The 25 Most Anticipated Art Exhibitions Of 2012

2012, undoubtedly, will be another celebratory moment for blockbuster. No small feat, following a year that saw Alexander McQueen, Art In The Streets, and Tim Burton breaking attendance records.

You might expect the same from Damien Hirst, given his first UK survey at Tate Modern this Summer, or (perhaps) Keith Haring at Brooklyn Museum of Art. Yet, for all the big name shows, there are a number of sleeper hits sewed for 2012. Across the country, institutions have lined up special exhibitions honoring talent young and old, and investigating artistic venture of broad scope.

Plus, of course, there is the always formidable Whitney Biennial.

From street art to video games, and Pop master to self-taught photographers, The 25 Most Anticipated Art Exhibitions of 2012.

RELATED: Green Label - 10 Art Exhibits You Should See in June

The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum

January 29 through June 10, 2012

You've seen that massive tiger made of cigarettes. Well, the artist behind that "WOW" inducing work is Xu Bing. Over a 12 year period, he's studied tobacco culture, investigating warehouses and factories in Virginia and the impact of China's importation of tobacco product from the United States. Ultimately, this traveling exhibition manages to both amazing and inform… and, we'd be lying if we didn't admit an overwhelming desire to see on of the magnificent cigarette carpets in person.

Walker Art Center

February 25 through May 27, 2012

This February, Minneapolis' Walker Art Center welcomes Lifelike, an exhibition of startlingly real work. With over ninety pieces, Lifelike celebrates 50 years of artworks based on the common place. You'll see massive milk cartons, painstakingly reproduced rooms, and surreal human sculptures. It's all pretty amazing. And, it all turns the everyday into something truly unbelievable.

The Jewish Museum New York

March 9 through July 29, 2012

The Jewish Museum New York hosts the NYC premier of Wiley's large-scale portraits of Israeli youth. Augmenting these, the museum will share textiles and papercuts from the collection, chosen by Wiley himself, that inspired the painter's decorative backgrounds.

Prism

February 25 through March 24, 2012

Street art's favorite Brazilian twins hit LA next month for a highly anticipated installation/exhibition at Prism. Kind of hard not to be excited.

Queens Museum of Art

February 5 through May 20, 2012

An auditor by trade, Greenpoint-native Frank Oscar Larson spent his spare time behind the camera, capturing street life in New York City. His "1950s New York Street Stories" are drawn from a recently discovered cache of negatives found in his daughter-in-law's Maine home. Images of Chinatown, the LES, and more make up the extraordinary collection that will be on view from next month. A must for anyone with a photo fetish of their own, and for those with an undying love of the Big Apple.

The Art Institute of Chicago

May 16 through September 3, 2012

Hard to believe that there hasn't been a full retrospective of Pop art legend Roy Lichtenstein since his death in 1997. That all changes in May, when The Art Institute of Chicago opens its new survey considering all periods of Lichtenstein's career. You'll see Pop, for sure, but also bask in his cartoon paintings, late nudes, and Chinese landscapes. Special attention is given to the artist's interest in art history and his exploration of alternative media like Plexiglas and perforated steel.

Philadelphia Museum of Art

January 14 through April 22, 2012

Self-taught, Zoe Strauss founded the Philadelphia Public Art Project in 1995 with the express purpose of bringing art to nontraditional venues. She began her career as a photographer in 2000, exhibiting in the Whitney Biennial of 2006, and continues "to create an epic narrative that reflects the beauty and struggle of everyday life." Zoe Strauss: Ten Years is the first critical examination of her annual exhibition staged under I-95 in South Philadelphia. Expect poignant images which serve as a troubling portrait of contemporary America.

50+ Venues in Cincinnati

October 2012

Through the month of October, some 500 artists will take part in 50 exhibitions across Cincinnati exploring the role of photography in contemporary culture.

MCA Chicago

June 30 through September 23, 2012

The Skyscraper is a uniquely American invention. Over a century after the forms first appearance, these urban towers still influence and inspire artists of all stripes. Skyscraper: Art and Architecture Against Gravity promotes a shared fascination with the form amongst a collection of international artists who are enthralled with the technology, myth, and message of the iconic structure.

Museum of Fine Arts Boston

February 18 through October 28, 2012

Edouard Manet was a master in the use of black. He employed the color with bold subtlety, capturing subjects as diverse as exotic dancers and the Paris race track. This exhibition explores Manet's work as a printmaker and draftsman, asserting his daring and innovative techniques and styles through 50 works pulled from the MFA collection.

Honor Fraser

February 25 through April 7, 2012

We're not entirely sure what to expect from Rosson Crow's forthcoming solo show at Honor Fraser (there hasn't even been an official press release yet), but it hardly matters given the painter's spell on us. In the past she's picked apart Bowery Boys, Lincoln's Funeral (above), and tackled Harley-Davidson culture, always in massive, dynamic canvases.

