spring 2025 nyc art fairs guide

Spring 2025 in New York City brings a dense calendar of art fairs, headlined by Frieze New York at The Shed (May 7–11) with over 65 galleries from 25 countries, and Independent at Spring Studios (May 8–11) which this year surpasses Frieze in size with 85 exhibitors. Other notable fairs include the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair celebrating its 10th year with a focus on the Caribbean diaspora, the experimental SPRING/BREAK Art Show, and NADA New York featuring 120 galleries and a spotlight on Texas and Mexico. The guide also mentions newer showcases like Esther II and Conductor, offering a comprehensive overview for collectors and art enthusiasts navigating the city's art week.

Art Dealers Try Their Hand as Artists in This Unusual Exhibition

White Columns, New York’s oldest alternative nonprofit art space, has launched a unique fundraising exhibition titled “Art (by) Dealers.” The show features works created by over 90 art dealers and gallery professionals rather than the artists they represent. Organized by Kathy Huang and Will Leung, the exhibition presents uniform 12-by-9-inch works priced at $500 each, sold anonymously to benefit the nonprofit's programming.

martin wong painting unseen art basel miami beach ppow

A long-unseen 12-foot-wide painting by Martin Wong, titled *Tai Ping Tien Kuo (Tai Ping Kuo)* (1982), will be exhibited at Art Basel Miami Beach next month courtesy of New York gallery P.P.O.W. The work, which features a rare nude portrait of the artist’s mother and stepfather, was last shown publicly in 1987 at the Asian Arts Institute in New York. It was kept in storage for decades because Wong’s mother, Florence Wong Fie, objected to its display out of modesty. The painting adopts a classical three-panel altarpiece format, blending Chinese American history with references to Western art, the Taiping Rebellion, and Wong’s own Lower East Side influences.

armory show 2025 exhibitor list

The Armory Show has announced its 2025 exhibitor list, featuring over 230 galleries set to participate in the fair from September 5–7 at the Javits Center in New York, with a VIP preview on September 4. This edition marks the first under new director Kyla McMillan, who has introduced a revised floor plan, a new section called Function organized by dealer Ebony L. Haynes, and a reconfiguration of the large-scale works Platform section led by Souls Grown Deep. More than 20 exhibitors are returning after a hiatus, including White Cube and Andrew Kreps, while 55 galleries are participating for the first time, such as Skarstedt and Megan Mulrooney.

Independent Art Fair Trades Downtown for the World

The Independent Art Fair has moved to Pier 36 on the Lower East Side waterfront for its 17th edition, running through May 17. The fair features 76 booths with a more spacious, warehouse-like layout, and a noticeably older, glossier crowd compared to previous years. Exhibitors include Los Angeles-based ATLA and Diane Rosenstein galleries, as well as international participants like Bogotá's SGR Gallery, showcasing solo presentations by artists such as Yoshikazu Tanaka, Kuniko Kinoto, and Johan Samboní. The fair has also announced partnerships with Sotheby's for its 20th-century edition and with the nonprofit Henry Street Settlement, signaling a tension between upscale ambitions and local community ties.

Aneta Grzeszykowska Shoots Poetic Portraits in a Mask of Herself at Age 14

Polish artist Aneta Grzeszykowska is presenting two photo series in New York: "Mama" (2018), featuring a life-like doll of herself played with by her young daughter, and "Daughter" (2025), for which she wears a mask of her 14-year-old self and poses with family members. "Mama" is included in the "New Humans" exhibition at the New Museum and previously appeared in the 2022 Venice Biennale's "Milk of Dreams." "Daughter" is on view at Lyles & King gallery on the Lower East Side through May 9, and also in the group show "Adolescence" at the Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw. The series extend Grzeszykowska's long-standing practice of manipulating family photographs, which began with her 2005 series "Album," where she removed herself from old family pictures.

