Ushering in annual in-person events, May will open its doors to the ever popular Jane’s Walk, TEFAF will return to the Park Avenue Armory, NYCxDesign celebrates its 10th anniversary, Madison Avenue prepares for its Spring Gallery Walk, the Roof Garden Commission, Lauren Halsey, will unveil at The Met, FRIEZE New York returns to The Shed, along with #FRIEZEWEEK including Volta and The Photography Show. The Chelsea Market’s ARTECHOUSE explores the human brain, the Costume Institute at The Met unveils Part Two, and Salmagundi Club opens its doors to Light and Wonder: Photography Today + so much more. Here are a few suggestions for the month of May, 2022.
Van Cleef & Arpels Unveils Blooms Along Fifth Avenue ~ May 1
Spring is in the air on Fifth Avenue. Van Cleef & Arpels and French artist Alexandre Benjamin Navet partnered to create fifteen colorful sculptures inspired by the artists’ sketches. New Yorkers will find the installations along Fifth Avenue from 47th to 59th Streets, and will be on view from May 1st to May 31st.
The Broadway Bach Ensemble ~ May 1
One of our favorite events, Broadway Bach, is back and will be performing on Sunday, May 1st at 2:00pm at The Broadway Presbyterian Church on West 114th Street and Broadway in Morningside Heights.
The NY Philharmonic bassist, Timothy Cobb returns to join the orchestra in a performance of Vanhal’s Concerto in E Major. Also on the program, the Sigurd Jorsalfal Suite by Grieg, and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
Hippo Ballerina + Friends Arrive on Pershing Square Plaza ~ May 2
Cavalier Gallery is pleased to reveal the return of Hippo Ballerina. The iconic bronze sculpture, installed in New York City’s Pershing Square Plaza West located on the west side of Park Avenue between East 41st and East 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. Created by Danish artist Bjørn Okholm Skaarup, the monumental sculpture will be accompanied by Hippo Ballerina, pirouette and Rhino Harlequin, pirouette permitted as part of the New York City Department of Transportation’s Art Program.
Light and Wonder: Photography Today at Salmagundi Club ~ May 2
The Salmagundi Club presents Photography Today, on view for two weeks only from May 2 through May 14, 2022, in the Rockwell Gallery. This exhibition of fine art photography showcases the work of 23 photographer members.
New Works by Richard Serra at David Zwirner Chelsea ~ May 4
David Zwirner is pleased to present concurrent exhibitions of new work by American artist Richard Serra at the gallery’s 537 West 20th Street location in New York, on May 4, 2022. On view will be a new sculpture in forged steel, and a new series of drawings by the artist will be presented in the second-floor galleries.
Cindy Sherman. 1977 ~ 1982 at Hauser & Wirth New York, 69th Street ~ May 4
With her early work, Cindy Sherman revolutionized the role of the camera in artistic practice and opened the door for generations of artists and critics to rethink photography as a medium. On 4 May 2022, Hauser & Wirth New York will present over one hundred works from Sherman’s most groundbreaking and influential early series – including the complete set of 70 Untitled Film Stills, Rear Screen Projections and Centerfolds – in her first major solo exhibition with the gallery.
Artist Ademola Olugebefola in Conversation with Art Historian, Howard Singerman at Hunter East Harlem Gallery ~ May 4
Join artist Ademola Olugebefola and art historian Howard Singerman on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 in conversation around the current exhibition, Ademola Olugebefola: Afrofuturist. from 6:30 to 8:00pm at Hunter East Harlem Gallery, 2180 Third Avenue, NYC.
Enrique Cabrera unveils El Toro de Oro in Meatpacking District ~ May 5
Installed on May 5th (Cinco de Mayo), El Toro de Oro adds to May’s plethora of art exhibition during Art Week, with the opening of the Whitney Biennial, TEFAF and NYCxDesign, followed by VOLTA, FRIEZE, and The Photography Show.
First Thursday in DUMBO ~ May 5
DUMBO’s next First Thursday event takes place on May 5! All are welcome to visit the neighborhood and view new artwork at their own pace. Most galleries will stay open until 8 PM, when attendees are invited to gather at Superfine for drinks and conversation.
Denis Meyers: New York 2022 at Galerie l’Atelier ~ May 5
Renowned Belgian Artist Denis Meyers will be presenting his first American exhibition “DENIS MEYERS – NYC 2022” at Galerie l’Atelier. Born in 1979, Denis Meyers is a Belgian urban artist. He studied at the National Superior School of Arts and Visuals of la Cambre, in Brussels, city where he currently lives and works.
Francis Hines: Unwrapping the Mystery of New York’s Wrapper at Hollis Taggart Southport, Connecticut ~ May 5
We were intrigued by a story that first caught our eye on Twitter. The few lines we read were about a dumpster-diving car mechanic who retrieved artwork that turns out to be the work of ‘wrapper-artist’ Francis Hines. While most of this exhibition is on view in Southport, Connecticut – we think it’s worth the trip.
‘Scooter LaForge: Sculpture’ at Theodore ~ May 6
Theodore is pleased to present (and we are excited to see) an exhibition of sculpture by Scooter LaForge opening on May 6th with Opening Reception from 5:00 to 8:00pm.
Tavares Strachan: The Awakening at Marian Goodman ~ May 6
Marian Goodman Gallery will open its doors to The Awakening, Tavares Strachan’s first major exhibition in the New York space, which will open on Friday, 6 May through Saturday, 11 June 2022. The Awakening marks part one of a trilogy of exhibitions, which will continue with In Total Darkness at Galerie Marian Goodman, Paris, and In Broad Daylight at Galerie Perrotin, Paris, which will be on view concurrently this Fall, in October 2022
Free First Friday at Poster House Museum ~ May 6
Join Poster House on the First Friday of every month for free admission and extended hours! Explore the museum’s latest exhibitions and get in on the fun by attending a tour, workshop, or activity throughout the day. This month, the museum is thrilled to partner with ‘Welcome to Chinatown for a series of programming that celebrates the culture, community, and resilience of Chinatown. Reserve your Free Ticket.
The Annual Jane’s Walk 2022 ~ May 6-8
The annual event is a global festival of free, volunteer-led, neighborhood walks. This year, the festival will feature in-person guided group walks, self-guided in-person walks, virtual talks, social media activations and more. We spotted some of our favorite places and installations including a tour of The Audubon Mural Project in Hamilton Heights, Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem,
Above image, Astor Row in Harlem. Part of the Tour by Kathleen Haskins and Connie Lee from Landmark East Harlem, “A Great Day in Harlem: Crossing the 5th Avenue Divide” on Sunday, May 8th.
TEFAF New York Returns to The Park Avenue Armory ~ May 6-10
TEFAF New York 2022 returns to The Park Avenue Armory with artworks ranging in styles, eras, cultures, and mediums from 91 dealers ~ 78 returning dealers, and 13 dealers who are exhibiting for the first time. The dealers represent 14 countries and will be presented in the soaring 55,000 square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall, along with the first and second floors.
The Met Unveils ‘The Costume Institute, Part Two’ ~ May 7
The Costume Institute’s 2022 spring exhibition, In America: An Anthology of Fashion—the second of a two-part presentation—will explore the foundations of American fashion through a series of sartorial displays featuring individual designers and dressmakers who worked in the United States from the 19th to the mid-late 20th century.
In celebration of In America: An Anthology of Fashion, The Costume Institute Benefit (also known as The Met Gala™) will return to the first Monday in May. The benefit provides The Costume Institute with its primary source of annual funding for exhibitions, publications, acquisitions, operations, and capital improvements. The exhibition will open to the public on May 7, 2022.
Wonder Women, Curated by Kathy Huang at Jeffrey Deitch Wooster Street ~ May 7
Inspired by Lim’s poem, Wonder Women, curated by Kathy Huang, presents thirty Asian American and diasporic women and non-binary artists responding to themes of wonder, self, and identity through figuration. While some artists explore wonder as it relates to mythology and legend, others depict the heroines in their lives, offering works that highlight family, community, and history. Several of the works in Wonder Women address colonial and patriarchal structures in the West.
Also on view, Sasha Gordon: Hands of Others at Jeffrey Deitch Grand Street.
First Artist-in-Residence at Green-Wood Cemetery Unveils ‘Gardens as Cosmic Terrains ~ May 7
The Green-Wood Cemetery today announced a new installation by the Cemetery’s first artist in residence, Heidi Lau. Gardens as Cosmic Terrains, inspired by Lau’s explorations of the Cemetery, was created specially for the Catacombs, which are usually closed to the public. The installation opens on Saturday, May 7th.
Happy Mother’s Day ~ May 8
Here are a few suggestions
Some of your favorite neighborhoods, streetscapes, shops & restaurants in watercolor on Fine Art America. Watercolor maps as tea towels, aprons and totes on Etsy, and original watercolor maps of Harlem and East Harlem currently on view at Living With Art Salon through May, 2022. Prints on sale at Nilu Gift Shop, Harlem.
Bong Jung Kim: Convalescence at Kate Oh Gallery ~ May 9
Kate Oh Gallery opens its doors to a Bong Jung Kim’s world of oriental philosophy merged with western aesthetics. Kim’s art explores a philosophical relationship and quest to the subject matter of love, desire, and longing, bridging the gesture and expression of his body and soul.
NYCxDesign Celebrates its 10th Year ~ May 10-20
New York City’s official celebration of design is set to begin May 10-20, 2022 with NYCxDESIGN’s 10th Anniversary Festival. The annual event attracts thousands of visitors from across the globe that make the trip to experience the very best in design at all scales and disciplines. As an international design capital, all five boroughs are stepping up to the plate with activations, tours, exhibits, talks, workshops and films taking place at museums, schools, neighborhoods, galleries, restaurants and hotels. Hundreds of events will highlight the creatives and visionaries who have been at the core of New York’s expansive design community over the past decade. Anchored by two internationally renowned trade shows, the International Contemporary Furnishings Fair (ICFF) and WantedDesign Manhattan, the programs also present international and national design talent that travel to New York to be part of this important cultural moment.
Hamptons: Houses & Gardens of the Gilded Age: 1880-1930, a Virtual discussion at National Arts Club ~ May 12
Architect, author, and historian Gary Lawrance visits the Hamptons of the Gilded Age in a rare view into the great summer resort homes that made the Hamptons, often referred to as the “American Riviera,” one of the premier resorts of glamour, luxury, and architectural achievement. This is a free event with Registration.
Steve Marcus: Top Dog of Kosher Pop Art at Museum at Eldridge Street ~ May 12
In a new exhibition at the Museum at Eldridge Street, New York City artist Steve Marcus takes viewers on a journey into the cartoon world of kosher folk art through a series of new artworks inspired by one of the many great Jewish contributions to American culture: the hot dog. Linking his quirky sense of humor with a passion for his own roots and culture, Marcus’s hand-drawn works on paper answer to a higher authority. Let’s be frank: Marcus has once again created art that viewers of all ages can relish. Steve Marcus: Top Dog of Kosher Pop Art opens at the Museum at Eldridge Street on Thursday, May 12 and runs through November 6, 2022.
