The 30 Hottest Group Shows to See in New York This Summer

Group show season is upon us.

Caroline Wells Chandler, Liam (2017). Courtesy of VICTORI + MO.

That annual rite of summer, the group exhibition, has hit galleries all over New York. If the wide selection seems overwhelming, rest easy. We’ve scoured shows across the city to provide this helpful guide to the best of the bunch. Enjoy!

Work by Whitney staffer Alexandra Bono. Courtesy of Alexandra Bono.

Work by Whitney staffer Alexandra Bono. Courtesy of Alexandra Bono.

1. “WESTSIDE EXPOSURE: Whitney Staff Art Show Summer 2017” at Westbeth Gallery 
Michelle Donnelly and Melinda Lang have curated this exhibition of artwork by staff members at the Whitney Museum of American Art, many of whom are themselves American artists. Over 70 works are on view, including painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, printmaking, collage, and video.

55 Bethune Street at Washington Street, June 23–July 13

Anja Salonen, <em>Plasticity</em> (2017). Courtesy of Thierry Goldberg Gallery.

Anja Salonen, Plasticity (2017). Courtesy of Thierry Goldberg Gallery.

2. “Look Her Way” at Thierry Goldberg Gallery
Maggie Goldstone, Cindy Jie Hye Kim, Tanya Merrill, Grace Metzler, Danielle Orchard, and Anja Salonen explore “themes of vulnerability and anxiety” in this all-women show, according to the gallery.

103 Norfolk Street, June 15–July 14

Zane York, <em>The Wincer</eM>. Courtesy of the New York Academy of Art.

Zane York, The Wincer. Courtesy of the New York Academy of Art.

3. New York Academy of Art, “11th Annual Summer Exhibition” at Flowers Gallery
Every year, the New York Academy of Art holds a juried art show of paintings and sculpture featuring work from the school’s students and alumni, drawn this year from over 500 submissions. The 2017 jurors are Matthew Flowers of Flowers Gallery, Andrew Russeth of ARTNews and independent art advisor Joyce Varvatos.

529 West 20th Street, June 20–July 15

Esperanza Mayobre’s Welcome to the Yunaited Estati (2012). Image courtesy the artist and gallery.

4. “Almost Home: Between Staying and Leaving a Phantom Land” at Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Programs
The theme is migration at this group show organized by Shlomit Dror, which explores the dueling impulses felt by many immigrants—to retain their individualities and to blend into their new communities. The participating artists are Wafaa Bilal, Keren Benbenisty, Juanli Carrión, Daniel Greenfield Campoverde, Claudia Joskowicz, Ayesha Kamal Khan, Dana Levy, Esperanza Mayobre, Elham Rokni, and Karina Aguilera Skvirsky.

11-03 45th Avenue, Long Island City, May 7–July 16

"Summer Sampler" installation view at Front Room Gallery. Courtesy of Front Room Gallery.

“Summer Sampler” installation view at Front Room Gallery. Courtesy of Front Room Gallery.

5. “Summer Sampler” at the Front Room Gallery
Front Room Gallery offers a taste of its offerings with this group exhibition of painting, photography, and sculpture included in their recent or upcoming programming. It’s the thirteenth edition of this summer show, but first at the gallery’s new Lower East Side location, and features Sasha Bezzubov, Thomas Broadbent, Phillip Buehler, Jade Doskow, Peter Fox, Sean Hemmerle, Amy Hill, Jesse Lambert, Mark Masyga, Stephen Mallon, Sascha Mallon, Melissa Pokorny, Ross Racine, Ken Ragsdale, Paul Raphaelson, Emily Roz, Patricia Smith, Joanne Ungar, and Edie Winograde.

48 Hester Street, June 16–July 16

"Breaking an Image." Courtesy of Trestle Projects.

“Breaking an Image.” Courtesy of Trestle Projects.

6. “Breaking an Image” at the Trestle Projects
“The image is more relevant than ever, yet the idea of a single unchanging viewpoint is obsolete,” so claims the exhibition description for “Breaking an Image,” which claims it “cracks wide open (or modulates) the fixed nature of classical photography by exposing its shortcomings as a representative mode.” It is curated by Jesse Firestone, and features work from Amy Ritter, Jessica Harvey, Whitt Forrester, Jasmine Murrell, Ryan Hawk, Bibiana Medkova and Mercedes Searer, and Vincente Vazquez and Usue Arrieta.

