Spring in New York City means nonstop art events, including auctions, fairs, panels, and gallery and museum shows galore. From a (not-so-secret-anymore) pop-up fair in SoHo to the Upper East Side stalwarts, here’s your definitive guide to the many fairs taking place this May all across Manhattan.
Spring/Break Secret Show
May 10–20, 2023
Ceramics by Megan Bogonovich shown by Kishka Gallery and Library of White River Junction, Vermont, sold like hotcakes at New York’s Spring/Break Art Show 2022. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
What: Surprise! Spring/Break’s standing-room-only art event is returning to its original digs at Old School in SoHo with a “Secret Superlative” salon exhibition featuring a roster of invite-only curators and artists. Superlative is the name of the game for this fair, which adheres to the maxim that more is always more, landing right as the New York art world kicks off a marathon two weeks of fairs, auctions, and events.
Where: Old School, 32 Prince Street, New York
When: First Look preview: Wednesday, May 10, 2 p.m.–5 p.m. Public hours: Thursday, May 11–Saturday, May 20, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.
Future Fair
May 10–13, 2023
Visitor at Future Fair 2022. Photo: Keenon P. Photography.
What: A “capsule-sized exhibition,” Future Fair is welcoming 57 participants for its largest show to date. The three-year-old fair is committed to equitability, with founding galleries serving as shareholders that split a percentage of the fair’s profits. This year the fair’s Pay It Forward fund, which gave $10,000 in mutual-aid grants to a selection of exhibitors.
Where: Chelsea Industrial, 535 West 28th Street, New York
When: VIP preview: Wednesday, May 10, 4 p.m.–8 p.m. Public hours: Thursday, May 11 and Friday, May 12, 12 p.m.–7 p.m.; Saturday, May 13, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.
Independent
May 11–14, 2023
Works by vanessa german at Kasmin Gallery at Independent 2022. Photo: Christopher Stach, courtesy of the artist and Kasmin Gallery.
What: The beloved boutique art fair returns to Spring Studios in Tribeca for its 14th edition, welcoming galleries and nonprofits exhibiting a wealth of contemporary art. This year, the fair is launching a print collaboration with five publishers that will showcase works by artists including Cecily Brown and Jameson Green.
Where: Spring Studios, 6 St. Johns Lane, New York
When: VIP preview: Thursday, May 11, 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Public hours: Friday, May 12 and Saturday, May 13, 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sunday, May 14, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
TEFAF New York
May 12–16, 2023
Sean Kelly shows a Kehinde Wiley portrait at TEFAF New York 2022. Photo by David Benthal, courtesy of TEFAF.
What: The European Fine Art Foundation returns for another ritzy uptown turn at the Park Avenue Armory, where some 100 dealers will bring design and fine artworks from around the world. On Friday, May 12, Artnet News’s editor-in-chief, Andrew Goldstein, will moderate “The Art of Connoisseurship: Cultivating Expertise in the 21st Century,” a conversation with Dominique Lévy, Michael Diaz-Griffith, and Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan.
Where: Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, New York
When: Friday, May 12 and Saturday, May 13, 12 p.m.–8 p.m.; Sunday, May 14, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.; Monday, May 15, 12 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday, May 16, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.
The American Art Fair
May 13–16, 2023
Ernie Barnes, Pool Hall. Courtesy of Vallarino Fine Art and the American Art Fair.
What: Returning to its tasteful neo-Renaissance digs on the Upper East Side for its 16th edition, the free-entry American Art Fair offers a tight edit of the best in 18th-through-20th-century American art. Highlights from the 17 participating dealers include midcentury abstractions by Anne Ryan and Sue Fuller at Dolan/Maxwell, pastoral landscapes by Milton Avery and John Marin at Debra Force Fine Art, and Ernie Barnes’s undated oil Pool Hall, courtesy of Vallarino Fine Art.
