The best contemporary art exhibitions in New York City

Jeff Koons @ Gagosian (24th St)
555 W 24th St,   Tu-Sa 10-6,   thru 6/29

Unbelievable. Paintings without brushstrokes, bronze that looks like plastic, and 3 amazing balloon animals.

Anselm Kiefer @ Gagosian (21st St)
522 W 21st St,   Tu-Sa 10-6,   thru 6/8

Dark massive floral paintings are lit only by skylights, and change gently with the passing clouds.

Ugo Rondinone @ Gladstone (21st St)
530 W 21st St,   Tu-Sa 10-6,   thru 7/3

His stone figures in Rockefeller Plaza now are bigger, but this quiet and strange installation is better.

Mark di Suvero @ Paula Cooper (534)
534 W 21st St,   Tu-Sa 10-6,   thru 6/29

Rusted I-beams stretch across the full space of the gallery in the newest (massive) work by Mark di Suvero.

Richard Serra @ David Zwirner (20th St)
537 W 20th St,   Tu-Sa 10-6,   thru 6/15

Early (and dangerous) sculpture, including his amazing ’69 balanced lead works. >blog

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Holton Rower @ The Hole
312 Bowery,   thru 6/20

Hundreds of cans of paint are poured on 1 single spot to overflow into incredible abstractions.

Dave McDermott @ Thierry Goldberg
103 Norfolk St,   We-Su 11-6,   thru 6/2

The backgrounds on these paintings will pull your eye – composed of hundreds of pieces of black yarn.

Josh Tonsfeldt @ Simon Preston
301 Broome St,   We-Su 11-6,   thru 6/2

A surreal installation where fake walls are cast from the floor & a real wall is cut to reveal a window.

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Ellsworth Kelly @ Mnuchin Gallery
45 Ea 78th St,   Tu-Sa 10-5:30,   thru 6/1

Paintings from 5 decades are perfect and poetic on these gallery walls. >blog

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James Nares @ The Metropolitan Musuem
1000 5th Ave,   Tu-Su 9:30-5:30+9pm Fri (closed Mo),   thru 5/27

A slow motion film of New York City sidewalks will open your eyes after you leave the museum.

NYC 1993 @ The New Museum
235 Bowery,   We-Su 11-6+9pm Th (closed M & Tu),   thru 5/26

Who cares about 1993? You will. Check out the amazing “timeline” on the 5th floor first.

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Street Gallery Artist Ends The Two Percent New York Times Time Out New York Magazine Village Voice Go to artcat.com Go to ArtForum.com The New Yorker
10th Avenue
475 10th Ave Sean Kelly Los Carpinteros 6/15 star star star star star star star star
293 10th Ave Paul Kasmin James Nares 6/15 star star star star star star star star
27th Street
547 W 27th Fl6 Accola Griefen Mary Grigoriadis 5/18 star star star star star star star star
515 W 27th St Paul Kasmin (27th St) Simon Hantai 6/8 star star star star star star star star
26th Street
534 W 26th St Mitchell Innes & Nash Amanda Ross-Ho 5/18 star star star star star star star star
526 W 26th Fl7 Walther Collection Projec... Distance & Desire 5/18 star star star star star star star star
25th Street
531 W 25th St ClampArt Joshua Lutz 5/18 star star star star star star star star
508 W 25th St Pace (508) Tim Hawkinson 6/29 star star star star star star star star
24.10
245 10th Ave Yossi Milo Tim Hetherington 5/18 star star star star star star star star
24th Street
555 W 24th St Gagosian (24th St) Jeff Koons 6/29 star star star star star star star star
535 W 24th St Bruce Silverstein Keith Smith 6/1 star star star star star star star star
531 W 24th St Luhring Augustine Philip Taaffe 6/15 star star star star star star star star
525 W 24th St Andrea Rosen Wolfgang Tillmans 6/22 star star star star star star star star
523 W 24th StFl 2 Matthew Marks (24th St) Ellsworth Kelly 6/29 star star star star star star star star
523 W 24th StFl 2 Matthew Marks (24th St) Ellsworth Kelly 6/29 star star star star star star star star
515 W 24th St Gladstone (24th St) Marisa Merz 6/8 star star star star star star star star
23rd Street
527 W 23rd St Danziger Projects American Darkness 6/14 star star star star star star star star
22nd Street
530 W 22nd St Sikkema Jenkins & Co Elizabeth Neel 5/22 star star star star star star star star
522 W 22nd St Matthew Marks (522) Ellsworth Kelly 6/29 star star star star star star star star
502 W 22nd St Matthew Marks (502) Ellsworth Kelly 6/29 star star star star star star star star
21st Street
534 W 21st St Paula Cooper (534) Mark di Suvero 6/29 star star star star star star star star
530 W 21st St Gladstone (21st St) Ugo Rondinone 7/3 star star star star star star star star
521 W 21st St Paula Cooper (521) Bruce Conner 6/22 star star star star star star star star
521 W 21st St Tanya Bonakdar Hannah Starkey 5/25 star star star star star star star star
522 W 21st St Gagosian (21st St) Anselm Kiefer 6/8 star star star star star star star star
20th Street
537 W 20th St David Zwirner (20th St) Richard Serra 6/15 star star star star star star star star
537 W 20th St David Zwirner (20th St) Palermo 6/29 star star star star star star star star
532 W 20th St Anton Kern Richard Hughes 5/18 star star star star star star star star
19th Street
533 W 19th St David Zwirner (533) Jeff Koons 6/29 star star star star star star star star
18.50
138 10th Ave Lori Bookstein Elena Sisto 5/25 star star star star star star star star
18th Street
511 W 18th St Hauser & Wirth Paul McCarthy 7/26 star star star star star star star star

