The Ultimate Guide to New York Art Week 2025

1. Frieze New York | The Shed 

Featuring more than 65 galleries from 25 countries, Frieze New York returns to The Shed for the 13th edition with art from around the globe, a performance-centered program at the Shed and on The High Line, and a partnership with non-profits, including the Artist Plate Project, which will feature over 50 limited-edition plates by renowned artists to raise funds for the Coalition for the Homeless.

Solo booth highlights include three iconic sculptures by Jeff Koons based on the Marvel Comics superhero Hulk, part of the artist’s personal collection, that will be presented in an immersive setting at Gagosian; seven new paintings at Perrotin inspired by our relationship to memory, nostalgia, and sleep by Claire Tabouret, who was recently chosen to design stained glass windows for the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris; and Tuan Andrew Nguyen’s sculptures at James Cohan, crafted from fragments of unexploded ordnances (UXO) retrieved in Vietnam from the site of history’s most extensive aerial bombardment, that take inspiration from Alexander Calder’s kinetic mobiles while exploring the karmic balance inherent in concepts of reincarnation.

Three notable booth pairings include Pace Gallery’s dual presentation of paintings by Adam Pendleton in dialogue with sculptures by Lynda Benglis, curated by Pendleton; new paintings and works on paper by Jennie C. Jones that relate to her current rooftop commission for The Met, sharing Alexander Gray Associates’ booth with pierced and shaped monochromatic paintings by Donald Moffat, who has recently joined the gallery; and Andrew Edlin Gallery’s two-person show featuring the work of visionary self-taught artists Abraham Lincoln Walker and Frank Walter.

On view May 7-11

2. Independent | Spring Studios

Independent is back at Spring Studios for the invitation-only fair’s 16th edition, presenting exhibitions by over 130 artists from 85 international galleries and nonprofit organizations. Drawing from its legacy of promoting artists to broader audiences, the new curatorial initiative, Independent Debuts, provides a dedicated platform for solo exhibitions that showcase emerging talent in New York.

This year, Independent Debuts will showcase 26 artists, including Shafei Xia’s paintings and sculptures at P420, which depict universal themes while emphasizing the delicacy and strength of personal life; Laura Footes’ ghostly canvases of figures that transcendently flow through time in dreamlike settings at Shrine; Lewis Brander’s atmospheric abstractions that capture light, space, and time in oil on linen at the shared spot of James Cope and Vardaxoglou Gallery; and Klara Zetterholm’s lifelike sculptures of a paleoanthropological mother and daughter paired with the artist’s bas relief plaster fragments that appear ancient through painted layers of patina, simulating the passage of time, at Suprainfinit Gallery.

Other not-to-be-missed booths include A Hug From The Art World’s presentation of large-scale paintings of gag cartoons that explore themes of narcissism, desire, power, and failure in the art world by Guy Richards Smit, who spent two years submitting his cartoons to The New Yorker before it began publishing them; Yancey Richardson’s solo exhibition of photographs taken between 1979 and 1989 by Tseng Kwong Chi, a Chinese-American artist who mixed political satire and personal identity while capturing sophisticated selfies in a classic Mao suit near American landmarks; and Off Paradises’ pairing of minimal paintings and sculptures by Maximilian Schubert and Mitchell Charbonneau with colorful ceramic sculptures by Sylvia Fragoso, who works at NIAD Art Center, a studio for artists with developmental disabilities in Richmond, California.

On view May 8–11

3. TEFAF New York | Park Avenue Armory

Presenting 91 prominent galleries from 13 countries and 21 cities in the spacious Drill Hall and historic period rooms of the Park Avenue Armory, TEFAF New York showcases modern and contemporary art, jewelry, antiquities, and design. The diversity of the art is visible in the First Look picks chosen by the venerable fair’s vetting committee.

Their favorites include a marble Roman head of a bearded god with a lavish mane of hair from around the second century AD at Charles Ede; a colorful portrait of a young girl holding a bouquet, painted in pastel tones with airy brushwork in 1935 by Marie Laurencin at Almine Rech; a 1975 monochrome piece from Park Seo-Bo’s seminal Ecriture series, rendered in rhythmic lines with pencil and oil on canvas at Tina Kim Gallery; a blue acrylic coffee table created with 3D technology in 2012 by Zaha Hadid at David Gill Gallery; and contemporary art-star Anne Imhof’s bronze relief of an intertwined androgynous couple surrounded by dolphins and dogs at Sprüth Magers.

