We live in an era marked by suppression from various entities, including governments, corporations, and cultural forces. How do we respond to this?
Let us illustrate. We delve into a pioneering photo studio in Mali that documented a nation’s journey to independence. We explore a city deeply affected by the AIDS crisis through portraits of both its inhabitants and its objects. We reflect on grief and mortality, and we honor the city’s first Arabic-speaking community.
The featured artists have created works from diverse settings, ranging from an attic during World War II to the California state psychiatric system, and even to the heart of the art world. Here, art that is playful, intellectual, and untamed offers a path forward.
—Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor
Waves of Knowing
Ryan Lee Gallery, 515 West 26th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
Through May 9
Upon entering this exhibition, I was reminded of my capacity for revelation. Metcalf Chateau was a collective of Hawaiian artists of Japanese descent who showcased their works in the 1950s. Many of these pieces haven’t been displayed on the mainland since that era, if at all. Notable among them are Satoru Abe’s organic oil-on-canvas paintings and copper sculptures, and Tadashi Sato’s biomorphic, semi-abstract creations. These two were pioneers of the group, being among its founding members and among the first to reach New York in the 1960s. These works merge nature, the human form, and the canvas into a singular entity. Lines and forms seem intuitively drawn from a shared consciousness — pleasing to both hand and eye. Perhaps I’m simply imagining it after a long winter in New York, but many of these pieces, especially postcard-sized paintings by second-generation member Harry Tsuchidana, felt as though they captured the sun’s sharp glint off water. They evoked warmth and happiness in me. —Lisa Yin Zhang
Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens
Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn
Through May 16
In today’s world, it’s easy to overlook the power of an image due to the ease of taking photographs. However, in mid-20th century Bamako, Mali, photographs were rare and cherished. Seydou Keïta’s studio became a revolutionary space. Generations of Malians flocked to his studio, where he created simple yet striking backdrops using printed fabrics. Subjects adorned themselves in opulent outfits and accessories, resulting in portraits that are significant records of Mali’s political evolution as it transitioned from French colonial rule to independence, highlighting fashion and cultural expression. While the compositions are simple, the results are strikingly maximalist, and their influence on modern photography is profound. —Jasmine Weber
Renée Green: Secret
Bortolami Gallery, 55 Walker Street, Tribeca, Manhattan
Through May 16
Renée Green’s project, “Secret,” emerged from her stay in a decaying Le Corbusier housing project in 1993. This multimedia endeavor captures her experiences there, incorporating writings, videos, and photographs. The exhibition features a “self-styled autoethnography,” conveyed through a calming, disembodied voice that reads her materials — from synopses to journal entries detailing her meals — over a gallery speaker. A three-channel video offers glimpses of her life in the building. Each day, she dons the same vest marked “IMMIGRATION,” a commentary on colonialism and diaspora. Scenes depict her reading, listening to music, tossing in bed, and interacting with a film crew, blurring the line between staged and real. Green describes the neglected apartment as a combined “workspace, living space, and exhibition space.” —Jasmine Weber
When Thoughts Are Free
601Artspace, 88 Eldridge Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan
Through May 17
This four-person exhibition, curated by Sara Reisman, featuring Liz Magic Laser, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, Aliza Shvarts, and Jaro Varga, explores the theme of free speech amidst increasing restrictions imposed by governments, corporations, and cultural norms. Despite the serious subject matter, many pieces are unexpectedly playful and humorous. For example, Laser’s “Peace Power” (2026) consists of a wall sculpture that uses reproductions of moldings from the Trump White House renovation to create a new symbol of power. —Hrag Vartanian
David Armstrong: Portraits
Artists Space, 11 Cortlandt Alley, Tribeca, Manhattan
Through May 23
David Armstrong began his photography career in the 1970s, and his work is deeply influenced by the impact of the AIDS crisis on New York City. As the crisis ravaged his community, he shifted focus from portraiture to inanimate subjects. This exhibition spans his career, displaying intimate portraits of assumed lovers, friends, and muses, alongside blurred images of landscapes and interiors: chairs, plants, and statues. The intentionally distorted images contrast sharply with his refined portraits, which often depict men in bed or partially undressed. These works are intimate, sensual, and erotic, yet they convey a profound sense of shared loneliness and longing. —Jasmine Weber
Marina Adams: Works on Paper
Peter Blum Gallery, 176 Grand Street, Floor 2, Nolita, Manhattan
Through May 29
Marina Adams’s abstract works seem to resonate with an internal rhythm. When displayed in large groups, her shapes appear to vibrate, crackle, and dance like a vibrant musical riff. Viewed individually — my preferred way to experience Adams’s seemingly simple color and form variations — they evoke the warmth and peace of gazing at a sunlit field. —Valentina Di Liscia, senior editor
Louisa Chase: The Eighties
Berry Campbell Gallery, 24 West 26th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
Through May 30
Louisa Chase’s striking “Sunset Grip” (1983), with its soft, Monet-like colors and intense mark-making, caught my eye through a window on 26th Street. Her work reminds viewers that painting is a thoroughly physical act. In Chase’s art, terms like “stroke,” “carve,” “slash,” and “gouge” assume both a specific meaning and a distinct mark. A key figure in 1970s and ’80s New York, Chase mingled with artists like Marilyn Minter, Judy Pfaff, and Julian Schnabel and was mentored by Philip Guston, whose work is also featured in another city exhibit. This is the most extensive display of her work in over 25 years and is sure to leave an impression. —Lisa Yin Zhang
Mel Kendrick: Tilt
David Nolan Gallery, 24 East 81st Street, 4th floor, Upper East Side, Manhattan
Through June 6
Mel Kendrick’s ninth solo exhibition at David Nolan includes free-standing pieces, wooden sculptures, and cast paper-pulp works mounted on walls. Each sculpture is crafted by cutting and rejoining a single board or excavating parts from a solid piece to create a new form. Nothing is discarded or added, inviting viewers to mentally disassemble them to visualize the original shape. This reversal of Kendrick’s process is part of the allure of his work. Viewers experience Kendrick’s independence from manufacturing and reliance on assistants and high-tech machinery, choosing instead a minimalistic engagement with ordinary materials. —John Yau
Eileen Agar: Leaves of the World & Head Stretch
Andrew Kreps Gallery, 22 Cortlandt Alley
Through June 20
Half of Andrew Kreps Gallery is dedicated to Eileen Agar’s work, a British-Argentine artist who was among the few women included in the 1936 International Surrealist Exhibition in London. Her layered collages are rich with Surrealism, evoking the sea, the body, and the natural world. On the other side, Brazilian sculptor Erika Verzutti has curated a show featuring artists from her shared studio in São Paulo. The display includes paintings, drawings, and Verzutti’s unique ceramics in a salon-style arrangement, fostering a sense of camaraderie. Texture, surface, and material connect these two distinct yet rewarding exhibitions. —Valentina Di Liscia
Philip Guston: Life with P.