Grand Opening of the New Flatbush Central Marketplace ~ May 13
The Grand Opening will take place on Friday, May 13th, with remarks from Mayor Adams, elected officials and others. The opening celebration invites the community to enjoy steel drum/Haitian folk music performances, stilt walkers, chef demos and food tastings, dance and printmaking classes, tours of the newly revitalized marketplace, and more during a weekend-long block party-style event, kicked off with remarks from elected officials and key stakeholders of the project.
Forward Festival of the Arts at Queens Theatre ~ May 13-22
This May, Queens Theatre (QT) will present several days of dynamic performances and events in its first-ever Forward Festival of the Arts, a national festival highlighting the artistry of Deaf/Disabled performers.
Juilliard Music Advanced Program Chorus (MAP) Performs a Free Concert at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine ~ May 14
This free concert by Juilliard’s Music Advanced Program Corus will be conducted by Francisco J. Núñez. The Cathedral is located at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue at 113th Street in Morningside Heights, NYC. MAP: A New World will take place on Saturday, May 14th at 6:30pm.
Annual Madison Avenue Spring Gallery Walk ~ May 14
A prestigious roster of over 60 internationally acclaimed galleries will open their doors for tours and discussions of their current exhibitions during the Madison Avenue Spring Gallery Walk 2022 on May 14. The event, held in association with ARTnews, is timed to celebrate Madison Avenue Art & Design Weekend and Frieze Week. It encompasses many of the foremost galleries located on Madison Avenue between 57th and 86th streets and the adjoining side streets.
ARTECHOUSE Explores The Human Brain in ‘Life of a Neuron’ at Chelsea Market ~ May 14
On May 14, ARTECHOUSE will bring its boundary-pushing, immersive exhibition Life of a Neuron to its New York City location in Chelsea Market. Through the latest creative technologies, the exhibition will innovatively tell the universal story of the human experience and allow audiences to learn about neuroscience in a whole new way. As visitors walk through the cerebral cortex, they will encounter artistic renditions of a brain at the cellular level — including a larger-than-life neuron — while being enveloped by a captivating sound design. The main installation is supported by technology-driven interactive artworks that explore how vision, stress and addiction affect the brain.
Nevelson at Noon ~ May 17
Nevelson at Noon meditative recitals will be returning this month, broadcast on Facebook and YouTube beginning May 17, 2022 at Noon.
Public Art Fund Unveils ‘Black Atlantic’ Along Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Waterfront ~ May 17
Today, Public Art Fund unveiled a group exhibition at Brooklyn Bridge Park, co-curated by artist Hugh Hayden and Public Art Fund Adjunct Curator Daniel S. Palmer. This is the first time in his career that Hayden will take on the dual role of artist and co-curator. Titled Black Atlantic, the exhibition brings together new site-responsive artworks by Leilah Babirye, Hugh Hayden, Dozie Kanu, Tau Lewis, and Kiyan Williams. Their commissions, wide-ranging both materially and conceptually, create an exchange of ideas among artists of a similar generation that proposes an open, multifaceted, and heterogeneous idea of identity in the United States today. The exhibition will be on view from May 17 through November 27, 2022 throughout Brooklyn Bridge Park.
VOLTA New York 2022 during Frieze Week ~ May 18-22
VOLTA will be returning to New York as part of Frieze Week 2022 from May 18 through May 22nd. The Fair will be located in the former Dia Building and Hauser & Wirth gallery space at 548 West 22nd Street, just one-block from the High Line and a ten-minute walking distance from FRIEZE New York’s location at The Shed.
The Met Roof Garden Opens to Music and a Roof Garden Bar ~ May 19
The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today the reopening of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden and the Roof Garden Bar on Thursday, May 19. Visitors are invited to experience stunning views of Central Park and the New York City skyline while enjoying refreshments, including cocktails and wine, and light fare created by Bon Appétit. The Roof Garden Bar will be open on Sunday–Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
FRIEZE New York Return to The Shed ~ May 19-22
The Tenth Edition of FRIEZE New York 2022 returns to The Shed exhibiting more than 65 galleries from 17 countries from May 19-22, with an Invitation-Only Preview day to be held on Wednesday, May 18th.
1-95 Contemporary African Art Fair 2022 ~ May 19
1-95 Contemporary African Art Fair 2022 returned to New York from Friday, May 20th through Sunday, May 22nd, with a VIP Opening Reception on Thursday, May 19th. The annual Event will be held at the historic Harlem Parish, 258 West 118th Street, NYC.
33rd Annual Contemporary Art Student Exhibition Returns to BRIC ~ May 19
BRIC, a leading arts and media institution, is pleased to announce its 33rd annual student exhibition, Re: generation, celebrating the creativity of K-12 graders who represent a network of over 2,000 students across 43 schools and three community centers around Brooklyn. With the return of students to full-time, in-person learning for New York City Public Schools in September 2021, the need for community re-building was necessary more than ever. With the support of BRIC’s Youth Education residency programs and its 30 teaching artists and professional educators, classrooms in participating schools became spaces in which students could reconnect and express themselves through visual arts and media. On view from May 19 to June 12, 2022, with an opening reception May 21, the exhibition explores topics of identity, activism, current events, mental health, community, and the characteristics that shape one’s personal and communal identities.
