New York is never short on great art. But New York Art Week is exceptional: Over the course of a week, an unusual collision of high-quality work descends on the city, spanning a half-dozen fairs—including Frieze New York, Independent New York, TEFAF New York, and NADA New York—alongside gallery openings from Tribeca to the Upper East Side, and auction previews ahead of the marquee sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips.
While it’s an especially exciting time for the out-of-town art crowd, it might be even more of a joy for New Yorkers. The art comes to us. You can go about your regular week with plenty of excuses to slip out of the office to catch a fair, end the day at openings, or make time for a gallery talk or museum visit.
Most gallery shows and auction house previews are free and open to the public, while fairs and many museums require tickets. Plenty of these exhibitions will remain on view after the week is over, yet there is something energizing about seeing it all amid the rush.
Instead of one long list, we’ve mapped three routes for tackling the week, each built around a different neighborhood and mood: polished and grand uptown, high-energy in Chelsea, and fresh and off the beaten path downtown. We’ve also put together a Google Maps list so you can save the key stops to your phone.
Route 1: Uptown, from TEFAF to Sotheby’s to the Studio Museum
Best for: A polished day of museum-quality art, blue-chip galleries, and an uptown finish.
While you might think the city’s art scene revolves around downtown haunts, this itinerary might change your mind. Between TEFAF, Sotheby’s, Madison Avenue galleries, and the newly reopened Studio Museum in Harlem, Upper Manhattan offers a day that feels stylish and very New York.
Take in TEFAF
Begin with TEFAF New York (May 15th to 19th) at the Park Avenue Armory, where the building itself is part of the experience. The main drill hall and corridors lend the fair a sense of occasion that suits TEFAF’s mix of Old Masters, modern and contemporary art, design, and jewelry. I’ll be especially keen to see Kathleen Ryan’s gem-encrusted fruit sculptures at Gagosian’s booth; an Ithell Colquhoun painting presented by Richard Saltoun Gallery; and a presentation of Formafantasma designs with Friedman Benda.
TEFAF also offers a talks program each day. Two I’m eyeing are “Who Supports Art Now? Patronage in a Shifting Cultural Landscape” on Friday, May 15th at 4:30 p.m., and a conversation with the fantastic painter Eva Helene Pade, who has a solo booth with Thaddaeus Ropac, on Saturday, May 16th, at 2:30 p.m.
Pop into the Sotheby’s preview
At Sotheby’s, in its stylish new home of the Breuer Building on Madison Avenue, you can see works from the May marquee sales before many of them leave public view, maybe forever. The best part: Auction previews are free and open to the public, even if you have no intention of bidding. There are exhibitions on view through May 18th, but you’ll need to stop by before May 13th to see the most closely watched piece: Mark Rothko’s Brown and Blacks in Reds (1957), estimated to sell for $100 million, from the “Robert Mnuchin: Collector at Heart Evening Auction.”
Sotheby’s is the most natural stop on this uptown route, but fellow auction houses Christie’s and Phillips are worth keeping in mind, too, especially if you’re near Rockefeller Center or Park Avenue. Their previews are also free and open to the public, and they offer the same low-pressure chance to see major works up close before they head to auction.
Gallery hop along Madison Avenue
With many galleries clustered along or near Madison Avenue, gallery hopping on the Upper East Side is efficient and comes with an air of glamour. The Madison Avenue Spring Gallery Walk takes place on Saturday, May 16th, with participating galleries from East 57th to East 86th Streets. Here are some shows I’m particularly excited about:
- Eliza Douglas at Gagosian’s Park and 75th outpost: Douglas is best known for her gripping performances with Anne Imhof and walking Balenciaga runways, but she’s an accomplished painter, too. This show marks her debut New York solo with Gagosian.
- Magdalena Abakanowicz at GRAY New York: A selection of work from the 1960s to 1990s tracing the Polish artist’s evolving inquiry into the human condition.
- David Hammons and Jannis Kounellis at White Cube: The first two-person exhibition of the legendary artists’ work in more than 30 years.
- “Set in Stone” at David Zwirner’s East 69th Street location: Organized with Paris’s Galerie Kugel, this clever exhibition pairs contemporary works with hardstone sculptures dating from antiquity to the 19th century.
Make a museum visit—or two
When it comes to museums, you’ll need to make some tough choices. Here are the ones I’d prioritize:
- “Costume Art” and Raphael at The Met: The Costume Institute’s annual exhibition pairs roughly 200 garments with 200 artworks spanning 5,000 years in the Met’s new 12,000-square-foot Condé M. Nast Galleries. While there, don’t miss the sweeping Raphael survey.