New York Galleries: Openings and Closings (03/09-03/15)

New York City’s gallery scene is set for a major wave of activity between March 10 and March 15, 2026, with dozens of new exhibitions opening across Manhattan. High-profile showcases include Sam Gilliam and Chuck Close at Pace Gallery, Maria Lassnig at Petzel, and Paul Chan at Greene Naftali. The week features a diverse range of media, from David Armstrong’s portraiture at Artists Space to Bat-Ami Rivlin’s industrial installations at Management.

new york exhibition guide

The article is a July 2025 New York exhibition guide from Cultured, highlighting last-chance viewing opportunities for shows across the city. Featured exhibitions include Willem de Kooning at Gagosian, Salman Toor and Jack Whitten at MoMA, Jane and Louise Wilson at 303 Gallery, Chloe Dzubilo at Participant Inc., N.H. Pritchard at Peter Freeman Inc., and Steve McQueen at Dia Chelsea, among others. The guide organizes shows by neighborhood and includes critical commentary on each artist's work.

Independent 2026 Exhibitor List Announced

independent 2026 exhibitor list

Independent has unveiled the exhibitor list for its 17th edition, scheduled for May 14–17, 2026. The fair is relocating to a new venue at Pier 36 in New York’s Lower East Side and will feature 76 exhibitors showcasing over 100 artists. Notably, more than 70 percent of the booths will be dedicated to solo presentations, including a special solo project by Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons and sculptural installations by Gretchen Bender and Francis Upritchard.

dana james ink moon hollis taggart

New York-based artist Dana James presents her third solo show with Hollis Taggart, titled “Ink Moon,” at the gallery’s Lower East Side location. The exhibition marks a significant shift in her practice, moving from her signature soft pastels and feminine sensibility toward bolder, more gestural works featuring near-black hues, intense primary colors, and expressive mark-making. James created the new body of work while navigating an advancing pregnancy, which she says pushed her work in a more intense direction rather than the expected softer style.

New York Galleries: Openings and Closings (03/03-03/08)

The New York City gallery scene is experiencing a significant surge of activity for the first week of March 2026, with dozens of new exhibitions scheduled to open across Manhattan. Major highlights include a survey of Edouard Vuillard’s early interiors at Skarstedt, Sigmar Polke at VeneKlasen, and a comprehensive Robert Mapplethorpe presentation at Gladstone. The week also features high-profile institutional and blue-chip gallery shows, including Carol Bove at the Guggenheim and new works by Daniel Arsham and Gelitin at Perrotin.

New York's digital art gallery reboot

Two new galleries specializing in digital art have opened in New York's Lower East Side: Offline, a physical marketplace launched by the NFT platform SuperRare, and Heft Gallery, founded by curator and artist Adam Heft Berninger. Offline debuted in April with the exhibition "Mythologies for a Spiritually Void Time," featuring works by artists like Neal Cashman, while Heft Gallery focuses on artists using AI, code, and algorithms, with works such as Margaret Murphy's AI-generated photograph. Both spaces aim to bridge Web3 and traditional art venues, offering physical experiences for digital art.

The Art Gallery Doing Urban Regeneration South of Milan (After Doing It in New York)

La galleria d’arte che fa rigenerazione urbana a sud di Milano (dopo averla fatta a New York)

Scaramouche Gallery has opened a new space in Milan's Scalo Romana district, marking its third location after establishing itself in New York's Chelsea and Lower East Side neighborhoods. The gallery, founded by gallerist Daniele Ugolini, is part of a wave of cultural institutions, including Fondazione Prada and Fondazione ICA, driving the urban regeneration of this former agro-industrial zone near the 2026 Winter Olympic Village.

Martin Wong’s Vast Interests Go On View at Wrightwood 659

The Wrightwood 659 museum in Chicago has launched "Martin Wong: Chinatown USA," the first major monographic exhibition of the artist's work since 2017. Featuring over 100 paintings, sculptures, and drawings, the show explores Wong’s complex relationship with his Chinese-American identity, his life in New York’s Lower East Side, and his fascination with urban landscapes, sign language, and queer intimacy. The exhibition includes significant loans such as the triptych "Tai Ping Tien Kuo" and the record-breaking "Portrait of Mikey Piñero at Ridge Street and Stanton."

How US museums are adapting to a new era for technology-based art

American art institutions are undergoing a structural shift to accommodate the rapid evolution of technology-based and time-based media. The opening of Canyon, a 40,000-square-foot space in Manhattan’s Lower East Side founded by Robert Rosenkranz, exemplifies this trend. Led by former Mass MoCA director Joe Thompson, the venue aims to provide a permanent, hospitable home for moving-image, sound, and performance works that often struggle to find long-term exhibition space in traditional New York museums.

