It’s that time of year again… back to school, back to work, and back to the galleries. With so many venues, it can be daunting to try to figure out what’s worth your time and Instagram attention. So we’ve put together a handy list of the shows we’re most looking forward to this season. Happy gallery hopping!

 

“George Byrne: Exit Vision” at Olsen Gruin Gallery
September 4–October 6

George Byrne’s photographs capture pastel hues seen on the streets of Sydney, Miami, and Los Angeles. The photos are then rearranged into collage, somethings to the point of near abstraction.

Olsen Gruin Gallery is located at 30 Orchard Street.

 

“Hayv Kahraman: Not Quite Human” at Jack Shainman Gallery
September 5–October 26

For Iraqi-born, Los Angeles-based artist Hayv Kahraman’s fourth solo show at Jack Shainman, she turns her attention to the physical and mental contortions demanded of women by internal and external forces. Her work addresses how those designated as “other” engage with the world around them.

Jack Shainman is located at 513 West 20th Street and 524 West 24th Street.

“Judith Hopf: Alifi” at Metro Pictures
September 5–October 5

Berlin-based artist Judith Hopf’s first show with Metro Pictures will see her continue her practice of forming abstract sculptures as a commentary on societal dynamics.

Metro Pictures is located at 519 West 24th Street.

 

“Joe Zucker: 100-Foot-Long Piece, 1968–1969” at Marlborough
September 5–October 5

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Zucker’s monumental, multi-panel work, which will be on view at Marlborough’s downtown Manhattan location alongside archival pieces related to its completion. The work, though presented horizontally as a frieze of sorts, can be approached from any point, and viewed as an encyclopedic guide to styles of painting: it is just as much naturalistic as it is abstract.

Marlborough is located at 545 West 25th Street.

 

“Lili Jamail: Rollercoaster” at Team Gallery
September 5–October 5

New York-based photographer Lili Jamail’s intimate works straddle the genres of landscape and portraiture and are described by the gallery as “conveying the calm before the storm, or the stunned silence that follows.” The show’s title, “Rollercoaster,” also nods toward extreme moods, but also towards excitement and frivolity.

Team Gallery is located at 83 Grand Street.

 

“Sarah Sze” at Tanya Bonakdar
September 5–October 19

The author Zadie Smith said of Sarah Sze that her work is “the seam between the real and the image.” This show will span the entirety of the gallery, with the first floor dedicated to a “studio space” where Sze will put her source materials on display. Upstairs galleries will focus on her interpretations of those materials.

Tanya Bonakdar is located at 521 West 21st Street.

 

“Suh Seung-Won: Early Works, 1960s to 1980s” at Tina Kim
September 5–October 12

Suh Seung-Won, a leading Korean Modernist, gets his first show at Tina Kim. The guiding principle for Suh’s work is “simultaneity,” his theory of presenting harmonious color, space, and form into their most reductive state.

Tina Kim Gallery is located at 525 West 21st Street.

 

“Constructing Her Universe: Loló Soldevilla” at Sean Kelly
September 5–October 19

Loló Soldevilla (1901–1971), a pioneering Cuban artist of the 1950s, gets her first comprehensive US exhibition, showcasing her contributions to geometric abstraction.

Sean Kelly is located at 475 Tenth Avenue.

 

“William T. Williams: Recent Paintings” at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery
September 6–November 9

Some 35 paintings from Williams’s “465” series will be on display at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, all completed in the artist’s new rural studio in Connecticut. His renewed commitment to working with color is informed by the rustic environs of a rehabbed barn studio with windows that look into the changing landscape of the seasons.

Michael Rosenfeld Gallery is located at 100 11th Avenue.

 

“Erin O’Keefe: Seeing Things” at Denny Dimin Gallery
September 6–October 27

In addition to a BFA, Erin O’Keefe has a masters in architecture, and the two disciplines are both in evidence in her painted wall sculptures and photographs of painted wooden blocks. Both bodies of work play with space, creating strange interplays of color and form. The photographs strangely flatten O’Keefe’s still life arrangements, while the sculptures incorporate mirrors, creating reflections that play with viewers’ perceptions.

Denny Dimin Gallery is located at 39 Lispenard Street.

