Here’s a last-chance alert for art lovers: You have until Jan. 4 to see a bevy of art exhibits that all close on that day. No fewer than six exhibitions at three museums wrap up on the first Sunday of 2026. So take a deep breath amid the holiday hustle and bustle and give yourself a chance to re-center by making time for art.
Here’s a quick look, by venue, at the half dozen exhibits whose days are numbered.
Orlando Museum of Art
To Catch a Dream: Florida Watercolor Society 54th Annual Exhibition: The societh has been exhibiting its work since 1931 at galleries or museums around the state. From more than 500 entries for this year’s exhibit, award-winning watercolorist Matthew Bird selected 100 paintings to display. The celebration of the medium explores ordinary objects, personal memories, natural phenomena and imagined worlds while demonstrating how watercolor can create everything meticulously rendered photorealistic scenes to expressive, abstract compositions.
Orlando Museum of Art to open largest U.S. David LaChapelle exhibit
Dawoud Bey’s Evergreen: Using three screens, this 11-minute video captures haunting images of the Evergreen Plantation in Wallace, Louisiana as a meditation on historical trauma. Composer-vocalist Imani Uzuri provides a soundtrack for the multisensory experience that artist Bey says reinforces the importance of acknowledging history: “Calling it to remembrance — as I do in my work — keeps us alert and responsive to the presence of those horrific pieces of a past, which, left untended, can return to haunt us yet again.”
Orlando Museum of Art is at 2416 N. Mills Ave. in Orlando. Hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, noon-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays (closed Christmas and New Year’s Day). There’s a free Access for All Day Dec. 18 with extended hours until 8 p.m. Otherwise, admission is $20 with discounts for seniors and students. More info: omart.org
Rollins Museum of Art
Impressions: Modern Prints from the Benjamin Ortiz and Victor P. Torchia Jr. Collection: Since 2021, Ortiz and Torchia have donated more than 25 works to the museum’s collection, showcasing prints by global artists such as Imna Arroyo, Pablo O’Higgins and Francisco Mora.
“Mother Daughter Day,” is an undated acrylic on canvas by American artist Allen Fireall (1954-2014). It’s on view in the “Manners of Dress” exhibition at Rollins Museum of Art in Winter Park. (Courtesy Rollins Museum of Art)
Manners of Dress: A selection of paintings, sculptures, photographs, and the museum’s unique collection of watch keys are used to explore what the clothing and accessories depicted in art tell us about the works’ human subjects. It’s a trip through time, as well, with pieces on view from centuries ago up to the present day. Don’t miss the large-scale look at first lady Jackie Kennedy’s dressing table, the bikini made of map tacks (ouch!) or the empty closet signifying grief, loss and displacement.
Sartorial Rollins Museum of Art exhibit eyes fashion sense and sensibility
What’s New? Recent Acquisitions Fall 2025: The museum’s rotating exhibit of new additions to the collection features works by Chico da Silva, Wade Guyton and Lauren Lesko, among others, in this installment. Newer works will replace them on view in January.
Rollins Museum of Art is on the campus of Rollins College, 1000 Holt Ave. in Winter Park. (There are reserved parking spots for the museum as well as a nearby free parking garage.) Hours are 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays, noon-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays (closed Dec. 22-26, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1). Admission is free. More info: rollins.edu/rma
“Future Proof” is part of Isobel Francisco’s exhibit, “Pangarap — Espero Reimagined” at the Maitland Art Center. (Courtesy A&H Museums of Maitland)
Maitland Art Center
Pangarap: Espero Reimagined: “Pangarap” means dream in the language of the Philippines, and Filipino artist Isobel Rodriguez has dreamt up an alternate reality in which art-center founder J. Andre Smith established his artist colony in her home country. Through fictional artifacts, iconographies and artworks, Rodigruez invites viewers to consider the parallels and contrasts between reality and her imagined scenario. Think of it as a trip into the artistic multiverse.
Maitland Art Center, one of the Art & History Museums of Maitland, is at 231 W. Packard Ave. in Maitland. Hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays (closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day). Tickets are $5-$6. More info: artandhistory.org
¤
Follow me at facebook.com/matthew.j.palm or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. Find more entertainment news and reviews at orlandosentinel.com/entertainment or sign up to receive our weekly emailed Entertainment newsletter.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/12/08/orlando-january-art-closings/
