Takes on the landscape of 'burbs, epic Babylon

In the Louvre's "Babylon" exhibit is Pieter Bruegel the Elder's 1563 "The 'Little' Tower of Babel." (Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, ROTTERDAM)

'Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes'

Walker Art Center

MINNEAPOLIS Through Aug. 17

The grass may or may not be greener in the other fellow's yard, but there certainly is a lot of it out there - at least in the suburbs. The classic American suburb has existed for well over a century. This exhibition looks at how it has - and has not - changed, as seen through the work of more than 30 artists and architects. Those works include paintings, photographs, prints, models, sculptures, and videos. Subtopics within the show include the tract house; the commercial strip, shopping malls, and big-box marketing; and, of course, roadways and car culture.

1750 Hennepin Ave., 612-375-7600, walkerart.org.

'Turner to Monet: The Triumph of Landscape'

National Gallery of Australia

CANBERRA Through June 9

Although landscape as a genre predates the 19th century by several hundred years, it was during those decades that it achieved a richness that has yet to be surpassed. Drawing on both naturalism and expressionism, landscape painting became a vehicle for both emotional evocation as well as specific documentation. More than 100 works are included in this exhibition. Among the starry roster of painters are J.M.W. Turner, Caspar David Friedrich, Camille Corot, John Constable, Gustave Courbet, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Cézanne.

Parkes Place, 011-61-2-6240-6501, nga.gov.au.

'Goya in Times of War'

Prado Museum

MADRID Through July 13

In observance of the 200th anniversary of the Spanish War of Independence against Napoleon, the Prado has brought together some 200 works by the Spanish master Francisco Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828). They include paintings, drawings, and prints, all relating to events in Spanish history during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Paseo del Prado, 011-34-91-330-2800, museodel prado.es/en/ingles/.

'Whitney Biennial 2008'

Whitney Museum of American Art

NEW YORK Through June 1

Every two years it's the art event art lovers love to hate - and feel they have to go to (that's one reason they hate it). There's no survey that can begin to take in the vast and ever-evolving panorama of contemporary American art, so all the more credit to the Whitney Museum for trying. This year's version includes the work of more than 80 artists (the smallest number in some time). A few are well known: the Conceptualist artist John Baldessari, the film director Spike Lee (whose HBO documentary on Hurricane Katrina, "When the Levees Broke," is on continuous view). The Whitney commissioned much of the work in the show. Genres run the gamut from painting and sculpture to assemblage and collage to video and performance art.

945 Madison Ave., 800-944-8639, whitney.org.

'Babylon'

Louvre Museum

PARIS Through June 2

It is one of the great mythic places - except, of course, it existed. Babylon, which was about 50 miles south of what is now Baghdad, dominated the Near East 2,500 years ago. This exhibition, which will travel to Berlin's Pergamon Museum and London's British Museum, is the first comprehensive look at Babylon to be undertaken. It is organized around three themes: "The Historical City," "Babylon's Fame and Reputation," and "The Rediscovery of Babylon and Its Civilization." Among the 400 objects in the show are a stele bearing the most complete surviving set of Hammurabi's Code; a marble bust of Alexander the Great; reliefs rendering the lion of Ishtar and bull of Adar; and scenery from D.W. Griffith's 1916 silent epic, "Intolerance," which famously re-created Babylon at the corner of Sunset and Hollywood boulevards.

34-36 Quai du Louvre, 011-33-1-4020-5050. louvre.fr.

Events sometimes are canceled, rescheduled, or sold out; call or check online to confirm them. Mark Feeney can be reached at mfeeney@globe.com.