400 3rd Avenue, Gowanus, Brooklyn, June 24–July 19

“Summer in the City: Group Exhibition” installation view, Carter Burden Gallery. Courtesy of Carter Burden Gallery.

“Summer in the City: Group Exhibition” installation view, Carter Burden Gallery. Courtesy of Carter Burden Gallery.

7. “Summer in the City: Group Exhibition” at Carter Burden Gallery 
The Lovin’ Spoonful’s classic 1966 hit “Summer in the City” lends its title to this show celebrating the season, with work in a variety of mediums from Olivia Beens, Myrna Burks, Karin Bruckner, Elisabeth Jacobsen, Robert Ludwig, Carol Massa, Margo Mead, Kate Misset, Rod Recor, Nieves Saah, Vera Sapozhnikova, Sheila Schwid, Angela Valeria, and Jerry Vezzuso.

548 West 28th Street, June 29–July 20

Michelle Ross, Slippery Slope (2014). Courtesy of the artist and Elizabeth Leach Gallery.

Michelle Ross, Slippery Slope (2014). Courtesy of the artist and Elizabeth Leach Gallery.

8. “Tomorrow Tomorrow” at CANADA
An Elliot Smith lyric provides the name for this group show featuring artists from the singer’s hometown of Portland, Oregon, “a highly collaborative artistic community with a history of migration, mysticism, indigenous strength, and literary soul-searching,” according to the gallery. The featured artists are Demian DinéYazhi’ and Noelle Sosaya, MK Guth, Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Kristan Kennedy, Evan La Londe, Charlie Perez-Tlatenchi, Michelle Ross, Storm Tharp, and Heather Watkins.

333 & 331 Broome Street, June 15–July 21

Photo © Thatcher Cook for the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation.

Photo © Thatcher Cook for the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation.

9. “Threadat David Zwirner
Two years ago, the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation founded Thread, a Senegal-based non-profit that brings artists from Senegal and around the world to work in a remote part of sub-Saharan Africa. A group show/fundraiser celebrating the organization features 26 David Zwirner artists, all of whom have donated their work to benefit Thread, in the hopes of creating an endowment. There are also photographs of Thread taken by artist Giovanni Hänninen.

533 West 19th Street, June 27–July 21

Tiger Palpatja’s Self Portrait (2007). Image courtesy the artist and Olsen Gruin.

10. “Sharing Country” at Olsen Gruin
This exhibition of work by leading contemporary Aboriginal artists is curated by Adam Knight, vice president of the Aboriginal Art Association of Australia. Featured artists include Sandy Brumby, Tommy Watson, Joseph Jurra Tjapaltjarri, Iluwanti Ken, Puna Yanima, Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin, Womens Collaborative, Barbara Moore, Tiger Palpatja, Witjiti George, Minnie Pwerle, Kudditji Kngwarreye, Kathy Maringka, and Liddy Napanangka Walker.

211 Elizabeth Street, June 15–July 23

Katrina Majkut, Consent is Asking Everytime (2015). Courtesy of the artist and VICTORI + MO

Katrina Majkut, Consent is Asking Everytime (2015). Courtesy of the artist and VICTORI + MO

11. “Nasty Stiches” at VICTORI + MO
Knitting and politics may not seem like a natural fit, but Caroline Wells Chandler, Elsa Hansen, Katrina Majkut, and Sara Sachs all utilize traditionally feminine fabric-based crafts such as embroidery to send powerful feminist messages in this timely group show.

56 Bogart Street, Brooklyn, June 16–July 23

Installation view of "Lyrics on a Battlefield" at Gladstone Gallery. Courtesy of Gladstone Gallery.

Installation view of “Lyrics on a Battlefield” at Gladstone Gallery. Courtesy of Gladstone Gallery.

12. “Lyric on a Battlefield” at Gladstone Gallery
Miciah Hussey curated this show featuring Kelly Akashi, Ellen Berkenblit, Louisa Clement, Anne Collier, Bracha L. Ettinger, Anish Kapoor, Liz Magor, f.marquespenteado, Suzanne McClelland, Dawn Mellor, Monique Mouton, Senga Nengudi, and Kandis Williams. The organizing principle, according to the exhibition description, is work that uses “the lyric—the poetic first-person account of lived experience—to explore the complexities of being in the world.”

515 West 24th Street, June 23–July 28

Sean Kelly "Selected" installation view. Courtesy of Sean Kelly.

Sean Kelly “Selected” installation view. Courtesy of Sean Kelly.