NEW contemporary art gallery to open in New York City’s Lower East Side.

Artist and curator Adam Heft Berninger is opening a new contemporary art gallery called Heft in New York City's Lower East Side on April 23, 2025. The gallery evolves from Berninger's curatorial project Tender into a permanent space, debuting with the group exhibition "Truth or" featuring generative art pioneers including Mario Klingemann, Katie Morris, Michael Mandiberg, and a collaboration between Edward Burtynsky and Alkan Avcıoğlu. The show runs through May 10, 2025, and includes works by Kevin Abosch, Gretchen Andrew, and others.

Tribeca Gallery Night brings together more than 80 spaces

On Friday, May 15, more than 80 galleries in New York's Tribeca neighborhood will stay open late for Tribeca Gallery Night, from 6pm to 8pm. Three new galleries are joining the event: Tappeto Volante Gallery (opening at 4 Cortlandt Alley with a show of painter Angelo Vasta), Gratin (opening at 15 White Street with a solo show for Spanish artist Mónica Mays), and Southern Guild (relocated from Los Angeles to 75 Leonard Street, featuring solo shows for Usha Seejarim and Mmangaliso Nzuza).

Artist Debuts and Inspired Duos Define the Can’t-Miss Booths at Independent

The article highlights standout booths at the Independent Art Fair, newly relocated to Pier 36 in Manhattan's Lower East Side. With 76 exhibitors, 26 of whom are presenting an artist's New York debut, the fair features notable presentations including Sprüth Magers' restaging of Gretchen Bender's 'TV Text & Image (PEOPLE WITH AIDS)', Omar Mismar's debut with abstract paintings on salvaged PVC banners referencing Lebanese protests, Carrie Schneider's large-format photographs from the Venice Biennale, and works by Kim Stolz and Raphael Egil at YveYANG. The fair runs through Sunday and aims for greater attendance and institutional influence.

parties performa anniversary performance art

Performa celebrated its 20th anniversary and the opening of its 2025 biennial with a multi-venue event in New York, starting at Harlem Parish and moving to a Lower East Side hub at 424 Broadway. The evening featured experimental music by Luciano Chessa, Eric Mingus, Elliott Sharp, and Joan La Barbara, a silent auction of custom wine blends by artists Julie Mehretu, Paul Pfeiffer, and Jessica Rankin, and a feast by chef Marcus Samuelsson. The party was co-chaired by artist Rashid Johnson and the late Agnes Gund, with guests including RoseLee Goldberg, Anne Imhof, Joan Jonas, Sanford Biggers, Laurie Simmons, and many others. The event also launched Performa's first magazine, *Works in Practice*.

independent new york relocation pier 36

Independent, the New York art fair, will relocate to Pier 36 on Manhattan’s Lower East Side for its May 2026 edition. The 70,000-square-foot venue more than doubles the size of its previous home at Spring Studios, accommodating increased gallery participation post-pandemic. The fair hosted 83 exhibitors in 2025, and founder Elizabeth Dee noted that even the coat check was repurposed for a special project. The architectural redesign will be led by Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu (SO–IL), with exhibition design by Berlin’s D_P_S.

craig boagey internet meme digital culture paintings

British artist Craig Boagey's solo exhibition "Spirit Economy" is on view at Amanita gallery in New York's Lower East Side. The show presents lush, meticulously executed paintings that assemble internet ephemera—memes, diagrams, YouTube stills, and references from online subcultures like nu-spiritualism and Remilia—into compositions that blend cute, feminine, and aspirational imagery with machinic, masculine, and esoteric elements. Works like "The All Thing" (2025) incorporate AlphaGo's famous Move 37, Christian iconography, and a memex, treating disposable digital content as cultural documents.

Manhattan’s New Museum sets early spring date for reopening after $82m expansion

The New Museum on Manhattan's Lower East Side will reopen to the public on March 21, 2025, after a two-year closure for an $82 million expansion designed by OMA's Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas with executive architect Cooper Robertson. The expansion adds 61,930 square feet—including 9,600 square feet of gallery space, education facilities, artists' studios, and event spaces—bringing the total footprint to 119,600 square feet. The new building will be named after the late philanthropist and curator Toby Devan Lewis. The reopening will feature site-specific commissions by Tschabalala Self, Sarah Lucas, and Klára Hosnedlová, and a building-wide thematic exhibition, 'New Humans: Memories of the Future,' with works by over 200 modern and contemporary artists.