Hauser & Wirth, 443 West 18th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
Through July 10
Philip Guston has been a subject of significant interest since his passing in 1980, particularly for the notable shift in his art during the late 1960s when he began depicting hooded Klansmen. This exhibition provides a comprehensive view of one of the most influential artists of the past 50 years. It showcases three previously unseen paintings of his wife, Musa McKim, a poet he was married to for over 43 years, along with poem-pictures combining her poetry with his drawings. His collaborations with poets represent an essential part of his body of work, and his work with McKim is finally receiving the recognition it deserves. —John Yau
How Asian Is It?
Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation, 87 Eldridge Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan
Through July 11
Curated by Lilly Wei, this two-story exhibition features East Asian artists working in abstraction. While some works include representational elements, such as Charles Yuen’s, most reject traditional identity markers in favor of formal expressions. The exhibition offers an escape from the constraints often imposed on racialized artists, where identity becomes the sole lens of recognition. The 12 artists featured include David Diao, Kikuo Saito, Barbara Takenaga, and Kim Uchiyama. —Hrag Vartanian
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: Many A Moonlit Caveat
Jack Shainman Gallery, 46 Lafayette Street, Tribeca, Manhattan, and 513 West 20th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
Through July 31
In the downtown segment of this two-part exhibition, most of the works are created using orange lump sanguine or black charcoal on paper, with a few striking oil paintings included. The artist excels at capturing the understated beauty of private, everyday interiors. In her drawings, men recline or curl up on couches and beds; dancers in leotards gather mid-practice; worshippers sing. A costumed dancer performs choreography, then pauses in contemplative reflection. Her scenes are simple yet exquisitely crafted, both stylistically and thematically. In a poem of the same title, she writes: “The Nightingale Knows That To Be Unseen, Is Ofttimes to Be Truly Free.” This exhibition is deeply moving in its quietude, inviting repeated visits. —Jasmine Weber
Self-Made: A Century of Inventing Artists
American Folk Art Museum, 2 Lincoln Square, Upper West Side, Manhattan
Through Sept. 13
In 1964, critic Arthur Danto introduced the concept of an “artworld,” a cultural context that grants aesthetic legitimacy. At the American Folk Art Museum, an exhibition of “self-taught” artists who crafted their work outside traditional institutions — whether hiding in an attic during World War II or within the California state psychiatric system — prompts visitors to reconsider definitions of artistic value and beauty. The showcased works are autobiographical, expressive, and entirely unique. —Valentina Di Liscia
Bony Ramirez: El Cielo Del Mar
Historic Chapel of Green-Wood Cemetery, 750 Fifth Avenue, Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn
Ongoing
While Jean Shin’s “Offering” (2026) was recently revealed on April 20, a visit to the historic chapel is also recommended to experience Jersey City-based artist Bony Ramirez’s reflection on grief as a universal experience. Drawing inspiration from diverse funerary traditions, Ramirez’s work juxtaposes horned abstractions and knife-spoked wheels with conch shells and large, vibrant geometric forms to offer a fresh perspective on death. —Hrag Vartanian
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Sara Ouhaddou: Al Qalam (The Pen)
Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza, Financial District, Manhattan
Ongoing
Sara Ouhaddou’s vibrant mosaics pay homage to the city’s first Arabic-speaking community, gracing a lush plaza in Manhattan’s financial district. Born in France to a Moroccan family, Ouhaddou places her personal immigrant experience in conversation with the literary heritage of Manhattan’s “Little Syria,” a vibrant neighborhood of immigrants from Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine, dismantled by the creation of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel in the 1940s. Her work translates excerpts from nine of the area’s prolific writers, including Khalil Gibran, into her mosaic language, mirroring the complex linguistic and cultural exchanges that characterized the neighborhood. — Isa Farfan, staff writer
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