The Photography Show (AIPAD) ~ May 20-22
The power of photography will be on full view when The Photography Show presented by AIPAD opens on Friday, May 20, and runs through Sunday, May 22, 2022, with a VIP Opening on Thursday, May 19. The Show will be held at a new midtown location: Center415 on Fifth Avenue between 37th and 38th streets. The Photography Show will bring together 49 galleries from 9 countries and 23 cities from across the U.S. and around the world. The exhibitors are all members of the prestigious Association of International Photography Art Dealers known as AIPAD, recognized as the world’s leading galleries of fine art photography.
TriBeCa Gallery Walk ~ May 21
The TriBeCa Gallery Walk is back, with 47 participating galleries to be held on Saturday, May 21st from Noon to 6:00pm. Free and open to the public, with no reservations required.
Villa Albertine’s ‘Night of Ideas’ in NYC ~ May 21
Villa Albertine today announced the lineup for the US edition of Night of Ideas, a free annual nocturnal marathon of philosophical debates, performances, readings and more, hosted in 19 cities across the country this May. The US joins the international community in celebrating this global event, which is being hosted in over 100 countries and is coordinated by the Institut français.
Steelpan Player Victor Provost at Flushing Town Hall ~ May 21
On Saturday, May 21st, steel pannist Victor Provost, who is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading voices on the unique, and often misunderstood, steelpan, will deliver his signature Trinidadian steelpan performance at Flushing Town Hall.
ImageNation’s Cocktails and Sol Cinema: It’s Different In Chicago at Apollo Theater ~ May 26
Still on View:
Peter Nadin: The Distance From A Lemon To Murder at Off Paradise will be on view to May 8, 2022
On the heels of the exhibition Claude Rutault, A Proposal to Peter Nadin, 1979, realized 2022 (on view through February 19), Off Paradise will open its doors to Peter Nadin, The Distance From A Lemon To Murder on March 3, 2022. This is a solo exhibition of recent paintings by the artist, making his return to painting “from life” for the first time since 1992.
Forward Ground at Fridman Gallery on view to May 8, 2022
Forward Ground is a multidisciplinary exhibition highlighting the work of fourteen contemporary artists. They take the inability to relive the past as a point of departure, turning friction into textures, creating new forms through inventive use of familiar materials, moving their (back)ground forward.
The Mad Silkman: Zika & Lida Ascher Textiles and Fashion at Czech Center New York on View to May 20, 2022
Photo © The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, Ondřej Kocourek, Ascher Family Archive
Czech Center New York in collaboration with UPM, The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague presents “Mad Silkman: Zika & Lida Ascher Textiles and Fashion,” the first U.S. exhibition focused on the life and work of Zika and Lida Ascher, a husband-and-wife duo who left Czechoslovakia before the outbreak of WW2 and built a textile empire in the United Kingdom, which supplied fabrics to the international fashion industry. The exhibition will be on view March 25-May 20, 2022.
Willie Birch ~ Chronicling Our Lives: 1987-2021 at Fort Gansevoort on View to May 21, 2022
Fort Gansevoort Gallery opened its doors to Chronicling Our Lives: 1987-2021, a solo exhibition of works by Louisiana-based artist Willie Birch. Opening Thursday, March 3, 2022, the presentation features large paintings on paper and painted papier-mâché sculptures created between 1987 and 1996, complemented by a new monumental, mural-like work executed in black and white. Together, the thirty works on view reflect Birch’s perspective on the beauty and complexities of the human experience.
Ana Benaroya: Swept Away at Venus Over Manhattan on view to May 21, 2022
Courtesy Venus Over Manhattan
On the occasion of its tenth anniversary, Venus Over Manhattan is pleased to announce that the gallery will open a second New York City location at 55 Great Jones Street between Lafayette Street and the Bowery, beside the historic carriage house that was formerly owned by Andy Warhol and housed the studio of Jean-Michael Basquiat. Venus’ new 4,000 square foot downtown space will complement the gallery’s Upper East Side townhouse location at 120 East 65th Street, and will be inaugurated on April 8th, 2022 with an exhibition of new work by Ana Benaroya.
Miscreant Matter at JVS Project Space on view to May 22, 2022
With the exhibition Miscreant Matter, artists Katherine Earle and Carol Paik pose the question, “Can we capture all the discarded, rejected, degenerate, degraded and miscreant matter and repurpose it through these small acts of creation?” It appears so ~ today, Earth Day, is the perfect day for this post.
The Drawing Center: Fernanda Laguna: The Path of the Heart and Drawing in the Continuous Present on View to May 22, 2022
The Drawing Center will open its doors to two exhibitions running from March 10th to May 22, 2022. The exhibitions are ‘Fernanda Laguna: The Path of the Heart‘ and ‘Drawing in the Continuous Present.’
Alviani X Ancient at C1760 on view to May 22, 2022
C1760 is pleased to present “Alviani X Ancient,” a new exhibition featuring a dazzling display of abstract art and jewelry by Getulio Alviani (1939-2018), a key figure in Zero, and Optical, in dialogue with antiquities from three millennia. The most exclusive of Alvin’s works will be on view, including never before shown artworks from his private estate and some only displayed in the most prestigious institutions. “Alviani X Ancient” will be on view at 38 East 70th Street from Thursday, April 7 to Sunday, May 22, 2022.
Foster Sakyiamah: The Lines That Guide Me at Allouche Gallery’s 2nd Ave Pop-Up on view to May 22, 2022
Created in 2022, The Lines That Guide Me is a series of paintings that explore Sakyiamah’s psychological connection with his domestic sphere and his thriving community. An emblematic symbol of Foster Sakyiamah’s practice is the remarkable clarity of his craft and process. The technical challenge in creating his gestural compositions becomes an equal interest for him.