Taste test: artist-made desserts will be shown (and eaten) in New York gallery’s one-night exhibition

On Saturday, June 28, the Lower East Side gallery Olympia will host CAKE, a one-night exhibition and feast featuring desserts donated by dozens of New York-based artists, including Hannah Beerman, Mie Yim, Wells Chandler, Robin F. Williams, Hein Koh, and Melissa Joseph. The event functions as a fundraiser for the gallery and a participatory performance art piece, with tickets priced at $45. The gallery's founder and director, Ali Rossi, conceived the show as a community-centric alternative to typical summer group exhibitions, and all desserts will be photographed before consumption to preserve documentation.

The Art Galleries of New York

A visitor recounts a personal gallery crawl through New York City neighborhoods like Tribeca, Chelsea, and the Lower East Side, highlighting specific exhibitions at Andrew Kreps Gallery, James Cohen Gallery, Chapter NY, and Bortolami Gallery. The article details works by artists including Thérèse Oulton, Elias Sime, Sonya Kelliher-Combs, Rosha Yaghmai, Vian Sora, and Sophie Reinhold, emphasizing the diversity of styles and materials on view.

More than 200 galleries are signed on for The Armory Show's next edition

The Armory Show has announced over 200 galleries for its September 2025 edition at the Javits Center in New York, including more than 135 returning exhibitors and around 55 first-time participants. New features include a design-focused sector called Function, curated by Ebony L. Haynes, and a large-scale sculpture sector Platform led by the nonprofit Souls Grown Deep. The fair will also introduce a non-profit sector and honor Silke Lindner with the Gramercy International Prize.

Enzo fair is fun and fee-free

The inaugural Enzo art fair has launched in Echo Park, Los Angeles, featuring nine galleries primarily from New York’s Chinatown and Lower East Side. Founded by collector R Parmar at Alabaster Projects, the fair operates on a unique fee-free model for exhibitors and visitors alike, removing the traditional financial barriers of booth fees and wall build-outs. The opening saw a vibrant atmosphere with works ranging from Peggy Chiang’s suspended sculptures to Radek Szlaga’s textile installations.

Painting our neighborhoods: Storefront art at Tribeca gallery

Brooklyn-based artist Charis Ammon presents "Pedestrian," an exhibition of oil paintings depicting storefronts from her Bushwick neighborhood and other parts of New York City, at Sargent's Daughters Gallery in Tribeca. The works, inspired by photographs taken during her daily walks, feature scenes of Chinese takeout places, bodegas, dry cleaners, and laundromats, often incorporating reflections of buildings across the street. The exhibition runs through January 24 and is Ammon's second with the gallery, which is owned by Allegra LaViola.

A look at '50 Years of PUNK,' opening tonight at the Ki Smith Gallery

A new exhibition titled '50 Years of PUNK' opens tonight at the Ki Smith Gallery on the Lower East Side, celebrating the legacy of PUNK Magazine. The show features original work from artists, photographers, and contributors associated with the magazine, which helped launch bands like the Ramones and Blondie. Co-founder John Holmstrom and gallery owner Ki Smith organized the exhibit, which includes upcoming events such as a clothing sale, a script reading about the Sex Pistols' 1978 U.S. tour, and a discussion on the making of the first issue.

LA-Based ModA Curations Opens New Space in NYC With A Contemporary Art Exhibition Called “Love”

ModA (Modern Anthropology) Studios, a Los Angeles-based creative organization founded by George Fan, opened its first permanent location at 227 E 24th Street in Manhattan's Lower East Side on June 27, 2025, with a contemporary art exhibition titled “Love.” Curated by Sia Fang, the show features nine artists divided into main-exhibiting artists and a subsection called Untapped, the Collection. Artists include Ellen Carpenter, Magali, A Cult, Ching-Wei Wang, Felisa Nguyen, Ibtisam Tasnim Zaman, Edd Ravn, Hongshan, and Agen Xin, working across performance, installation, painting, and mixed media.