuals will be striking.

Related: 5 Things You Didn't Know About Boston Children's Museum

Shelly Barclay is a professional freelance writer and amateur author. She writes on a variety of topics from food to mysteries. She loves to share the culture and rich history of her birthplace and home, Boston, with the rest of the world. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.

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