INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART

955 Boylston St., Boston (T: Hynes/ICA)

Wed-Sun: 12-5 p.m. Thurs: 12-9 p.m. Fri: 12-7 p.m.

Admission $6, $4 with student ID. Thurs: 5-9 p.m. FREE.

Lacking a permanent collection, the ICA has an excellent exhibition program. At the ICA, balancing international art-stars and local artists never seems the awkward zero-sum ga.m.e that most Boston museums play. The ICA is the most likely place in Boston to see the artists most fussed over in ArtForum, like Mariko Mori and Rirkrit Tiravanija, while shows like last year's "Transience and Sentimentality: Boston and Beyond" keep attention focused on the local scene.

Through Oct. 31: "Jim Hodges: every way" (go for The End From Where You Are, a most tender deconstruction of silk flowers), "Home: Photographs by Shellburne Thurber" (documenting the decay of abandoned houses). Nov. 17-Jan. 16, 2000: "Sights Unseen: Shimon Attie, Photographs and Public Projects, 1992-1998."

617.266.5152

GROSSMAN GALLERY (SCHOOL OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS)

230 The Fenway, Boston (T: Museum of Fine Arts)

Mon-Fri: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed, Thurs: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat, Sun: 12-5 p.m.

Admission FREE.

This small gallery mostly shows Museum School student and faculty work, with occasional exhibitions by international contemporary artists.