- Carol Bove at the Guggenheim: The sculptor’s first museum survey spans 25 years of work and sings in the museum’s architecture.
- Joan Semmel at the Jewish Museum: A long-overdue New York museum moment for the 90-year-old artist. The show closes May 31st, so this is an opportune time to catch it.
- The Studio Museum in Harlem: My top recommendation, especially if you haven’t yet visited the museum’s stunning new home on 125th Street. Newly on view is “Fade,” featuring 17 early-career artists of African and Afro Latinx descent, plus Kapwani Kiwanga’s new site-specific commission. On May 17th, the museum hosts Studio Sundays, with free admission and programming for kids.
Route 2: From Frieze to NADA and Chelsea galleries
Best for: Those who want the week’s biggest fair, major galleries, and an easy Chelsea itinerary.
Frieze New York (May 13th to 17th) is the anchor of the week—and conveniently, it’s an easy walk to younger counterpart fair NADA (May 13th to 17th) and major gallery shows in Chelsea. If you’re seeking out the week’s greatest hits, this route is for you.
Frieze first
Frieze New York returns to The Shed in Hudson Yards. This year’s theme, “Bold Solos, Global Dialogues,” promises a high percentage of single-artist presentations, which typically make for a more enjoyable fair. Some solo booths I’m looking forward to include Pia Camil at OMR, Reika Takebayashi at Public Gallery, and Joe Bradley at David Zwirner.
NADA next
For a change of register, head to NADA New York at the Starrett-Lehigh Building—which is also where you’ll find the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair. NADA typically hosts smaller and younger galleries, with a focus on emerging and lesser-known artists. Some booths and painters to watch include Shangfeng Zhang at Latitude Gallery, Margaret R. Thompson at Red Arrow Gallery, and Emily Ponsonby at Gillian Jason Gallery.
If you want guidance, NADA is offering tours of the fair on May 16th. And if you’re serious about buying and need help, you can book a private walkthrough with an advisor—though it will set you back $500.
Hop through Chelsea galleries
Chelsea galleries are a moving target, with plenty of new shows opening and more already on view. Thursday, May 14th is a solid night to visit, as galleries stay open late for the ADAA Chelsea Gallery Walk. A few shows at the top of my list:
- Lisa Yuskavage and Gerhard Richter at David Zwirner: From Yuskavage’s lush, humorous figurative paintings to Richter’s celebrated landscapes, there’s a feast of major painting across Zwirner’s spaces in Chelsea.
- David Hockney, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, and Paul Thek at Pace Gallery: Pace shows the range of its program, from Hockney’s iPad drawings to Kam Kngwarray’s celebrated paintings to its debut Thek survey.
- Giuseppe Penone at Gagosian: Major installations lend fresh spotlight to the Arte Povera artist’s interest in nature, human intervention, and time.
- Katharina Fritsch at Matthew Marks Gallery: A must for anyone drawn to sculpture that is deadpan, uncanny, and instantly memorable.
- Huguette Caland and Kelly Akashi at Lisson Gallery: Two starkly different yet equally intriguing shows. Akashi is known for visceral bronze and glass sculptures, while Caland’s show traces five decades across painting, drawing, sculpture, and writing.
- Tony Lewis at Olney Gleason: Lewis’s debut New York solo brings together drawings reflecting his ongoing research into the Atlantic slave trade.
- Erwin Wurm at Lehmann Maupin: A survey of Wurm’s absurdist sculptures, with a focus on the humor of the figure.
Make time for a gallery talk or Whitney stop
If you’d like something more structured than gallery hopping, Saturday brings several programs. On May 16th at 10:30 a.m., Sean Kelly Gallery hosts a talk between Lindsay Adams, whose solo show is on view, and curator Sadaf Padder. A few blocks away at 11 a.m., Galerie Lelong hosts a walkthrough of its Lucia Laguna exhibition with curator Larry Ossei-Mensah. Later that day, Hauser & Wirth launches the latest issue of its Ursula magazine with Firelei Báez, whose work is on view at the gallery’s 22nd Street location. Earlier in the week, on May 12th at 5 p.m., Karma is hosting a talk at its Chelsea gallery between artist Jeremy Frey and art historian Thom Collins.
