Get your Art Fix at these Must-See Exhibitions
The Best Current and Upcoming Exhibitions in NYC
Home to everything from colossal skyscrapers and picturesque parks to highly curated fashion boutiques and a killer drinking and dining scene, New York City has so much to offer. Then there’s NYC’s slew of world-class museums, galleries, and art fairs, which offer something for every kind of art enthusiast. Here are the not-to-be-missed exhibitions to check out right now, this fall, and beyond.
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Jenny Holzer: Light Line at The Guggenheim
Run, don’t walk to the Guggenheim for Jenny Holzer’s latest beyond-buzzy show, Light Line, before it ends its NYC run on September 29. The exhibition is a reimagined and expanded version of Holzer’s landmark 1989 installation at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed museum. This time, LED screens line all six ramps of the spiraling rotunda and display bold, scrolling texts (“The future is stupid,” “Words tend to be inadequate”) featuring selections from Holzer’s iconic series, including Truisms and Inflammatory Essays. The exhibition also features a selection of Holzer’s works from the 1970s to the present day, including paintings, works on paper, and stone pieces.
May 17–September 29, 2024
1071 5th Ave; T. (212) 423-3500
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Edges of Ailey at The Whitney Museum of American Art
Put on your dancing shoes early this fall because The Whitney Museum of American Art kicks off its celebration of the life, work, and enduring legacy of the visionary artist and choreographer Alvin Ailey on September 25 with Edges of Ailey. According to curator Adrienne Edwards, it’s going to be an “extravaganza,” featuring an immersive exhibition of performance footage, recorded interviews, choreographic notes, and more from Ailey’s rarely-seen archives. Plus, enjoy live, intimate performances by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in the museum’s third-floor theater.
Sept 25, 2024–Feb 9, 2025
99 Gansevoort St; T. Hours: (212) 570-3600
HOMEPAGE IMAGE Jordyn White, Edges of Ailey (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 25, 2024-February 9, 2025). Courtesy of Whitney Museum of American Art; Photo by Natasha Moustache.
Solid Gold at the Brooklyn Museum
Enter a glamorous and glittering world at the Brooklyn Museum’s Solid Gold exhibition, opening in celebration of the museum’s 200th anniversary. The immersive exhibit spans 6,000 years of history, and features more than 400 gilded objects, from fashion designs (including a 1989 Azzedine Alaïa chainmail dress worn by Tina Turner) and jewelry (including a prototype of the iconic fly necklace for Elizabeth Taylor’s role in 1963’s “Cleopatra”) to 13th- and 14th-century Italian altarpieces and 181 gold pieces from the Hellenistic period.
November 16, 2024–July 6, 2025
200 Eastern Pkwy; T. (718) 638-5000
IMAGE Balenciaga and Demna, creative director. Golden Ballroom Dress, Haute couture collection. Spring/Summer 2020. 100% crinkled papery gold metallized polyester. Balenciaga Archives Paris. (Photo: © Pari Dukovic / Trunk Archive)
Vital Signs: Artists and the Body at MoMA
Vital Signs: Artists and the Body, the eagerly anticipated exhibition opening at MoMA on November 3, will showcase over 100 works by approximately 65 international, cross-generational artists. Boldface names include Frida Kahlo, Louise Bourgeois, and Ana Mendieta, all of whom “question what it means to be an individual within a larger society—and how socially sustained categories such as gender, race, and sexual identity are rooted in abstraction.” Featuring thought-provoking work mainly created by women or gender-expansive artists, the show “illuminates some of the ways that artists reflect on abstraction in its broadest social senses while expanding ideas around what it means to be alive and to connect with others.”
Nov 3, 2024–Feb 22, 2025
11 W 53rd St; T. (212) 708-9400
IMAGE Margo Humphrey. The History of Her Life Written Across Her Face. 1991. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. © 2024 The Margo Humphrey Trust. Digital image © 2024 The Museum of Modern Art, New York, photo by Robert Gerhardt
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Chris Stein Exhibition and Book Launch at Soho Grand Hotel
Chris Stein, co-founder, guitarist, and songwriter of iconic punk band Blondie, describes the founding of the band and the downfalls of fame and fortune in his recently released autobiography Under a Rock. Those living under a rock may be unaware that Stein is also a lauded photographer whose work has been featured worldwide in galleries and publications. At his anticipated fall photography exhibition at the Soho Grand’s new Gallery space, he’ll display photographs plucked from stories told in his thrilling autobiography. If the famous names mentioned through the pages are any indication, then you can expect to see Bowie, Warhol, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, just to name an iconic few.
Sep 20–Dec 19, daily from 12pm to 6pm
310 W Broadway; T. (212) 965-3000
WORDS Alex Catarinella
FEATURED IMAGE Debbie Harry with Frying Pan, 1977. Photography by Chris Stein courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery