Each week, we search New York City for the most exciting, and thought-provoking, shows, screenings, and events. See them below. 

Monday, October 7

BOFFO’s new book Talking to the Sun at Fire Island. Photo courtesy of BOFFO.

1. Book Party for BOFFO’s Talking to the Sun at Fire Island at Sister City

BOFFO celebrates its annual artist residency and performance festival on Fire Island with a new book featuring projects they’ve staged with artists including Lyle Ashton Harris, Savannah Knoop, Wolfgang Tilmans, and Sarah Zapata, to name just a few. The release party will include live music from DeSe and Michael Magnan as well as a book reading.

Location: Sister City, 225 Bowery, 11th Floor
Price: Free with RSVP
Time: 6 p.m.–9 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Installation view of a 2014 show featuring Robert Se Niro Sr. Photo Courtesy D.C. Moore Gallery

2. “Robert De Niro in Conversation with Robert Storr: My Father, the Artist” at the 92Y

Robert De Niro continues to champion the work of his father, painter and poet Robert De Niro Sr., with the publication of the artist’s first monograph, Robert De Niro, Sr.: Paintings, Drawings, and Writings: 1949–1993. The actor will reminiscence about the elder De Niro’s life and career, which included debuting at Peggy Guggenheim’s Art of This Century gallery in 1945, with art historian Robert Storr.

Location: 92Y, Kaufmann Concert Hall, 1395 Lexington Avenue
Price: From $45
Time: 7:30 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Mos Def, Yasiin Bey.

3. “A Night of Reading with Yasiin Bey” at the Wythe Hotel

Yasiin Bey, aka Mos Def, surreptitiously released his last album as an art exhibition at Art Basel Hong Kong this spring, allowing visitors to listen to the otherwise-unavailable tunes the booth of Dubai gallery the Third Line. Now, he’s sharing his creative impulses in an intimate event at the Wythe Hotel, where he’ll read poems by the likes of Ezra Pound and perform Ethiopian throat singing and old Brazillian acoustic tunes.

Location: Wythe Hotel, 80 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn
Price: $25
Time: Opening reception, 6:30 p.m.–9 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Monday, October 7–Sunday, January 5, 2020

Ceremonial Armor of Charles V Austrian (Innsbruck) and German (Augsburg), circa 1512–14, made by Conrad Seusenhofer (first recorded 1500, died 1517). On loan from the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Imperial Armoury. Photo by Bruce M. White, courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

4. “The Last Knight: The Art, Armor, and Ambition of Maximilian I ” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met’s biggest arms and armor show in decades looks back to the dawn of the Renaissance and the 500th anniversary of the death of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (1459–1519). With 180 objects on loan from around the world, the exhibition showcases how the ambitious Maximilian used the trappings of knighthood to facilitate his rise to power.

Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue
Price: $25 general admission
Time: Sunday–Thursday, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Monday, October 7–Saturday, January 25, 2020

5. “Alice Miceli: Projeto Chernobyl” at the Americas Society Gallery

Part of what made HBO’s Chernobyl miniseries so memorable was its ability to give devastating visual form to the invisible radiation released by the 1986 explosion of the titular Soviet nuclear plant. In a body of work made between 2006 and 2010, Brazilian artist Alice Miceli achieved a similar feat in a far more nuanced, and perhaps far more haunting, way. By directly exposing film to the radiation still present in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone more than two decades after the catastrophe, Miceli created 30 radiographs that simultaneously act as archival evidence and aesthetic experience of the disaster’s ongoing, largely imperceptible toll.

Location: Americas Society Gallery, 680 Park Avenue
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception Monday, October 7, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Wednesday–Saturday, noon–6 p.m.

—Tim Schneider

Tuesday, October 8

El Teatro at El Museo del Barrio. Photo courtesy of El Teatro at El Museo del Barrio.

6. Reservations Open for Open House New York 

Tomorrow is the day to snag your free reservations for Open House New York (October 18–20), which grants behind-the-scenes access to some of New York City’s most unique architectural sites, which range from well-known art venues like to the newly restored El Museo del Barrio Teatro to off-the-beaten-path locations like Kings County Distillery in the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the fashion district’s M&S Schmalberg, which offers a tour of its silk flower manufacturing facility, founded in 1916 and the largest in the country. Securing slots is ultra-competitive—8,000 of the 10,000 tickets went within the first hour, last year. But if you can’t snag the tour of your choice, rest assured that there over 150 Open House sites that don’t require reservations.