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Street Gallery Artist Ends The Two Percent New York Times Time Out New York Magazine Village Voice Go to artcat.com Go to ArtForum.com The New Yorker
From North to South
312 Bowery The Hole Holton Rower 6/20 star star star star star star star star
253 E Houston St Participant Gary Indiana 5/26 star star star star star star star star
196 Bowery Charles Bank Garrett Pruter 5/26 star star star star star star star star
131 Bowery Simone Subal Florian Meisenberg 6/23 star star star star star star star star
334 Broome St P! Handleman, Ou, & Rost... 6/9 star star star star star star star star
103 Norfolk St Thierry Goldberg Dave McDermott 6/2 star star star star star star star star
301 Broome St Simon Preston Josh Tonsfeldt 6/2 star star star star star star star star
47 Canal St Fl 2 47 Canal Michele Abeles 5/19 star star star star star star star star

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Street Gallery Artist Ends The Two Percent New York Times Time Out New York Magazine Village Voice Go to artcat.com Go to ArtForum.com The New Yorker
118 East 64th St Marianne Boesky (uptown) Out of Memory 5/18 star star star star star star star star
724 5th Ave Tibor de Nagy Jane Freilicher 6/14 star star star star star star star star
5 E 73rd St Craig F Starr Johns & Nauman 5/24 star star star star star star star star
170 E 75th St Gitterman Alma Lavenson 6/1 star star star star star star star star
Upper East Side
23 East 67th St Fl 2 Eykyn Maclean Chuck Close 5/24 star star star star star star star star
32 E 69th St Hauser & Wirth (uptow... Paul McCarthy 7/26 star star star star star star star star
160A E 70th St Andrew Roth Paul P 5/24 star star star star star star star star
64 East 77th St Luxembourg & Dayan Martial Raysse 7/13 star star star star star star star star
4 E 77th St Michael Werner Elizabeth Peyton 6/15 star star star star star star star star
45 Ea 78th St Mnuchin Gallery Ellsworth Kelly 6/1 star star star star star star star star
Midtown
32 E 57th StFl 2 Pace (midtown) Maya Lin 6/22 star star star star star star star star

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Street Gallery Artist Ends The Two Percent New York Times Time Out New York Magazine Village Voice Go to artcat.com Go to ArtForum.com The New Yorker
Upper East Side
1 E 70th St The Frick Piero della Francesca 5/19 star star star star star star star star
725 Park Ave Asia Society The Artful Recluse 6/2 star star star star star star star star
945 Madison Avenue The Whitney American Legends 11/30 star star star star star star star star
945 Madison Avenue The Whitney Jay Defeo 6/2 star star star star star star star star
1000 5th Ave The Metropolitan Musuem African Art, New York... 9/2 star star star star star star star star
1000 5th Ave The Metropolitan Musuem Impressionism Fashion... 5/27 star star star star star star star star
1000 5th Ave The Metropolitan Musuem William Eggleston 7/28 star star star star star star star star
1000 5th Ave The Metropolitan Musuem James Nares 5/27 star star star star star star star star
1000 5th Ave The Metropolitan Musuem Sopheap Pich 7/7 star star star star star star star star
1000 5th Ave The Metropolitan Musuem Photography & Civil W... 9/2 star star star star star star star star
1000 5th Ave The Metropolitan Musuem Valazquez 7/14 star star star star star star star star
1000 5th Ave The Metropolitan Musuem PUNK 8/14 star star star star star star star star
1071 5th Ave The Guggenheim New Harmony 9/8 star star star star star star star star
1071 5th Ave The Guggenheim Danh Vo 5/27 star star star star star star star star
1071 5th Ave The Guggenheim No Country 5/22 star star star star star star star star
1109 5th Ave The Jewish Museum as it were... so to speak 8/4 star star star star star star star star
1109 5th Ave The Jewish Museum Barbara Bloom 8/4 star star star star star star star star
1109 5th Ave The Jewish Museum Jack Goldstein 9/29 star star star star star star star star
Midtown
225 Madison Ave Morgan Library and Museum Matthew Barney 9/2 star star star star star star star star
333 E 47th St Japan Society Edo Pop 6/9 star star star star star star star star
11 W 53 St The Museum of Modern Art Rain Room 7/28 star star star star star star star star
11 W 53 St The Museum of Modern Art Bill Brandt 8/12 star star star star star star star star
11 W 53 St The Museum of Modern Art Dieter Roth 6/24 star star star star star star star star
11 W 53 St The Museum of Modern Art Abstract Generation 6/24 star star star star star star star star
11 W 53 St The Museum of Modern Art Claes Oldenburg 8/5 star star star star star star star star
Lower East Side
235 Bowery The New Museum NYC 1993 5/26 star star star star star star star star
Brooklyn
200 Eastern Pkwy Brooklyn Art Museum El Anatsui 8/4 star star star star star star star star
200 Eastern Pkwy Brooklyn Art Museum LaToya Ruby Frazier 8/11 star star star star star star star star
200 Eastern Pkwy Brooklyn Art Museum John Singer Sargent 7/28 star star star star star star star star
Queens
22-25 Jackson Ave P.S.1 Contemporary Art Ce... Expo 1 9/2 star star star star star star star star
44-19 Purves St Sculpture Center Better Homes 7/22 star star star star star star star star

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Blog

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Video

3 of the 5 best contemporary art exhibitions in New York City + a fun neighborhood fact! Miroslaw Balka @ Gladstone Gallery 530 W 21st St, through 3/30/13 Da...

About the Galleries

New York City contains the highest concentration of contemporary art galleries in human history. The result is the opportunity to enjoy the best art on the planet in a museum-like environment, without the crowds, for free, IF you can sort through the ever-changing 500+ galleries to find the most unique, jaw-dropping experiences.  Good news, we found them.

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