That’s Life: Vintage Photographs from America’s Weekly Picture Magazine at Keith de Lellis Gallery on View to May 26, 2022
Keith de Lellis Gallery presents a selection of over fifty photographs assigned by the editors for the pages of Life Magazine, one of the most renowned picture magazines in the world. Published weekly from 1936 to 1972, the magazine chronicled in image and word every historical event both big and small that impacted the lives of Americans north, south, east and west. Life revolutionized how readers experienced these historical events by pioneering the photo-essay, where narratives are told through the power of pictures while words take on a less significant role. This exhibition captures the wide-ranging themes published in Life Magazine including politics, war and race to popular culture, major sporting events and everyday moments that were at the heart of American culture in the twentieth century.
ARTECHOUSE #Trust at Chelsea Market on view to May 30, 2022
Open to the public from January 31 to May 30, 2022, TRUST is a unique data-driven immersive exhibition that explores and interprets the multiple meanings and implications of the concept of trust, generating distinctive real-time data experiences throughout the run of the exhibition. On a broad level, through data examination it observes how historical events have influenced trust and considers how this can evolve in the future. More specifically, it further uses the data points to examine how the presence or absence of trust can shift the perception of our individual realities.
A Conversation Between Women at Living with Art Salon on view through May, 2022
A Conversation Between Women is an unexpected dialogue that takes place across mediums of twenty contemporary female artists. The artists are multigenerational and culturally diverse ~ what they have in common besides their gender is that they are part of a community of artists that works collaboratively with the curator, and nonprofit organization, Art Lives Here.
Stage Fright at LGDR on view to June 4, 2022
Guided by a desire to illuminate and to inspire reflection on the sculptural form, Dominique Lévy of LGDR invited Rachel Harrison to curate a presentation of 20th-century sculpture. The exhibition that emerged presents a group of works that consider modernism’s devotion to that most fundamental of subjects: the human figure. Stage Fright features works by Louise Bourgeois, Constantin Brancusi, Marcel Duchamp, Marisol Escobar, Alberto Giacometti, Yves Klein, and Alina Szapocznikow that represent the body in extremis—shown ruptured in pieces or pared down to the essentials—in surrogates that stand for the whole.
Faith Ringgold: American People at New Museum on view to June 5, 2022
From February 17 to June 5, 2022, the New Museum will present the first full retrospective in New York of the art of Faith Ringgold (b. 1930, New York, NY). Bringing together over sixty years of work, “Faith Ringgold: American People”provides the most comprehensive assessment to date of Ringgold’s impactful vision. Her role as an artist, author, educator, and organizer has made her a key figure whose work links the multi-disciplinary achievements of the Harlem Renaissance to the political art of young Black artists working today. During the 1960s, Ringgold created some of the most indelible art of the Civil Rights era by melding her own unique style of figurative painting with a bold, transformative approach to the language of protest. In subsequent decades, she challenged accepted hierarchies of art and craft through her experimental quilt paintings and undertook a deeply studied reimagining of art history to produce narratives that bear witness to the historical sacrifices and achievements of Black Americans.
Nadav Kander: The Thread at Howard Greenberg Gallery on view through June 10, 2022
An exhibition of photographs by the renowned London-based artist Nadav Kander will be on view at Howard Greenberg Gallery from April 21 through June 10, 2022. Nadav Kander: The Thread, the Prix Pictet-winning photographer’s first exhibition with Howard Greenberg Gallery, will present evocative landscapes and penetrating portraits from the 1990s-2020s that evoke the interconnectedness of humanity. The exhibition title, inspired by the poem “The Way It Is” by William Stafford, refers to this common thread.
Stan Squirewell: Who That Is at Claire Oliver Gallery on View to June 11, 2022
Claire Oliver Gallery announces inaugural exhibition Who That Is? by artist Stan Squirewell, marking the artists’ debut at the gallery, on view March 25 – May 15, 2022. Through a ritualized process, Squirewell’s work examines who curates and controls the narratives that become accepted as history; from what perspective is history written, whose stories are told, and whose are neglected? Featuring more than 15 new works by the Louisville based artist, Who That Is? showcases works from Squirewell’s series While Shepherds Kept Their Watching, the creation of which is a summation of the multimedia artists’ practices of painting, photography, sculpture, and performance.
Clyde Hopkins ~ Chaunticlere: Paintings from the 1980s at Upsilon Gallery on view to June 11, 2022
About this selection of paintings, Metropolitan Museum of Art curator John Guy notes, “[They] represent Hopkins’ intensely personal psychological journeying, that is at once dangerous and inviting. Whilst venturing far from shore, Hopkins always extended a lifeline to his viewer, a glimpse of something that just might be a remembering of something figurative, a powerful idea, or a quirky title that evoked its own sense of place, or, of a moment experienced, made unexpectedly familiar.” Guy goes on, “[They] have another quality not immediately apparent at first glance: they are deeply pleasurable. Colours have a remarkable intensity, a dark ominous blue or impasto black verging on the foreboding, creating a tension that is then relieved on occasion by grid structures or by arabesques that cartwheel across the composition. Light blues and whites are given the luminous effervescence of reactive minerals, radiating off the dark dense canvas. Others have a lighter mood, curlicues that evoke a memory of Matisse’s balcony, with the atmosphere of a balmy Mediterranean summer night. In Hopkins abstractions, you always stay connected, no matter how tenuously, with the material world.”
