"50 Shades of Green" The influence of the impressionists is very much at play in the new collection "50 Shades of Green," at the Archway Gallery. The show is composed of the works of painters Judy Elias and Harold Joiner. The collaborative collection features a variety of oil paintings, mostly of outdoor settings, in which "the artists realized...the prominence of green as a modifier." The artists also share a similar style, and there's a good deal of overlap in content. Joiner's work is primarily nature — lush landscapes, running bayous and parks, many of which are located in Texas. The paintings that stand out are those that veer more toward the realistic form. Elias's group of works falls more on the impressionism side of the spectrum. Where she finds distinction is in her subjects. There are many beautiful paintings in "50 Shades of Green," but you've seen many of their kind before. The rationale for placing two very similar artists together in one collection is understandable, but the overlap between the two painters' styles, impressionist influence and settings did more harm than good. Through January 30. 2305 Dunlavy, 713-522-2409. — AK

"The Age of Impressionism: Great French Paintings from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute" These days, Impressionist exhibitions are the art museum version of the ballet The Nutcracker: frothy and beautiful, if a little overexposed, and sure to pack 'em in at almost any price. Even though we've already had at least six or eight Impressionist shows during the past ten years, who could fail to love yet another one that includes 70-plus paintings by Renoir, Monet, Pissarro and Degas, among others? That's what the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is offering with "The Age of Impressionism." This isn't a star vehicle so much as an ensemble piece; these aren't the paintings that make the textbooks. They are, rather, a tribute to the taste of a collecting couple with very good eyes for art and lots of resources (that is to say, money) who were buying paintings to enhance their own lives at home rather than to dazzle tourists in museums. Frankly, unless you're something of an art specialist, you may have trouble remembering many of the paintings individually a day or two after you've seen the show. But if you're lucky enough to see it under the right conditions (not too many other viewers, the right kind of light that so often suffuses the galleries in the Rafael Moneo-designed Beck Building at MFAH, at a time when you're really in an art-viewing mood), you're almost certain to remember the deeply satisfying feeling that comes from standing in galleries surrounded by beautiful, harmonious paintings. Not at all a bad memory to take away from any exhibition. Through March 23. 1001 Bissonnet, 713-639-7300. — RT

"Antonio Berni: Juanito and Ramona" Antonio Berni (1905-1981) was Argentina's greatest 20th-century artist, a greatness recognized far beyond Argentina during his lifetime. Since his death his fame has faded, especially in North America. The exhibition "Antonio Berni: Juanito and Ramona," on view at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is an effort to show us what we've been missing. Berni's work is visceral, slap-you-in-the-face art, tongue-in-cheek at times, but always with the knowledge that the tongue could be bitten off. The pieces in this exhibition, created from the 1950s through the 1970s, tell the stories of two characters set in a world Berni dreamed up based on the real Buenos Aires he knew: Juanito Laguna is a poor country-boy-moved-to-the-city, struggling with his family to survive and thrive in the shantytowns of massive (and massively changing) Buenos Aires; Ramona Montiel is a working-class girl who finds that prostitution pays better than dressmaking, a few occupational drawbacks notwithstanding. Berni employs the assemblage technique — creating works out of materials found in the shantytowns of Buenos Aires — to put his message tangibly, even jaggedly, before us. Entering Berni's imaginary world takes some effort, but once you make that effort, he takes you to places and introduces you to people (and monsters) you won't forget. Through January 26. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet, 713-639-7300. — RT

"Funnel Tunnel" Clunky, streaked wood and wiry metal are the last things one would consider using to celebrate Art League Houston and the colorful Montrose neighborhood that surrounds it. Then again, talent is as talent does, and bare-bones as they may be, Patrick Renner's pieces are feats of size and color. Bounded Operator (2012) is a wall of windows glued together and filled with sand, rock and gravel, mingled with pieces of wood splashed in tie-dye, exchanging its windowpane aesthetic for a swirling metal one. The rainbow brightness of Wooddauber (2012) is one of many rainbow-colored chunks of wood from Renner's "Vestigial Structures" show exhibited last year at Avis Frank Gallery. The two pieces are combined to create "Funnel Tunnel," a metal-on-wood masterpiece so big that Art League publicly called on volunteers to help paint the wooden strips in the weeks before its opening. Before then, Renner could be seen blowtorching metal pieces together to create a wiry foundation for the wooden strips to attach to. It would, however, be inaccurate to describe "Funnel Tunnel" as skeletal. While other Renner pieces may come off as hollow, the wood and metal in "Funnel Tunnel" work together to create an artwork representative of the inclusive nature of the area around it. Those wooden strips? Painted in the hues of the rainbow, they very accurately represent the diverse people, businesses and culture of Montrose. The metal? Permanently melded together to hold the rainbow strips of wood, it represents the collectivity of this community. These materials create a 180-foot civic art sculpture seen whirling down the center of Montrose Boulevard. "Funnel Tunnel" will be on display in front of Art League Houston for the next nine months. 1953 Montrose, 713-523-9530. — AO