Critics’ picks in Boston-area art museums

ART IN THE STREET:
EUROPEAN POSTERS

This show may be small but it’s choice — and extremely charming. Artists with work on display include Bonnard, Kandinsky, and more. Through July 21. Museum of Fine Arts, 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org MARK FEENEY

THE FESTIVE CITY

In early modern Europe, governmental, religious, and aristocratic powers staged magnificent festivals, publicized in illustrated prints and books. About 60 of these elaborately detailed documents seek to capture the grandeur. Through July 14. Museum of Art Rhode Island School of Design, 224 Benefit St., Providence. 401-454-6500, www.risdmuseum.org

MICKALENE THOMAS

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Thomas is a painter on the rise, mixing up 1970s designer kitsch with weighty art-historical themes, while upending tired old power structures. She does it all with painterly panache, fragmenting interiors and making patterns pop. Through April 7. Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Ave. 617-478-3100, www.icaboston.org

CATE McQUAID