Where: Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street, New York
When: Saturday, May 13, through Monday, May 15, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.; Tuesday, May 16, 12 p.m.–5 p.m.
Salon Zürcher
May 15–21, 2023
Petey Brown, Q Train Sunset 8 (2023). Courtesy of the artist.
What: This year’s fair, the 28th edition for the event’s eponymous gallery, is titled “The 11 Women of Spirit, Part 7,” so named for the 18th-century term femmes d’esprit, which celebrated like-minded female artists and intellectuals. This free fair features a cohort of women artists invited to show their work in an intimate salon style, offering a breath of fresh air against superstore-style art fairs.
Where: Zürcher Gallery, 33 Bleecker Street, New York
When: Monday, May 15, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Tuesday, May 16–Saturday, May 20, 12 p.m.–8 p.m.; Sunday, May 21, 12 p.m.–5 p.m.
“HER Art: Web3 Collectors” Salon
May 16, 2023
Courtesy of CADAF.
What: The second salon presented in collaboration with CADAF and Artnet, Artwrld, and Wxmen Portraits of Womxn in Web3, just in time for Frieze week. The first panel will be moderated by Artnet NFT’s Jiayin Chen and features artists Anne Spalter, Claudia Hart, Coco Dolle, OONA, and Sasha Stiles. The second panel, moderated by Elena Zavelev, cofounder and CEO of CADAF, will feature artist Anna Lucia; Artwrld director Kerin Sulock; founder and CEO of Arsnl Katarina Feder; and Pace Gallery director Raina Marie.
Where: Lume Studios, 393 Broadway, New York
When: Tuesday, May 16, 6 p.m.–9 p.m.
Frieze New York
May 17–21, 2023
Frieze New York at the Shed in Hudson Yards. Photo by Casey Kelbaugh.
What: Frieze can be thought of as the younger, cooler sibling to TEFAF’s elder-statesman status, while maintaining its reputation as an international destination for gold-standard works. More than 60 galleries will unveil booths at Hudson Yards: Gagosian will show work by Nan Goldin for the first time since the activist and artist joined its stable; David Kordansky will offer work by Lauren Halsey on the heels of the artist’s Met Rooftop Commission; and Silverlens has work from the estate of the late Filipino American artist Carlos Villa, which it has recently started representing.
Where: The Shed, 15 Hudson Yards, West 30th Street, New York
When: VIP preview: Wednesday, May 17, 11 a.m.–7 p.m. Public hours: Thursday, May 18–Saturday, May 20, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday, May 21, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Volta New York
May 17–21, 2023
Visitors at the Volta Art Fair. Courtesy of Volta.
What: At Volta, which is back at the Metropolitan Pavilion this year, expect to see middle-market players from both international and domestic locales, along with emerging artists bringing a diverse array of perspectives to the collecting landscape.
Where: Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, New York
When: VIP preview: Wednesday, May 17, 5 p.m.–7 p.m. Public hours: Thursday, May 18–Saturday, May 20, 12 p.m.–8 p.m.; Sunday, May 21, 12 p.m.–5 p.m.
Fridge Art Fair
May 17–21, 2023
A painting by Fridge Art Fair founder Eric Ginsburg. Courtesy of Fridge Art Fair.
What: This offbeat nonprofit fair from painter of dogs Eric Ginsburg returns for its ninth New York outing (it was founded in 2013), titled “The Pepperoni Pizza Project: Red Edition.” With free entrance at all three of its venues, Fridge will highlight the work of artists including Samantha Sabatino, Peter Stefanides, Chris Cobb, and the late Ken Cro-Ken.
Where: 128 Gallery, 128 Rivington Street, New York; 2B&C, 9 Avenue B, New York; and Two Boots Pizza Project Space, 558 Driggs Avenue, Brooklyn
When: Opening reception; Wednesday, May 17, 6 p.m.–9 p.m. at 128 Gallery and 2B&C and Thursday, May 18, 4 p.m.–10 p.m. Public hours: Thursday, May 18–Sunday, May 21, 2 p.m.–9 p.m.