Location: Online ticketing for sites across New York City
Price: Free
Time: 11 a.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Thursday, October 10

Ruth Ewan, Silent Agitator (2019). Photo by Timothy Schenck.

7. “There’s a better life and you think about it, don’t you?” Performance at the High Line

Inspired by Ruth Ewan’s sculpture on display at the High Line, the artist—along the Brooklyn’s Women’s Chorus, New York City Labor Chorus, and various other performers—will be singing odes to organized labor. The sculpture, titled Silent Agitator is based on an original illustration for the Industrial Workers of the World labor union, and draws on themes of solidarity, spirit, and collective power. The evening promises to be a toe-tapping good time, hosted by Whitney Biennial comedic performer Morgan Bassichis.

Location: On the High Line at 14th Street
Price: Free
Time: 6 p.m.–8 p.m.

—Caroline Goldstein

Loie Hollowell in the studio. © Loie Hollowell, courtesy Pace Gallery. Photo: Melissa Goodwin

8. “Artist Talk and Poetry Reading: Loie Hollowell, Iris Cushing, and Diana Nawi” at Pace 

Newly minted market sensation Loie Hollowell’s Pace show closes October 19, but first she’ll host a poetry reading and artist talk with Iris Cushing and Diana Nawi.

Location: Pace, 540 West 25th Street
Price: Free with RSVP
Time: 6:30 p.m.–8 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Thursday, October 10–Saturday, November 9

Tyler Dobson, (DATE). Image courtesy of the artist and Team Gallery.

9. “Tyler Dobson: To Two Too” at Team Gallery

This is the eighth entry in the gallery’s project room series “Gallery B”. In his paintings and sculpture, Dobson transforms found objects and readymades by stripping bare the materials to open up the possibility of broader meaning.

Location: Team Gallery 83 Grand Street, New York
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

—Eileen Kinsella

Thursday, October 10–Saturday, February 15, 2020

Installation view of Nicolas Party: Pastel at The FLAG Art Foundation, 2019. Photography by Probert. Courtesy of The FLAG Art Foundation

10. “Nicolas Party: Pastel” at the FLAG Art Foundation

The FLAG Art Foundation presents a two-floor exhibition from rising star—and newly added member of the Hauser & Wirth roster—Nicolas Party. In this show, Party juxtaposes large-scale pastel wall murals with smaller pastel works from eighteenth-century and contemporary masters such as Rosalba Carriera, Mary Cassatt, Louis Fratino, and Loie Hollowell. Do not miss this immersive, colorful exhibition as it promises to be one of the most visually stimulating treats of the season.

Location: The FLAG Art Foundation, 545 West 25th Street, 9th Floor
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, Friday, October 11, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Wednesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

—Neha Jambhekar

Opening Friday, October 11

Alexander Berggruen is opening his own gallery in the former Mitchell-Innes & Nash space on the Upper East Side.

11. “Words” at Alexander Berggruen

In August, former Christie’s specialist Alexander Berggruen announced that he would become the latest dealer to defect from the auction world and venture out to open a private gallery with his name on the door. Taking over the address that once housed the uptown digs of Mitchell-Innes & Nash, Berggruen’s eponymous gallery opens this Friday with a stacked group show called “Words,” focused on how artists have embraced the verbal in their practices. Heavy hitters known for their motto-based works, such as Ed Ruscha, Barbara Kruger, and Lawrence Weiner, will be represented, alongside the late Cy Twombly and Jean-Michel Basquiat, who both have text slinking through their canvases. Younger artists such as Jonas Wood, Matthew Cerletty, and Emily Mae Smith will also have work in the show.

Location: Alexander Berggruen, 1018 Madison Avenue, 3rd Floor
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

—Nate Freeman

Friday, October 11–Sunday, October 13

David Byrne. Courtesy of Zach Hilty/BFA.