Two solo exhibitions by women artists stand out: dynamic drawings reflecting Ruth Asawa’s career’s arc and rare wire sculptures from the 1950s and ‘60s at David Zwirner by the artist, the subject of a major retrospective at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which will travel to The Museum of Modern Art in New York in October, and a double-booth display of sculptures, wall reliefs, and works on paper at Marc Selwyn Fine Art and Ortuzar (with Bill Maynes) by Lee Bontecou, an acclaimed creator of unusual sculptures and one of the first women exhibited at the legendary Leo Castelli Gallery in the 1960s.

On view May 8-13

4. NADA New York | Starrett-Lehigh Building

The 11th edition of NADA New York, held at the iconic Starrett-Lehigh Building in West Chelsea’s gallery district, showcases 120 galleries, art spaces, and non-profit organizations from 19 countries and 50 cities. The fair also features NADA Presents, the organization’s signature programming series of conversations, performances, and events, along with the return of the TD Bank Curated Spotlight, which this year focuses on galleries and artists from Texas and Mexico.

Uffner & Liu (formerly Rachel Uffner Gallery) presents works by key artists from its program, including Anne Buckwalter’s voyeuristic folk art-style paintings of domestic scenes and photographic collages that dynamically mix abstraction with figuration by Sheree Hovsepian, who has a current solo show at the gallery. SAENGER Gallery features three artists—Robert Janitz, Yoab Vera, and Cecilia Barreto—who vividly explore the landscape theme through paintings influenced by memory, emotion, and a politically informed viewpoint. Solo booth standouts include Mrs. gallery’s presentation of new paintings by Sarah Bedford, a resident at the Sharpe-Walentas Residency Program, which dazzlingly merge the traditions of still life and landscape, while JO-HS displays Melissa Rios’ surreal, dream-like paintings that combine mediated figures and fashions with a feminist flair in the TD Bank Curated Spotlight section of the fair.

On view May 7–11

5. Future Fair| Chelsea Industrial

Returning to Chelsea Industrial for its fifth edition, Future Fair features 69 local, national, and international exhibitors. Following the momentum generated by last year’s inaugural Curatorial Committee, the fair once again partners with experts to strengthen its dedication to supporting emerging artists and small business galleries in advancing their careers.

Solo booth highlights from this year’s fair include Larissa De Jesús Negrón’s surreal paintings that explore her subconscious and recent return to the rich landscape of Puerto Rico at Sabroso Projects; Katrina Sánchez’s colorful, “knitted noodle” soft wall sculptures at Abigail Ogilvy Gallery; and Raina Lee’s postcard-sized ceramic tiles, sculptures, and vessels inspired by her residency and travels through historic cities in Spain at LaiSun Keane. Other standout works in group presentations include Donna Moylan’s dreamlike narrative paintings of mythical visions at Bill Arning Exhibitions; Maria Kozak’s psychological landscapes depicting relationships with the self, others, and the sublime at EXOgallery; Eve Biddle’s winding white bronze snakes at Geary; and Danielle Klebes’s lively paintings of domestic scenes that reflect queer living in Upstate New York at Feia.

On view May 7–10

6. Esther II | New York Estonian House

Back for a second edition at the historic New York Estonian House, Esther II presents an art fair alternative—a collaborative exhibition featuring projects by 25 international galleries from 17 cities worldwide. Displayed in the entrance hall, wooden meeting rooms, grand halls, and clubrooms, and expanding into previously unused spaces on the upper floors, the Estonian House serves as a stage for artworks, site-specific installations, and various performances and events. Furthermore, the building’s basement will be converted into a showroom by Estonian designer Laivi, who will create custom-made products during the fair.

Layr presents Evelyn Plaschg’s sublime paintings of flesh sourced from moving imagery; BANK contributes Wenjue’s collage-relief paintings that portray comic-inspired narratives featuring gamblers with conflicting social identities; Sans titre offers Jessy Razafimandimby’s figurative paintings that reference French cinema of the 1960s, jazz music, design, and postwar architecture; Ivan Gallery brings 90-year-old Finnish artist Sinikka Kurkinen’s vibrantly hued abstract paintings; and Margot Samel, one of the founders of the fair, showcases colorfully collaged, house-like assemblages by legendary self-taught Philadelphia artist Leroy Johnson.

On view May 6–10