Jonathan LeVine Gallery

April 7 through May 5, 2012

Evol has consistently piqued our interest with deft miniature street scenes. In the wild, the artist turns nondescript electric boxes into inviting scenes, and he's got a certain knack for the minutia of life that rarely fails. His solo show at Jonathan LeVine is high on are list for this reason.

Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati

March through September 2012

Co-curated by Jonathan Wells and Meg Grey Wells of Flux, this exhibition celebrates and explores the changing landscape of the art of music videos. Artists ranging from Michael Jackson to the Beastie Boys are represented, tied to their use of video in establishing artistic identity. A new wave of directors, including Chris Milk, are also featured for their employment of new forms of interactivity in the genre.

MASS MoCA

May 27, 2012 through April 1, 2013

What do you know about Canadian art? Yeah, nothing, same as us. Still, we're intrigued by the idea of Oh, Canada, the largest ever surgery of Canadian art ever presented outside the Great White North. Over 60 artists will be represented, and in the end we should all know a little more about a snowed under scene.

Whitney Museum of American Art

March 1 though May 27, 2012

Prepare to gauge the current state of contemporary art in this, the seventy-sixth, Biennial exhibition at the Whitney. This edition features curatorial collaborations with Arika, a UK-based group that organizes experimental music and moving image festivals, and Artists Space, who will be hosting a weekly program in Tribeca. Participating artists include Werner Herzog, Sam Lewitt, Moyra Davey, and Thom Andersen.

MoMA

February 26 through June 11, 2012

Sherman, one of the most influential contemporary artists, will be celebrated through a survey of more than 180 photographs tracing her career from the 1970s to today. Dominant themes are at the core, including horror, myth, carnival, gender, and identity. Sherman's old master styled history portraits will also be on display.

New York Historical Society

May 25 through September 2, 2012

Run through three centuries of beer history and end in a garden serving locally produced suds. What else do you need to know? How about that micro-brewing kicked-off in NYC as early as 1640 and the exhibition boasts some of the coolest beer ephemera you'll ever see.

International Center of Photography

January 20 through September 2, 2012

Weegee, perhaps the most inventive figure in American photography in the 1930s and 1940s, made a name capturing the underbelly of New York City. He is, in simplest terms, the founder of tabloid journalism. This exhibition draws from the ICP's extensive Weegee Archive and celebrates an OG of street photography.

New Museum

February 15 through April 22, 2012

The 2012 New Museum Triennial, The Ungovernables, will feature over 50 participants born between 1975 and 1985. Highlighting a notion of urgency in a generation born with an attitude of resourcefulness, the show brings many of these artists to the United States for the first time.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

March 16 through September 30, 2012

Who doesn't love video games? This exhibition promises a full look at the 40 year development of video games as an artistic medium. Influential designers representing five eras of game technology are included, and the whole thing is curated by Chris Melissinos, founder of Past Pixels. Notable as well is a crowd sourcing element, with the museum inviting the public to help select the games showcased.

San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art

March 31 through July 29, 2012

Parra, a cult favorite, makes his first U.S. museum presentation with a 60-foot-long mural and selection of prints at SF MOMA. Could he be the next street artist to explode on Banksy, KAWS, or Fairey scale? Time will tell, but we're already sure the playful Dutchman will have us scrabbling for flights to the Bay come Spring.

Tate Modern

April 4 through September 9, 2012

Hirst's first substantial survey in a British institution, covering career highlights in sculpture and installation, will be impossible to ignore this coming Summer. Staged to climax with the Olympic Games, Damien Hirst's influence is undeniable, regardless of what one thinks of his art.

High Museum of Art Atlanta

February 18 through May 20, 2012

The fun of KAWS: Down Time, an exhibit dedicated to the artist's painting, is that it will feature both traditional gallery installation and a large-scale mural. It is also Donnelly's first exhibition in Atlanta, as well as his most ambitious museum show to date.

Royal Academy of Arts

January 21 through April 9, 2012

A Bigger Picture is the first exhibition of new landscape works by Hockney. He's known for his work in LA, but this show brings back to focus the artist's fascination with his native East Yorkshire landscape. In addition to works on canvas, drawings produced on iPAd and iPhone will be shown alongside new 18-camera films. Living proof that an old (artist) can learn new tricks… and embrace technology.

Given Hockney's recent spat with factory artist's like Damien Hirst and refusal to paint a portrait of the Queen (he also turned down a knighthood in 1990, though accepted membership to the Order of Merit in December), excitement is high for reasons beyond art that is simply brilliant. And, all made by the artist, personally.

Brooklyn Museum

March 16 through July 8, 2012

Hard to believe, but this is the first large-scale exhibition to explore Haring's early career. Featuring 155 works on paper and over 150 archival objects, Keith Haring: 1978-1982 originated at the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio. The show traces Haring's development from NY transplant to fixture on the downtown scene. Don't miss it when it hits Brooklyn.