Mary Boone has co-curated "Downtown/Uptown: New York in the Eighties" at Lévy Gorvy Dayan in New York, a sprawling exhibition of over 60 works by artists who defined the 1980s art scene, including Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Cindy Sherman, and Julian Schnabel. The show, running until December 13, 2025, features Warhol's portraits of Boone's former stable of artists and highlights the cross-pollination of Neo-Expressionism, street art, and political critique that made New York the epicenter of the art world.
The exhibition marks Boone's return to curatorial prominence after her release from prison, and it matters because it reasserts her role as a key tastemaker of the era. By reuniting works and narratives from a decade often dismissed as commercial, Boone and co-curator Brett Gorvy argue that the 1980s were driven by ideas and invention, not just money. The show also reframes Warhol's late-career revival, positioning him as a mentor to younger artists, and underscores how dealers like Boone shaped the trajectory of contemporary art.