The Camera is Cruel: Lisette Model, Diane Arbus, Nan Goldin at Austrian Cultural Forum New York on view to June 15, 2022
The Austrian Cultural Forum New York will open its doors to ‘The Camera is Cruel: Lisette Model, Diane Arbus, Nan Goldin.’ Curated by Dr. Gerald Matt, the exhibition, previously shown at FLATZ Museum in Dornbim (2018) and the WestLicht Museum for Photography in Vienna (2019), brings together a selection of key works in an exclusive joint presentation of the work of three iconic photographers. The exhibition is on view April 8 ~ June 15, 2022, with Opening Reception on Thursday, April 7th.
Nicolas de Crécy : Ruthless Portrait at Philippe Labaune Gallery on view to June 18, 2022
Nicolas de Crécy offers, through his various portraits, a singular vision of human beauty removed from the standards of advertising aesthetics. In his paintings, through what is still today considered to be a model of perfection, the artist is able to echo Greek and Roman statuary by highlighting contrast, the banal, and the non-aesthetic. Indeed, these are the faces of the street that no one would notice, faces without apparent beauty, damaged by life, hollowed out by age, sometimes ridiculous, often strange, yet always amazing once one takes the time to discover them. Nicolas de Crécy’s references are to be found in the German expressionism of the thirties, Otto Dix and Georges Grosz, and their sharp and raw vision of the human condition. Even if less perceptible, other influences are present, such as those of the great portrait painters Marlène Dumas and Alice Neel, through the powerful portrayal of the fragility that emanates from their models.
Capucine Bourcart: Plastic Fantastic! on view in Harlem Art Park to June 26, 2022
Harlem Art Park unveiled its latest temporary public art installation, Plastic Fantastic! With a kaleidoscope of color, artist Capucine Bourcart encourages the viewer to evaluate their own environmental footprint. The large-scale installation measures over 66-feet wide and 7-feet high, demonstrating the abundance of single use plastics and its impact on our public spaces and our environment. Plastic Fantastic! interacts with Jorge Luis Rodriguez’s permanent sculpture, Growth, installed in 1985, along with the unique architectural elements that make this park a hidden gem in East Harlem.
Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure on view to June 30, 2022
The dates for the exhibition Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure have been announced. Featuring over 200 never before and rarely seen paintings, drawing, ephemera and artifacts, this celebration of Basquiat’s life will open on April 9, 2022 at the NYC Landmark Starrett-Lehigh Building. On view to June 30, 2022.
Susan Stair: Ascending the Mountain in Marcus Garvey Park on view through June 30, 2022
Harlem-based non-profit the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance, Public art organizer Connie Lee and Harlem-based artist Susan Stair are pleased to announce the installation of Ascending the Mountain, a public artwork in Marcus Garvey Park. Installed in three distinct sections along the staircase that leads up to the overlook terraces known as the Acropolis and the Harlem Fire Watchtower. The artwork is exhibited as part of NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program and is one of six temporary public art installations organized by the public art committee in Harlem this Summer.
The Abyss of the Ocean: Cuban Women Photographers presented by CCADI on view through June, 2022
The Abyss of the Ocean: Cuban Women Photographers, Migrations, and the Question of Race focuses on identity and resistance through the creative practices of five artists living and working in the United States, Mexico, and Spain. The exhibition reveals the experiences and strategies of survival of María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Coco Fusco, Marta María Pérez Bravo, Gertrudis Rivalta, and Juana Valdés within the matrix of Latinx Art. Through their work, these artists challenge the concept of Latinidad and its relationship to Blackness in the modern/colonial project. Unsettling the totalizing definitions of Cuban, Latin American, and Latinx Art, The Abyss of the Ocean presents key photographic series produced since the 1990s. These photographs lay bare the nuance of the artists’ multiple Diasporic identities while confronting racist and colonialist stereotypes of women’s bodies.
Julio Valdez: I Can’t Breathe at Collyer Brothers Park on view to July 10, 2022
A dialogue began last year, serious and thoughtful discussion ensued, and artists have continued the conversation. Here, alongside a small pocket-park on 128th Street in Harlem, artist Julio Valdez unveiled his installation this week entitled ‘I Can’t Breathe.‘ The installation is just a few blocked away from last year’s colorful ‘Black Lives Matter‘ mural on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. extending from 125-127th Streets.
Faces of the Wild on the Ruth Wittenberg Triangle on view through July 31, 2022
This four-month exhibit (through July 31, 2022) will feature nine, six-foot-tall sculptures, representing some of the most endangered animals in the world. Each sculpture will have a QR code that provides more information on the animals and an option to donate to World Wildlife Fund, Gillie and Marc’s charity partner.
Winslow Homer: Watercolors and Oil Paintings at The Met on view through July 31, 2022
Renowned for his powerful paintings of American life and scenery, Winslow Homer (1836–1910) remains a consequential figure whose art continues to appeal to broad audiences. Opening April 11, 2022, Winslow Homer: Crosscurrents will reconsider the artist’s work through the lens of conflict, a theme that spans his prolific career. A persistent fascination with struggle permeates Homer’s art—from emblematic images of the Civil War and Reconstruction that examine the effects of the conflict on the landscape, soldiers, and formerly enslaved people to dramatic scenes of rescue and hunting, as well as monumental seascapes and dazzling tropical works painted throughout the Atlantic world. The centerpiece of the exhibition will be The Met’s iconic The Gulf Stream, a painting that reveals Homer’s lifelong engagement with the charged subjects of race, geopolitics, and nature. Featuring 88 oils and watercolors, this major loan exhibition represents the largest critical overview of Homer’s art and life in more than a quarter of a century.
