The week ahead at SoCal museums, Sept. 16-23: ‘Nina Chanel Abney: Royal Flush’ and more

Reviews by Leah Ollman (L.O.).

Openings

Summoning the Ancestors: Southern Nigerian Bronzes Bells and other ceremonial objects. Fowler Museum, UCLA, 308 Charles E. Young Drive North, Westwood. Opens Sun.; ends March 10. Closed Mon.-Tue. Free. (310) 825-4361.

The War of Nerves: Psychological Landscapes of the Cold War Exhibition uses contemporary art and everyday artifacts to examine the decades-long conflict between East and West. Also on display: “Red Shoes: Love, Politics, and Dance During the Cold War,” exploring how the conflict affected the world of ballet. The Wende Museum, 10808 Culver Blvd., Culver City. Opens Sun.; ends Jan. 13. Free. (310) 216-1600.

Earth Works: Mapping the Anthropocene Joint exhibition of images by Justin Brice Guariglia spotlighting humans’ impact on the planet. USC Fisher Museum of Art, 823 W. Exposition Blvd., L.A. Opens Tue.; ends Dec. 8. Closed Sun.-Mon. Free. (213) 740-4561. Also at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd., L.A. Opens Tue.; ends Dec. 9. Open daily. $8-$17; children 2 and under, free. (213) 763-3466.

The Flight into Egypt: Drawings in Context The biblical tale is examined in three pieces from the museum’s collection. The Getty Center, N. Sepulveda Blvd. & Getty Center Drive, L.A. Opens Tue.; ends Dec. 9. Closed Mon. Free. (310) 440-7300.

Janet Sternburg: Limbus Layered photographic images by the visual artist explore metaphysical boundaries. USC Fisher Museum of Art, 823 W. Exposition Blvd., L.A. Opens Tue.; ends Dec. 1. Closed Sun.-Mon. Free. (213) 740-4561.

Jermaine Dupri & So So Def: 25 Years of Elevating Culture Artifacts, rare video footage, etc., salute the Atlanta-based rapper-producer and the record label he founded. The Grammy Museum, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., L.A. Opens Thu.; ends March 2019. $10.95-$15; 5 and under, free. (213) 765-6800.

Hammer Projects: Shadi Habib Allah Welfare policies and their impact on disenfranchised and marginalized communities are interrogated in images and sculptures. Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. Opens Sat.; ends Jan. 20. Closed Mon. Free. (310) 443-7000.

Knights in Armor Examples of European arms and armor from the medieval era to the 19th century. Bowers Museum, 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana. Opens Sat.; ends Jan. 13. Closed Mon. Special exhibition prices, $20-$25. (714) 567-3600.

Project Blue Boy Yearlong exhibition charts the progress of a restoration of English artist Thomas Gainsborough’s famous 18th-century painting “Blue Boy.” The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. Opens Sat; ends Sept. 30, 2019. Closed Tue. $13-$29; children under 4, free. (626) 405-2100.

Nina Chanel Abney: Royal Flush Parallel exhibitions include paintings, watercolors and collages by the Chicago-born artist that explore urban life and our media-saturated world. California African American Museum, 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, L.A. Opens next Sun.; ends Jan. 20. Closed Mon. Free. (213) 744-7432. Also at the Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, 1717 E. 7th St., L.A. Opens next Sun.; ends Jan. 20. Closed Mon.-Tue. Free. (213) 928-0833.

Recommended

The Incongruous Body Humor and the human body serve as brackets loosely containing the sculptural work in this 14-person show. Not all here is comic, and not everything manages to muster heat from the rub of expectation against direct experience — curator Tim Berg’s organizing principle — but the show has enough radiant moments to redeem the whole. Standouts include works by Kim Tucker, Kristen Morgin, Jeremy Brooks, Elana Mann and Robert Arneson. (L.O.) AMOCA, 399 N. Garey Ave., Pomona. Open Wed.-Sat. Ends Jan. 20. (909) 865-3146.