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
May 18–21, 2023
Works by Billie Zangewa, presented by Afronova Gallery at 1:54 New York 2016. Courtesy of 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, © Katrina Sorrentino.
What: The premier destination for contemporary art from Africa and the African diaspora returns to New York, this time at a new locale in Harlem’s Manhattanville neighborhood at the site of a renovated brewery. This year, 26 galleries from Africa, Europe, and the United States present the works of more than 80 artists, including Strasbourg-born Ousmane Bâ, via Galerie Atiss Dakar, Togolese-German photographer Delali Ayivi, courtesy of Galerie Number 8, and Johannesburg-based artist Lulama Wolf, shown by THK Gallery.
Where: Manhattanville Factory District, 439 West 127th Street, New York
When: VIP preview: Thursday, May 18, 11 a.m.–7 p.m. Public hours: Friday, May 19 and Saturday, May, 20, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday, May 21, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
NADA New York
May 18–21, 2023
Installation view of Jeremy Couillard’s Fuzz Dungeon (2021). Courtesy of Denny Dimin.
What: NADA returns once again to New York—this time at a venue smack in the midst of the gallery district in West Chelsea—with some 88 exhibitors, 31 of which are first-timers. True to its name, the New Art Dealers Alliance features some of the most exciting gallerists’ enterprises, including Hannah Traore Gallery, Rachel Uffner, Shulamit Nazarian, and Luis de Jesus Los Angeles.
Where: 548 West 22nd Street, New York
When: VIP preview: Thursday, May 18, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Public hours: Thursday, May 18, 4 p.m.–8 p.m.; Friday, May 19 and Saturday, May 20, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday, May 21, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
The Other Art Fair
May 18–21, 2023
The Other Art Fair. Photo courtesy of the Other Art Fair.
What: The Other Art Fairs aims to be New York’s alternative, anti-elite fair, with immersive installations and other inspiring projects from over 120 artists, plus food trucks, DJ sets, and adult beverages. Try to swing by Friday for late-night hours with a scavenger hunt plus A.I. tattooing from artist Evan Ishmael.
Where: Agger Fish Building, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Sands Street Gate, 299 Sands Street, Brooklyn
When: Opening Night: Thursday, May 18, 6 p.m.–10 p.m. Public hours: Friday, May 19, 4 p.m.–10 p.m.; Saturday, May 20, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday, May 21, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Focus New York
May 18–21, 2023
Visitors using the VR viewing room at Focus Art Fair. Courtesy of Focus.
What: One of the youngest fairs on the docket, Focus Art Fair poses the question “what if our life was like a biosphere?” and enacting an event that is inspired by that concept of integrated ecosystems, bringing together the spheres of the NFT marketplace, physical artworks, and a VR viewing room. The fair “hopes to bring forth to the viewer a condensed view of the future of an artistic renaissance, in which the potential of both technology and art is harnessed to foster unique experiences as never seen before.
Where: Chelsea Industrial, 535 West 28th Street
When: VIP preview: Thursday, May 18, 6 p.m.–9 p.m. Public hours: Friday, May 19 and Saturday, May 20, 11 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sunday, May 21, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Clio Art Fair
May 18–21, 2023
The scene at Clio Art Fair. Courtesy of Clio.
What: Billed as the “anti-fair for independent artists,” Clio turns a lens to those artists without any exclusive New York representation, opening the field to creatives otherwise left out of the fair landscape. This year, a special section titled “What’s Your Fight?” will feature performances that ruminate on the difficulties posed by ordinary and extraordinary circumstances of everyday life.
Where: 550 West 29th Street
When: VIP preview: Thursday, May 18, 6 p.m.–9 p.m. Public hours: Friday, May 19, 12 p.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday, May 20, 2 p.m.–8 p.m.; Sunday, May 21, 2 p.m.–6 p.m.