13. “Selected” at Sean Kelly
Here’s a new way to put together your summer group show: let each staff member chose two works, any work, from the gallery’s inventory, whether it be a favorite from a previous show, a work they had long hoped to see on display, or one discovered for the first time while putting together the show.

475 Tenth Avenue, June 23–July 28

Jon Rafman's Poor Magic (2017), part of "Dream Machines" at James Cohan gallery. Image courtesy Jon Rafman and the gallery.

Jon Rafman’s Poor Magic (2017), part of “Dream Machines” at James Cohan gallery. Image courtesy Jon Rafman and the gallery.

14. “Dream Machines” at James Cohan
David Altmejd, Omer Fast, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Mernet Larsen, Lee Mullican, Jon Rafman, Tabaimo, and Fred Tomaselli are among those featured in James Cohan’s summer group show, which, according to the gallery statement, “considers the point at which the real and the imaginary cease to be perceived as contradictory.”

533 West 26th Street, June 23–July 28

Rochelle Feinstein's The Week in Hate (2017), part of "The Roger Ailes Memorial Show: Fair and Balanced" at yours mine & ours.

Rochelle Feinstein’s The Week in Hate (2017), part of “The Roger Ailes Memorial Show: Fair and Balanced” at yours mine & ours.

15. “The Roger Ailes Memorial Show: Fair and Balanced” at yours mine & ours
There’s no exhibition statement for this one. Instead, the gallery website offers a New York Times editorial by Monica Lewinsky slamming the late Roger Ailes for spearheading Fox New’s negative coverage of her affair with former President Bill Clinton, and the sexist corporate culture he fed during his tenure at the network. The work on view is by Amy Bessone, Ria Brodell, Taylor Davis, Rochelle Feinstein, Nash Glynn, Cindy Hinant, Jane Fox Hipple, Sam Jablon, Tony Lewis, Gregory Lofthouse, Anahid Mishek, Hannah Rowan, Karen Schwartz, Siebren Versteeg, Allison Wade, Nicole Wittenberg, and David Wojnarowicz,

54 Eldridge Street, July 6–August 4

Installation view of "The Time is Now" at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, image courtesy the gallery.

Installation view of “The Time is Now” at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, image courtesy the gallery.

16. “The Time Is Now: Women Artists” at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery
Proving that “women’s art” fails to fit neatly into any one category is this exhibition of work spanning nearly 50 years, with figuration as well as abstraction. The featured artists include such major figures as Magdalena Abakanowicz, Ruth Asawa, Hannelore Baron, Mary Bauermeister, Deborah Butterfield, Barbara Chase-Riboud, Elaine de Kooning, Jay DeFeo, Grace Hartigan, Lee Krasner, Yayoi Kusama, Lee Lozano, Joan Mitchell, Alice Neel, Louise Nevelson, Betye Saar, Nancy Spero, and Alma Thomas.

100 11th Avenue, June 17–August 4

“Uplift” at Emmanuel Fremin Gallery. Courtesy of Emmanuel Fremin Gallery

“Uplift” at Emmanuel Fremin Gallery. Courtesy of Emmanuel Fremin Gallery

17. “Uplift” at Emmanuel Fremin Gallery
Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, it’s hard not to feel discouraged by the newspaper headlines these days. In contrast, according to the exhibition description,”Emmanuel Fremin Gallery’s exclusive faction of inimitable talent [aims to] replace persisting anxieties and generate attitudes of blissful ease.”

547 West 27th Street Suite 510, June 29–August 5

Installation view of "The Times" at the FLAG Art Foundation (2017). Courtesy of FLAG Art Foundation, photography by Steven Probert.

Installation view of “The Times” at the FLAG Art Foundation (2017). Courtesy of FLAG Art Foundation, photography by Steven Probert.

18. “The Times” at FLAG Art Foundation 
Still the newspaper of record, despite complaints from certain world leaders, the New York Times proves a fruitful inspiration for the 85 artists and collectives included in FLAG’s summer group show. According to the exhibition descriptions, these artists, including Robert Gober, Ellsworth Kelly, Lorraine O’Grady, and Fred Tomaselli, “use the New York Times as their platform to address and reframe issues that impact our everyday lives.”

545 West 25th Street, 9th and 10th Floor, June 1–August 11

LJ Roberts, Portrait of Deb from 1988–199? (2012–13), detail. Courtesy of the artist.

LJ Roberts, Portrait of Deb from 1988–199? (2012–13), detail. Courtesy of the artist.

