Art lovers will want to keep the second weekend of February open. That's when the winter visual arts season comes to a climax with four highly anticipated openings at the St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri History Museum, Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts and Laumeier Sculpture Park.

St. Louis Art Museum

1 Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park; slam.org

"Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea" • To the indigenous people of southern Mexico and Central America, water was a powerful symbol of life, death and the cosmos. This touring exhibit explores the Maya's complex relationship with water through 90 works of large-scale stone sculpture, painted ceramics, carved jade and shell, and figurines. One-third of the artifacts have never been seen in the United States, including Belize's 10-pound jadeite sculpture "Head of a Deity." (Runs Feb. 13-May 8.)

Laumeier Sculpture Park

12580 Rott Road, laumeier.org

"Jessica Stockholder: Grab grassy this moment your I's" • Director of graduate studies in sculpture at Yale University, Jessica Stockholder uses household knickknacks to create colorful, playful sculptures. St. Louis' TOKY Branding + Design is creating an artist's book that pairs Stockholder's work with the poems of local renowned poet Mary Jo Bang. (Feb. 12—May 29.)

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum

1 Brookings Drive, Washington University; kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu

"Ghost: Elizabeth Peyton" • Admired for her paintings of celebrities and rock stars, art world darling Elizabeth Peyton showcases monotypes, lithographs, etchings and woodcuts of Eminem, Andy Warhol, William Shakespeare and more. (Jan. 28-April 18.)

"Island Press: Three Decades of Printmaking" • Survey of three decades of Washington University's Island Press. (Jan. 28-April 18.)

"Dada and Surrealism: Rethinking Reason" • The Kemper offers a rare look at a dozen Dada and Surrealist works from the collections of the museum and Olin Library's Department of Special Collections. Featured artists include Man Ray, Max Ernst, Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso. (Jan. 28-April 18.)

"Luis Camnitzer: Forewords and Last Words" • Known for his independence, acerbic wit and sharp political observations, renowned conceptual artist Luis Camnitzer presents his prints and artist books. (Jan. 28-April 18.)

Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts

3716 Washington Boulevard, pulitzerarts.org

"Dreamscapes" • A meditation on the bizarre content of dreams and their elusive purpose, "Dreamscapes" features work from René Magritte, Paul Delvaux, Max Ernst and Joan Miró. (Feb. 11-Aug. 13.)

Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis

3750 Washington Boulevard, contemporarystl.org

"Richard Aldrich and the 19th Century French Painting" • In his first solo museum show, Virginia-born artist Richard Aldrich presents abut 20 large-scale abstract paintings, "object-paintings" and text-based canvases. (Jan. 21-May 1.)

"Manon de Boer: Between Perception and Sensation" • Belgium-based artist Manon de Boer creates four audio portraits that explore the play between image and sound. (Jan. 21-May 1.)

Missouri History Museum

Forest Park, mohistory.org

"Splendid Heritage: Perspectives on American Indian Art" • Organized by the Utah Museum of Fine Art, this exhibit features 149 objects from the John and Marva Warnock Collection of Plains, Plateau and Northeast native art. (Feb. 12-April 30.)

Sheldon Galleries

3648 Washington Boulevard, sheldonconcerthall.org

"Max Lazarus: Trier/St. Louis/Denver — A Jewish Artist's Fate" • This exhibit chronicles the life and travels of Max Lazarus who fled Nazi Germany in 1938 and moved to St. Louis where he created paintings of the Old Courthouse, Grand Avenue and the United Hebrew Synagogue. (Feb. 18-May 7.)

"Larry Fink: Attraction and Desire — 50 Years in Photography" • For more than 50 years, the camera of Larry Fink, author and subject of solo shows at the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney, has captured the lives of socialites, farmers and beatniks. (Feb. 18-May 21.)

"Gina Alvarez and Jana Harper: Poems by Bobby Thiel" • St. Louis artists Gina Alvarez and Jana Harper use photography, printmaking and collage to reimagine a child's notebook of poems from the 1940s. (Feb. 18-June 4.)