New York art exhibitions to see in June

With the previous month packed with Frieze and NYCxDesign goings-on, the city still hasn’t stopped, and continues to host an eclectic assortment of exhibitions this June. The still-life works of Pablo Picasso are explored at Almine Rech, while Takashi Murakami explores Japonisme at Gagosian. Also discover British artist Louise Giovanelli’s new paintings created in response to four selected films. New York is a powerhouse of creativity – don't miss a thing with our monthly updated guide to the best exhibitions to see around the city.

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The best New York art exhibitions: what to see this month

Pablo Picasso ‘Still Life’

Almine Rech until 18 July 2025

In collaboration with Fundación Almine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, Almine Rech New York presents a collection of Picasso’s still-life work. The artist is best known for portraying his personal life and relationships through his abstract paintings, yet his still-life work is somewhat overlooked. Here, the focus is on his dynamic depiction of everyday objects in various mediums throughout his career.

alminerech.com

Pierre Huyghe ‘In Imaginal’

Marian Goodman Gallery until 21 June

French contemporary artist Pierre Huyghe has explored the relationship between humans and non-humans over the past decade and how the passage of time is experienced. In his current exhibition, he decentres humans and creates an alternative form that taps into the metaphysical approach to existence.

mariangoodman.com

Takashi Murakami JAPONISME → Cognitive Revolution: Learning from Hiroshige

Gagosian until 11 July 2025

Murakami is a busy man. With the exhibition 'Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow' currently on display at The Cleveland Art Museum, which explores outrage and escapist fantasy, the artist now showcases new and recent works at Gagosian. In ‘JAPONISME → Cognitive Revolution: Learning from Hiroshige’, he reworks prints by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) with those of paintings by artists identified with 19th-century Japonisme. There are 121 canvases on show, which respond to Hiroshige’s series of ukiyo-e prints, 100 Famous Views of Edo (1856–58).

gagosian.com

Louise Giovanelli ‘Still Moving’

GRIMM until 21 June

British artist Louise Giovanelli presents new paintings created in response to four films chosen in collaboration with movie theatre Metrograph in New York. The films include The Brown Bunny (2003), Kids (1995), and Ticket of No Return (1979). The subject of each painting is chosen around a specific moment or event in the film, where there is heavy tension between characters or their environment. These key cinematic moments inform Giovanelli, who creates layered paintings that capture the beauty of film stills and the heaviness they hold.

grimmgallery.com

Rosa Barba The Ocean of One’s Pause

MoMA until 6 July

Italian visual artist and filmmaker Rosa Barba presents ‘The Ocean of One’s Pause’. The installation looks across 15 years of her work including film, sculpture and sound. At the heart of the exhibition is the newly commissioned work ‘Charge’ which examines light as a driving force of ecological change and scientific innovation.

moma.org

Christine Sun Kim: All Day All Night

Whitney Museum of American Art until 6 July

American sound artist Christine Sun Kim explores communication in various forms from musical notation to infographics, written English to American Sign Language (ASL). She responds with drawings, videos and sculptures, and in particular ASL, which has been translated into graphic form. She questions the societal assumption that spoken languages are superior to those that are signed.

whitney.org

The Human Situation: Marcia Marcus, Alice Neel, Sylvia Sleigh

Levy Gorvy Dayan until 21 June

Three female artists are at the heart of the latest exhibition at Levy Gorvy Dayan. ‘The Human Situation’ looks at the work of the late Marcia Marcus, Alice Neel, and Sylvia Sleigh, who all worked in New York during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Collectively, they looked towards representing loved ones, friends and acquaintances, each with their own distinct form and style. Through an abundance of colour each artist captures the human spirit through layered portraiture.

levygorvydayan.com

Being There

Edwynn Houk Gallery until 13 June

British-French artist and filmmaker Lee Shulman, founder of The Anonymous Project, joined forces with Senegalese artist Omar Victor Diop to reimagine 20th-century visual history. Diop inserts himself into a series of archival photographs – his presence inviting the audience to look twice at what's real and what's altered, and consider questions of inclusion and visibility. Being There was also seen at the recent festival Kyotographie 2025.

houkgallery.com

Amy Sherald: American Sublime

Whitney Museum of American Art until 10 August 2025

Georgia-born artist Amy Sherald crafts an intricate narrative of American life through a series of portraiture of ‘everyday’ Americans going about their daily lives. With a focus on Black Americans, she adds a compelling individuality, highlighting the extraordinary within the mundane, as the subjects go about their daily routine. Within the exhibition, she couples ‘ordinary’ Americans with notable figures such as Michelle Obama, adding to the layers of American identity.

whitney.org

Shining a light on The Subway Sun

New York Transit Museum, ongoing

Historically on the New York subway, posters advised and informed users, encouraging correct etiquette and manners. For 'Shining a light on The Subway Sun', posters designed by illustrators Fred G Cooper and Amelia Opdyke Jones are celebrated, with the exhibition showcasing more than 40 examples from the museum's collection of approximately 120 original poster artworks and more than 100 vintage posters, most produced between 1936 and 1965.

nytransitmuseum.org

Songs of New York

Museum of the City of New York, ongoing

Featuring music from 100 artists, ‘Songs of New York’ explores a full range of genres that have influenced the city from the 1920s through to the present day. Different genres explore different locations, from subways to apartments, nightclubs to neighbourhoods in this immersive, interactive exhibition.

mcny.org

Pirouette

MoMA until 18 October

The Museum of Modern Art explores iconography, objects and design that have impacted everyday life. The aim of the exhibition is to showcase the power of design and how it translates the human experience into ‘tangible forms’. Visitors will see icons such as the ‘I ♥️ NY’ logo and Telfar’s Shopping Bag, dubbed the ‘Bushwick Birkin’. Other items include technology, from the cassette player to the Macintosh 128K Home Computer. The exhibition is a fun dose of nostalgia while also looking towards the future.

moma.org

Shifting Landscapes

Whitney Museum of American Art until January 2026

‘Shifting Landscapes’ is a group show exploring how evolving political, ecological, and social issues motivate artists as they attempt to represent the world around them. The works are drawn from the gallery’s collection, and span various environments, from cityscapes to rural landscapes, bringing ideas of land and place into focus, and considering how society is shaped by the spaces around us.

whitney.org

'In the Shadow of the American Dream: David Wojnarowicz'

The Museum of Modern Art, ongoing

Wojnarowicz's work has been recontextualised by MoMA, which has presented it alongside that of the artist's contemporaries from the 1980s New York downtown scene, including filmmaker Marion Scemama, Donald Moffett, Agosto Machado and painter Martin Wong. Important works here include Wojnarowicz's's 1987 Fire, while Machado’s Shrine is a moving time capsule of ephemera. It includes a ‘Justice for Marsha’ sign, referring to questions around the suspicious death of trans activist Marsha P Johnson in 1992, as well as club flyers and memorial service cards.

Writer: Lauren Cochrane

moma.org