12. The New Yorker Festival

The New Yorker celebrates arts and politics with this annual festival. This year’s events include a talk with David Byrne, an early morning tour of the Frick with the magazine’s art critic Peter Schjeldahl, and a panel featuring contributors to The Peanuts Papers, a new book about Charles Schulz’s beloved comic strip.

Location: The New Yorker Festival Headquarters at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, Broadway between 62nd and 63rd Streets; the Land Rover Stage at N.Y. Ethical Culture
2 West 64th Street; Gerald W. Lynch Theater, 524 West 59th Street; N.Y.I.T. Auditorium on Broadway, 1871 Broadway; Directors Guild Theatre, 110 West 57th Street; and Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street
`Price: Free
Time: Various events

—Sarah Cascone

Friday, October 11–Saturday, November 9

Meghan Boody, Storytime, 2019. Courtesy of William Ris Gallery

13. “Neverlands: Work by Meghan Boody & Jeff Muhs” at William Ris Gallery

Celebrate the end of summer at William Ris Gallery in Jamesport, New York with a two-person exhibition of Long Island artists Meghan Boody and Jeff Muhs. These are artists with two very distinct styles, Boody showing photographs with a mysterious quality consisting of children and animals in surreal settings, and Muhs showing abstract paintings in calming, seaside hues. There will also be an artist talk with both artists on November 2nd from 1 p.m.–3 p.m.

Location: William Ris Gallery, 1291 Main Road, Jamesport, New York
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–9 p.m.; Monday–Sunday, 12 p.m.–5 p.m.

—Neha Jambhekar

Friday, October 11–Sunday, November 10

Johnston Foster, Pony Up, 2015. Courtesy of Freight+Volume.

14. “ Johnston Foster: Bone Pendulum in Motley ” Freight+Volume

Mixed-media sculptor Johnston Foster re-visits elements of his 2018-2019 show at Arts+Leisure, in a new exhibition at Freight+Volume. Using found objects like plywood, phone cables, and door knobs, Foster prompts the viewer to “re-examine the material fabric of their daily lives and its relation to overarching natural cycles of death and decomposition.” The horse riding skeletons in “Pony Up” hint at an apocalyptically delightful series of work.

Location: Freight+Volume, 97 Allen Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 7:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m.; Wednesday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

—Cristina Cruz

Arghavan Khosravi, Simurg (2019). Photo courtesy of Lyles & King.

15. “Arghavan Khosravi: Tightrope Walking the Red Lines” at Lyles & King

Lyles & King previewed a few of Arghavan Khosravi’s paintings in the gallery’s front room over the summer, but this is the first New York solo show for the Iranian artist, who moved to the US from Tehran in 2015. Reminiscent of illuminated manuscripts, her paintings reflect her upbringing in a liberal family under a regime that repressed women’s rights, by placing female subjects in imaginative, dreamlike settings.

Location: Lyles & King, 106 Forsyth Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Sunday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Friday, October 11–Sunday, January 26

Takashi Homma, New National Stadium (2017). Photo ©Takashi Homma, courtesy of the artist.

16. “Made in Tokyo: Architecture and Living, 1964/2020” at the Japan Society

Tokyo has experienced a variety of social, economic, and political shifts. When it hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, Tokyo saw incredible growth and improvement in its infrastructure, followed by the economic collapse of the 1990s. In the lead up to the city’s 2020 games, the Japan Society examines the role of architecture in the city’s social and economic development since the last Tokyo Olympics. The exhibition is curated and designed by Japanese architectural firm Atelier Bow-Wow.

Location: Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street
Price: General admission, $12
Time: Tuesday–Thursday, 12 p.m.–7 p.m.; Friday, 12 p.m.–9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

—Tanner West

Through Saturday, October 12

Installation view of “Bernar Venet: Indeterminate Hypothesis.” Photo by Diego Flores.

17. “Bernar Venet: Indeterminate Hypothesis” at Kasmin

French conceptualist artist Bernar Venet, who recently erected Europe’s biggest public sculpture, has brought five of his monumental sculptures. Made from raw bars of steel, each piece is a massive, multi-looped spiral, formed through an incredible show of artistic force.