19. “VOICE = SURVIVAL” at the 8th Floor
In 1987, AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) created a bold message for AIDS awareness proclaiming that “SILENCE = DEATH.” Thirty years later, Visual AIDS has organized a group show, curated by Claudia Maria Carrera and Adrian Geraldo Saldaña, that gives voice to AIDS and HIV activists. Archival materials from ACT UP are featured alongside work by artists including Kiki Smith, Donald Moffett, and David Wojnarowicz.

17 West 17th Street, June 15–August 11

"Cells," (Installation View) at Marianne Boesky Gallery (2017). Courtesy of Marianne Boesky Gallery/photographer Jason Wyche.

“Cells,” (Installation View)
at Marianne Boesky Gallery (2017). Courtesy of Marianne Boesky Gallery/photographer Jason Wyche.

20. “Cells” at Marianne Boesky Gallery
Taking Louise Bourgeois’s sculptural environments of the same name as its inspiration, “Cells” features nine artists, including Matthias Bitzer, Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Jackie Brookner, Alex da Corte, the Haas Brothers, Jennie C. Jones, Nancy Lupo, Jorge Pardo, and Cosima van Bonin, touted by the gallery as “artists who expose the tensions between functionality and aesthetics.”

507 and 509 West 24th Street, June 28–August 11

Andrew Ohanesian, <em>Slots</em> (2015), detail. Courtesy of Pierogi.

Andrew Ohanesian, Slots (2015), detail. Courtesy of Pierogi.

21. “Double Down” at Pierogi
Pierogi places the viewer in the role of witness in this group show of works that “deal with associations of reciprocal relationship, establishing intrinsic dialogues within one, or between multiple complementary and oppositional objects, putting the viewer in a different relationship to the work.” The artists included are Reed Anderson, Jean Blackburn, Jane Dickson, J. Fiber, Matt Freedman, Jen Hitchings, James Hyde, Patrick Jacobs, Darina Karpov, John O’Connor, Andrew Ohanesian, Mark Reynolds, David Scher, Lynn Talbot, and Jim Torok.

155 Suffolk Street, June 24–August 12

Grace Hartigan's Hollywood Interior (1993), part of "Elaine, Let's Get the Hell Out of Here" at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery. Image courtesy the gallery.

Grace Hartigan’s Hollywood Interior (1993), part of “Elaine, Let’s Get the Hell Out of Here” at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery. Image courtesy the gallery.

22. “Elaine, Let’s Get the Hell Out of Here” at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery
Curator Ashton Cooper brings together five generations of artists—Deborah Anzinger, Alex Bradley Cohen, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Ralph Lemon, Al Loving, Rosemary Mayer, Joan Mitchell, Sheila Pepe, Sable Elyse Smith, Joan Snyder, Vanessa Thill, and Molly Zuckerman-Hartung—in a show that addresses the issues women have had, both historically, and today, with being labeled as “women artists.”

327 Broome Street (between Bowery & Chrystie), June 29–August 18

Amir H. Fallah's The Potters (2016) part of "The Unhomely" at Denny Gallery. Image courtesy the gallery.

Amir H. Fallah’s The Potters (2016) part of “The Unhomely” at Denny Gallery. Image courtesy the gallery.

23. “The Unhomely” at Denny Gallery
What does it mean to be an artist in a globalized world where borders are being closed, both literally and figuratively? Denny Gallery attempts to answer this question in part through “The World and the Home,” a 1992 essay by Homi Bhabha, with work by Amir H. Fallah, Ann Shelton, Diedrick Brackens, Future Retrieval, Mie Olise Kjærgaard, and Paula Wilson.

261 Broome Street, June 29–August 18

Isabella Kirkland's <i>Nudibranchia</i> (2014). © Isabella Kirkland, courtesy of Matthew Marks Gallery.

Isabella Kirkland’s Nudibranchia (2014). © Isabella Kirkland, courtesy of Matthew Marks Gallery.

24. “So I traveled a great deal…” at Matthew Marks Gallery
Effortlessly claiming the title for most quirkily named summer group show of 2017 is “So I traveled a great deal. I met George, Ebbe, Joy, Philip, Jack, Robert, Dora, Harold, Jerome, Ed, Mike, Tom, Bill, Harvey, Sheila, Irene, John, Michael, Mertis, Gai-fu, Jay, Jim, Anne, Kirby, Allen, Peter, Charles, Drummond, Cassandra, Pamela, Marilyn, Lewis, Ted, Clayton, Cid, Barbara, Ron, Richard, Tony, Paul, Anne, Russell, Larry, Link, Anthea, Martin, Jane, Don, Fatso, Clark, Anja, Les, Sue, and Brian.” The title comes from a video on view by Beat generation poet Joanne Kyger.