Louise Bourgeois: Paintings at The Net on view to August 7, 2022
Louise Bourgeois: Paintings is the first comprehensive exhibition of paintings produced by the iconic, French-American artist Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010) between her arrival in New York in 1938 and her turn to sculpture in 1949. The exhibition opens on April 12th.
Gillian Wearing: Diane Arbus on view at Doris C. Freedman Plaza to August 14, 2022
Artist, Gillian Wearing will unveil a bronze monument to celebrated photographer, Diane Arbus at the Doris C. Freeman Plaza, at the entrance to Central Park this October. This is a fitting location for the Arbus monument, since many of her best-known images were taken in this Park.
Garmenting: Costume as Contemporary Art at Museum of Arts & Design on view to August 14, 2022
The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) will present Garmenting: Costume as Contemporary Art, the first global survey exhibition dedicated to the use of clothing as a medium of visual art. On view March 12 to August 14, 2022, the exhibition examines work by thirty-five international contemporary artists, from established names to emerging voices, several of whom will be exhibiting for the first time in the United States. By either making or altering clothing for expressive purposes, these artists create garments, sculpture, installation, and performance art that transforms dress into a critical tool for exploring issues of subjectivity, identity, and difference.
Propagazioni: Giuseppe Penone at Sèvres at Frick Madison on View through August 28, 2022
Beginning March 17, 2022, The Frick Collection will present a one-room installation by Italian artist Giuseppe Penone (b. 1947) at the museum’s temporary home, Frick Madison. Displayed in the broader context of the museum’s decorative arts and Old Master paintings and sculpture, this unprecedented exhibition by the acclaimed Arte Povera artist is the first to feature his work in the medium of porcelain. Consisting of eleven disks created during a 2013 collaboration with the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory in France, works never before shown publicly, this project invites a dialogue with the Frick’s rich holdings in the medium. Penone’s series of disks will be shown on the third floor in concert with a nearby gallery featuring eighteenth-century porcelains by several renowned manufactories. Propagazioni: Giuseppe Penone at Sèvres is organized by Giulio Dalvit, the Frick’s Assistant Curator of Sculpture, and will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue authored by Dalvit, with an introduction by Xavier F. Salomon, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator.
Santi Flores: HERE on view in Garment District through August 29, 2022
Fourteen oversized sculptures with raised hands will provide a warm welcome to New Yorkers and visitors as part of the Garment District Alliance’s latest public art exhibit Here. Created by artist Santi Flores, Heresymbolizes unity, diversity and individuality, and will be dedicated to all New Yorkers and visitors passing through the neighborhood.
Alice Mizrachi: Renaissance Women on view in Marcus Garvey Park through August, 2022
Marcus Garvey Park has a plethora of art over this past few months, with the installation of Susan Stair: Ascending the Mountainand Thomas J. Price: Witness, added to the park’s weekly music and dance. Now, we look forward to the unveiling of Alice Mizrachi: Renaissance Women, an abstract, figurative sculpture that honors women of the Harlem Renaissance ~ paving the way for many of the artists today, including Mizrachi.
Sam Durant, Untitled (drone) on the High Line Plinth through August, 2022
Sam Durant’s monumental fiberglass sculpture in the shape of an abstracted drone atop a 25-foot-tall steel pole continues High Line Art’s mission of presenting new, powerful, thought-provoking artworks that generate and amplify some of today’s most important conversations.
Félix Marzell: The Big Apple on view in Bella Abzug Park to September, 2022
This latest addition to Bella Abzug Park’s landscape comes from HYHK’s ambitious public art program that seeks to continually beautify and uplift the neighborhood. In partnership with NYC Parks, funding from the Québec Government Office in New York, and sponsorship from local stakeholder Amazon NYC, HYHK was able to bring this project to life.
RESET: Towards a New Commons at Center for Architecture on view through September 3, 2022
Reset: Towards a New Commons aims to foster more diverse and inclusive solutions to building community. Rather than designing specific spaces for specific needs, the exhibition considers how spaces may be designed for all, addressing the importance of barrier-free environments and practices rooted in “Universal Design.” The majority of the exhibition will be dedicated to four projects developed by interdisciplinary design teams—one focusing on New York City, one on Cincinatti, Ohio, and two in the San Francisco Bay Area—which envision environments that encourage new modes of living collaboratively, with special attention paid to ameliorating the divisions of age, race, and ability.
Jamel Shabazz: Eyes on the Street at The Bronx Museum of the Arts on view to September 4, 2022
Starting at the young age of fifteen, Brooklyn born photographer Jamel Shabazz identified early on the core subject of his lifelong investigation: the men and women, young and old, who invest the streets of New York with a high degree of theater and style, mixing traditions and cultures. Despite following a celebrated tradition of street photography that includes Gordon Parks, Garry Winogrand, and Lee Friedlander, it is to his credit that Shabazz has been one of the first photographers to realize the joyous, infectious potential of youth culture in neighborhoods such as Red Hook, Brownsville, Flatbush, Fort Greene, Harlem, Manhattan’s Lower East Side and the Grand Concourse section of the Bronx.
Part 1 of The Costume Institute at The Met on view through September 5, 2022
The Costume Institute’s next major exhibition will be a two-part show on view from September 18, 2021 through September 5, 2022. Part One, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion—opening in the Anna Wintour Costume Center on September 18, 2021 ~ will feature approximately 80 individual ensembles encased and arranged as “squares” in horizontal and vertical rows representing the qualities that collectively define American fashion. Part Two, In America: An Anthology of Fashion—opening in the American Wing period rooms on May 5, 2022—will explore the development of American fashion by presenting narratives that relate to the complex and layered histories of those spaces. Parts One and Two will close on September 5, 2022.