The obvious museum pairing here is the Whitney, especially if you’re moving downtown from The Shed through Chelsea. The Whitney Biennial 2026 is on view, and a highlight of the week will likely be Jonathan González’s three-hour durational performance on the museum’s outdoor terraces from May 15th to 17th, co-presented with Frieze. On Friday, May 15th, it’s also the museum’s Free Friday Night, and González performs from 6 to 9 p.m.
Route 3: Downtown, from Independent to Tribeca
Best for: Discovery, younger galleries, downtown energy, and a Friday night gallery crawl.
Finally, we follow the art-world crowd downtown. Independent (May 14th to 17th) takes over Pier 36, Tribeca openings abound, and a visit to the New Museum may be in order. This route offers a sleeker fair experience, smaller galleries, and an evening of openings that will almost certainly be buzzing.
Start with Independent
Begin with Independent at Pier 36, the fair’s new, larger home on the Lower East Side waterfront. Compared with the week’s bigger fairs, Independent tends to feel more edited, with strong solo presentations—more than 70% of this year’s 70-plus booths—and fresh work by younger and underrecognized artists alike.
I’ll be looking out for Uffner & Liu’s first solo presentation of Bernadette Despujols, as well as PENTIMENTI’s solo presentation of Dan Gunn, part of Independent’s Debuts program for artists having their first New York solo outing.
Take a lunch break in SoHo
While Tribeca is the place to be on Friday evening, Hauser & Wirth’s Wooster Street gallery offers a strong midday anchor. At noon, the gallery hosts a walkthrough of Allison Katz’s first major New York solo show, “Outta the Bag,” with curator Cecilia Alemani. Katz’s paintings often consider the act of looking itself, usually with a wry sense of humor. To stay in the mood, make a reservation across the street at Manuela, the gallery’s restaurant, for lunch surrounded by eye-watering art.
Spend the night in Tribeca
The centerpiece of the downtown scene is Tribeca Gallery Night on Friday, May 15th when more than 80 galleries stay open from 6 to 8 p.m. The streets will be thick with gallery-goers, and some spaces will be packed. This is a nice opportunity to forego too much planning and instead wander door to door, following the crowds spilling onto the sidewalk.
Some shows I’d recommend:
- Julie Mehretu at Marian Goodman Gallery: Mehretu’s seventh solo with the gallery brings together recent bodies of work featured in her 2024 Venice exhibition at Palazzo Grassi.
- Lynette Yiadom-Boakye at Jack Shainman Gallery: New paintings and works on paper by the London-based artist, on view across both Jack Shainman locations.
- Martin Wong at P·P·O·W: Wong’s first New York solo in more than a decade is anchored by Popeye cutouts painted in his signature brick motif.
- Usha Seejarim at Southern Guild: The inaugural exhibition at the Cape Town–founded gallery’s new Tribeca space, and Seejarim’s U.S. solo debut. The show runs through May 17th.
- Janet Werner at Anat Ebgi: Werner’s first New York solo with the gallery features the Montreal-based painter’s strange, alluring figures, often women culled from fashion imagery.
- Jane Yang-D’Haene at Bienvenu Steinberg & C: The Brooklyn-based, South Korean–born ceramist is increasingly known for fresh takes on the Korean moon-jar tradition.
Make a museum visit
For a change of pace, take a more leisurely stroll through one of these downtown museum shows:
- “New Humans: Memories of the Future” at the New Museum: The first show in the museum’s expanded OMA-designed building explores how artists, writers, and scientists have shaped what it means to be human, with more than 150 artists, including Meriem Bennani, Pierre Huyghe, Wangechi Mutu, Anicka Yi, Francis Bacon, and Salvador Dalí.
- Ceija Stojka at The Drawing Center: The first major U.S. exhibition of the self-taught Austrian Romani artist, writer, and Holocaust survivor brings together more than 60 paintings, drawings, books, and archival materials.
Explore East Side galleries
If you find yourself heading to the Lower East Side or East Village, I’d recommend making time for:
- Nick Doyle and GaHee Park at Perrotin: Doyle continues his explorations with denim, while Park offers typically wonderful, strange paintings of figures, still lifes, and interiors.
- Keith Haring at The Brant Foundation: This sprawling show focuses on Haring’s breakthrough years of 1980–83, fittingly set in the neighborhood where the artist had his formative years. It’s a quintessentially New York art story—and a fitting endpoint to New York Art Week.
- Aiza Ahmed at Half Gallery: Ahmed is a closely watched, rising artist exploring issues of migration and diasporic histories, particularly on the Indian subcontinent. She opens this new show, curated by Los Angeles gallerist Rajiv Menon, on May 15th at 6 to 8 p.m.
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