522 West 22nd Street, July 5–August 18

Sophie Calle,<i>The Blind. Sheep, Delon, my mother</i> (1986). Courtesy Perrotin.

Sophie Calle, The Blind. Sheep, Delon, my mother (1986). Courtesy Perrotin.

25. “Fond Illusions” at Galerie Perrotin
Kathryn Andrews, Sophie Calle, Leslie Hewitt, Bharti Kher, Alicja Kwade, B. Ingrid Olson, Cornelia Parker, Gala Porras-Kim, and Tatiana Trouvé are featured in this group show of both established and emerging talents. “The participating artists have been recognized for their command of unconventional materials that bridge the fundamental qualities of 2-D and 3-D artworks,” noted the gallery, describing their work as “abstract and cohesive, physical and psychological, sculptural and, occasionally, otherworldly.”

130 Orchard Street, June 21–Friday, August 18

Hilary Pecis, Sculpture Court (2017). Courtesy Joshua Liner Gallery.

26. “Summer Breaks” at Joshua Liner Gallery 
Portraiture, landscape, and still life, the three traditional painting genres of Western art history, get turned on their head in “a group show that rethinks traditional painting,” according to the gallery. Expect boundary-breaking work from Aaron Johnson, Alfred Steiner, Andrew Schoultz, Evan Hecox, Hilary Pecis, Libby Black, Michael Kagan, Parra, Sam Friedman, Tony Curanaj, and Wayne White.

540 West 28th Street, July 13–August 18

Alessandra Sanguinetti Camila (1999). Image © Alessandra Sanguinetti.

Alessandra Sanguinetti
Camila (1999). Image © Alessandra Sanguinetti.

27. “Women Seeing Women” at Staley-Wise Gallery
A dozen women fashion and documentary photographers, all from the Magnum Photo cooperative, take center stage in this group show. “Photographing and moving in different spheres,” notes the exhibition description, “they are recording and interacting with women in the larger world to highlight disparate subjects such as war, childhood, religion, sexuality, and style while celebrating the complexity of the female experience.”

100 Crosby Street, Suite 305, June 20–August 31

Jenny Holzer, <i>compromised knowledge</i> (2014). ©Jenny Holzer, member Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Courtesy Cheim & Read, New York.

Jenny Holzer, compromised knowledge (2014). ©Jenny Holzer, member Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Courtesy Cheim & Read, New York.

28. “The Horizontal” at Cheim and Read
The art in Cheim and Read’s summer group show may be abstract, but the artists—Louise Bourgeois, Louise Fishman, Ron Gorchov, Al Held, Jenny Holzer, Bill Jensen, Ellsworth Kelly, Brice Marden, Agnes Martin, Prabhavathi Meppayil, Joan Mitchell, Jack Pierson, Serge Poliakoff, Tal R, Sean Scully, Richard Serra, David Smith, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Cy Twombly, Juan Uslé, and Matthew Wong—still incorporate a grounding horizon line into their works.

547 West 25th Street, July 6–August 31

"From a whisper to a scream," Installation view, Lehmann Maupin, New York. Courtesy the artists and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong/photographer Matthew Herrmann .

“From a whisper to a scream,” Installation view, Lehmann Maupin, New York. Courtesy the artists and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong/photographer Matthew Herrmann .

29. “From a whisper to a scream” at Lehmann Maupin
This relatively tiny group exhibition showcases Teresita Fernández, Jeffrey Gibson, and Shirazeh Houshiary, who all “all draw from the visual vocabulary of Minimalism in their use of industrial materials, deliberate restriction of form, and engagement of physical space,” according to the gallery. But where the original strain of Minimalism eschewed political, social, and cultural messages, these artists imbue their work with meaning in a way normally reserved for more narrative-based work.

201 Chrystie Street, May 25–September 1

Ingrid Finnian, <em>Amigo Amaryllis</em>. Courtesy of the National Association of Women Artists.

Ingrid Finnian, Amigo Amaryllis. Courtesy of the National Association of Women Artists.

30. “National Association of Women Artists’ 128th Annual Members’ Exhibition” at Sylvia Wald & Po Kim Art Gallery
The National Association of Women Artists (NAWA), the oldest women’s fine art organization in the country (it was founded in 1889) holds its annual members exhibition.

417 Lafayette Street, 4th Floor, August 22–September 14


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