 

“Jess Johnson: Panspermia, Sing Omega” at Jack Hanley Gallery
September 6–October 6

Jess Johnson’s fever-dreamy works are back for her second solo show at the gallery, this time incorporating aspects of virtual reality, a future of gender neutrality, and video game graphics.

Jack Hanley Gallery is located at 327 Broome Street.

 

“Tony Toscani: Daydreamers” at Massey Klein
September 6–October 13

Brooklyn-based artist Tony Toscani’s first show at Massey Klein is a funhouse mirror reflection of millennials, lumbering and confused despite having more information at their fingertips than could possibly be consumed, let alone applied to the real world in any productive way.

Massey Klein is located at 124 Forsyth Street.

 

“Chris Bogia: Under the Bonsai Tree” at Mrs. Gallery
September 7–November 2

For his first solo show with the gallery, Chris Bogia is bringing his colorful abstractions of bonsai trees to Queens. The plant is considered a symbol of harmony and patience.

Mrs. Gallery is located at 60–40 56th Drive in Masbeth, Queens.

 

“Amy Sherald: The Heart of the Matter…” at Hauser & Wirth
September 10–October 26

Amy Sherald joined mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth riding on the wave of excitement produced by her portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama. This show of monumental paintings is her first since at Hauser she joined the gallery.

Hauser & Wirth is located at 548 West 22nd Street.

 

“Christian Marclay: 48 War Movies and Screams” at Paula Cooper
September 12–October 19

Christian Marclay’s contribution to the current Venice Biennale, 48 War Movies, is a nightmarish compilation of 48 films about war, continuously playing side-by-side in a massive, overwhelming grid. At his latest show at Paula Cooper, he’s paired the film with a series of woodblocks depicting appropriately horrified faces, drawn from Japanese manga and Western comic books.

Paula Cooper is located at 524 West 26th Street.

 

“Pope.L, Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Cheyenne Julien, & Tschabalala Self: Embodiment” at Mitchell-Innes & Nash
September 12–October 26

This group show of all-stars explores the concept of the body, how it is envisioned, lived, and depicted through two-dimensional art. Each of these artists approach the body in a distinct way, underscoring the fundamental sameness of every body.

Mitchell-Innes & Nash is located at 534 West 26th Street.

 

“Ben Gocker: Foskers & Egg Whites” at PPOW
September 12–October 12

Fragments of old paintings, rocks, board games, cardboard, and more detritus are brought together in Ben Gocker’s quilt-like assemblages.

PPOW is located at 535 West 22nd Street.

 

“Jeppe Hein: I Am With You” at 303 Gallery
September 12–October 19

Jeppe Hein has essentially made an art form out of fun house mirrors with his sculptures of tall mirrored strips anchored to the floor. His delightful manipulation of the typical white cube gallery space grows out of the artist’s interest in Eastern philosophy.

303 Gallery is located at 555 West 21st Street.

Richard Serra at Gagosian
September 16–November 2, September 17–December 7, September 17–February 2

Gagosian is staging a trio of exhibitions dedicated to Richard Serra, with new drawings in “Triptychs and Diptychs” on the Upper East Side and the artist’s signature large-scale Cor-Ten steel sculptures at the two Chelsea locations. “Forged Rounds” will include four new works, while “Reverse Curve” will present a massive 99-foot-wide and 13-foot-tall work of the same name. The piece was conceived for an unrealized public art project in Italy in 2005, and has finally been completed for this show.

Gagosian is located at 980 Madison Avenue, 555 West 24th Street, and 522 West 21st Street.

 

“Walter Swennen: Leavin home but there is no home at all” at Gladstone Gallery
September 18–October 19

Walter Swennen’s colorful paintings may look playful, but these psychologically charged works are also rooted in the writings of Sigmund Freud and Søren Kierkegaard and the artist’s personal concerns about mass media.

Gladstone Gallery is located at 515 West 24th Street.

 

“Henry Taylor: NIECE COUSIN KIN LOOK HOW LONG IT’S BEEN” at Blum & Poe
September 24–November 2

Henry Taylor’s new works include portraits of people he’s met in Senegal, Spain, Paris, and New York that paint a picture of our broader society.

Blum & Poe is located at 19 East 66th Street.