Raphael Montañez Ortiz: A Contextual Retrospective at El Museo del Barrio on View to September 11, 2022
El Museo del Barrio is pleased to present Raphael Montañez Ortiz: A Contextual Retrospective, from April 14 to September 11, 2022, the first large-scale exhibition dedicated to the artist, activist, educator, and founder of El Museo del Barrio, since 1988. Curated by El Museo’s chief curator, Rodrigo Moura, and guest curator Julieta González, the exhibition spans several decades of his production, from the 1950s to the early-2020s, in different media such as film, painting, photography, video installations, documents, and assemblages. This is the largest exhibition-to-date dedicated to the artist.
Thomas J. Price: Witness in Marcus Garvey Park to October 1, 2022
The Studio Museum in Harlem announced its fall programming, kicking-off the season with Thomas J. Price: Witness, the artist’s first solo museum presentation in the United States. As part of the Studio Museum’s ongoing inHarlem initiative, the nine-foot-tall bronze sculpture entitled The Distance Within (2021) will depict a young Black man looking down at his cell phone. The large-scale artwork celebrates a familiar form rarely monumentalized within a public setting and continues the artist’s exploration of blackness and Black masculinity as it relates to presence, movement, and freedom.
The Roof Garden Commission: Lauren Halsey at The Met on View through October 23, 2022
The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today that American artist Lauren Halsey has been commissioned to create a site-specific installation for The Met’s Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden. Halsey will create a full-scale architectural structure imbued with the collective energy and imagination of the South Central Los Angeles Community where she was born and continues to work. Titled the eastside of south central los angeles hieroglyph prototype architecture (I), the installation is designed to be inhabited by The Met’s visitors, who will be able to explore its connections to sources as varied as ancient Egyptian symbolism, 1960s utopian architecture, and contemporary visual expressions like tagging that reflect the ways in which people aspire to make public places their own. The Roof Garden Commission: Lauren Halsey will be on view from May 17 through October 23, 2022.
Whitney biennial 2022 on view through October, 2022
The Whitney Museum of American Art announced today that sixty-three artists and collectives will be participating in Whitney Biennial 2022: Quiet as It’s Kept, co-organized by two Whitney curators, David Breslin and Adrienne Edwards. This will be the eightieth iteration in the long-running series of annual and biennial exhibitions launched by the Museum’s founder, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, in 1932. The 2022 Biennial takes over most of the Whitney from April 6 through September 5, with portions of the exhibition and some programs continuing through October 23, 2022.
Hebru Brantley: The Great Debate at The Battery through November 13, 2022
Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC Parks Commissioner Gabrielle Fialkoff joined The Battery Conservancy President and Founder Warrie Price, Council Member Margaret Chin, Community Board 1 Chair Tammy Meltzer, artist Hebru Brantley, and community members on Sunday to unveil Brantley’s sculpture, The Great Debate, at The Battery. The artwork, which stands 16-feet tall, is exhibited in partnership with The Battery and NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program, and will be on display through November 13, 2022.
Healing Practices: Stories from Himalayan Americans will be on view at The Rubin Museum of Art to January 16, 2023
On March 18, 2022, the Rubin Museum of Art will present “Healing Practices: Stories from Himalayan Americans,” a new exhibition highlighting the diverse ways that Tibetan Buddhist artworks and practices have served as roadmaps to well-being. The exhibition juxtaposes objects from the Rubin Museum’s collection with stories from Himalayan Americans, revealing the many ways these living traditions are transformed and adopted for today’s world, especially in times of crisis. “Healing Practices: Stories from Himalayan Americans” is the Rubin Museum’s first collaborative exhibition with a Community Advisory Group and will be on view March 18, 2022 to January 16, 2023.
The Zoo by artist Idriss B On Park Avenue in Murray Hill on view through February 2023
If you are waking up in Murray Hill today, you will be delighted to find whimsical creatures along the Park Avenue medium between 34th and 38th Streets. Patrons of Park Avenue (POPA) invited French artist Idriss B to create a one-of-a-kind urban jungle as an inaugural installation.
The Girl Puzzle, Roosevelt Island on view ~ To Be Announced
The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) has selected Amanda Matthews/Prometheus Art to construct the Nellie Bly Monument on the northern end of Roosevelt Island at Lighthouse Park. The sculptural installation will be known as “The Girl Puzzle” and invites the viewer to experience many facets of Nellie Bly’s talent, conviction and compassion. The ground-breaking journalist and women’s rights advocate exposed the horrors of the Blackwell Island Insane Asylum in 1887 on Roosevelt Island.
The Met’s Great Hall will Display Ancient Maya Stone Monuments from Republic of Guatemala until 2024
The two massive stelae—both significant long-term loans from the Republic of Guatemala—feature life-sized representations of influential Indigenous American rulers: a king, K’inich Yo’nal Ahk II (ca. A.D. 664–729), and queen, Ix Wak Jalam Chan (Lady Six Sky) (ca. A.D. 670s–741), one of the most powerful women known by name from the ancient Americas. The installation heralds the upcoming exhibition Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art, which is scheduled to open in fall 2022 and will highlight Maya visual narratives featuring a cast of gods: sacred beings that are personified elements of the cosmos, nature, and agriculture. The Great Hall display is also the first in a series of special exhibitions and installations that will present art of the ancient Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, and Oceania throughout The Met’s galleries while the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing is closed for a renovation project that will reenvision these collections for a new generation of visitors.
See you in June!