Location: Kasmin, 509 West 27th Street
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Saturday, October 12

TM Davy, Marram (2019). Courtesy of Van Doren Waxter.

18. “TM Davy: This Marram” at Van Doren Waxter

MASS MoCA curator Susan Cross will talk with TM Davy, who was included in her group exhibition at the museum, “The Lure of the Dark,” on the occasion of his show at Van Doren Waxter, on view through November 2. Davy’s pastel drawings and watercolors are inspired by the scenes of Fire Island—sunsets, landscapes, and portraits. Many of his subjects are fellow artists, including Wolfgang Tillmans, K8 Hardy, Ryan McNamara, Nicole Eisenman, and Hanna Liden.

Location: Van Doren Waxter, 23 East 73rd Street
Price: Free
Time: 2 p.m.

—Nan Stewert

Toni Morrison in 2008. Photo by Matt Carasella ©Patrick McMullan.

19. “A Convening” at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise

Yard Concept, the new digital journal founded this year by arts publicist and philanthropist Tiana Webb Evans, is hosting a reading circle at Gavin Brown’s enterprise celebrating Toni Morrison’s The Source of Self-Regard. The collection of essays, published in February, was the great author’s last publication, and Webb Evans hopes “to keep the work alive and inject it with action through this community project.”

Location: Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, 439 West 127th Street
Price: Free with RSVP
Time: 12 p.m.–2 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Joanne Leah, Olive Hui, and Kseniya Ovchinnikova’s “FLETISH.” Photo courtesy of the artists.

20. “FLETISH” at 38 West 28th Street

This intriguing performance from artists Joanne Leah, Olive Hui, and Kseniya Ovchinnikova is described as “a living and breathing feminine experience” featuring installation, performance, painting, sculpture, sound, scent, taste, and interaction. There’s nudity, so the venue is enacting a strict no-photography policy banning all cell phone use during the piece.

Location: 38 West 28th Street
Price: $25–45
Time: 7 p.m.–10 p.m.

—Nan Stewert

Through Saturday, October 19

Installation view of Daniel Reading in “Doron Langberg” at Yossi Milo Gallery. Photo courtesy of Yossi Milo Gallery, New York.

21. “Doron Langberg” at Yossi Milo Gallery

In his stunningly colorful large-scale canvases, Doron Langberg offers intimate, subtle portraits of queer sexuality, based on his family, friends, and lovers. The artist, who is making his Yossi Milo debut, first creates small portraits during a live portrait session before scaling up for the final work, creating an added layer.

Location: Yossi Milo Gallery, 245 Tenth Avenue (between West 24th and 25th Streets)
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

—Sarah Cascone

Through Saturday, October 26

Elizabeth Huey, We Ride Night Long (2019). Courtesy of Harper’s Apartment.

22. “Elizabeth Huey: When We Kissed” at Harper’s Apartment 

Poetry from Sylvia Plath and mythical beasts culled from the world of Leonora Carrington are just two of the myriad influences at work in this lavishly romantic new exhibition of paintings by Elizabeth Huey. Amorous romps and rendezvous are the central theme, with various couples shown entwined in vignettes that float throughout the canvases. Though dream-like, with a Rococo sense of leisure, the paintings also unexpectedly call to mind the continuous narrative religious paintings so popular during the Renaissance. 

Location: Harper’s Apartment, 51 East 74th Street, buzz 2x
Price: Free
Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

—Katie White 

Through Sunday, September 27, 2020

Chloe Bass, Artist Sketch of How Much of Love is Attention (2019). Courtesy of the Studio Museum in Harlem.

23. “Chloë Bass : Wayfinding” presented by the Studio Museum in Harlem 

Using the visual language of wayfinding signage, this installation of twenty-four site-specific sculptures situated throughout the park by the artist Chloë Bass asks three questions: How much of care is patience? How much of life is coping? How much of love is attention? The gentle, even poetic prompts evoke moments of quiet reflection as one wanders throughout the park. An accompanying audio guide shares poignant vignettes that explore ideas of memory, transformation, and place. 

Location: throughout Saint Nicholas Park between West 128 Street and West 141 Street
Price: Free
Time: Daily, 6 a.m.–10 p.m.

—Katie White