Museums and galleries in New York City are exhibiting so many incredible shows opening November, that we are overwhelmed and needed to narrow down the list to break down what you need to see. If you only have time to see five, these are the top exhibitions to keep on your radar throughout the month of November.
1. Yayoi Kusama at David Zwirner
Yayoi Kusama’s Festival of Life will be exhibited at David Zwirner Gallery through Saturday, December 16. Festival of Life will be on display at 525 and 533 West 19th Street in Chelsea and Infinity Nets will be on display at the recently opened space on 34 East 69th Street on the Upper East Side. The exhibitions will feature sixty-six paintings from her My Eternal Soul series, new large-scale flower sculptures, a polka-dotted environment, and two Infinity Mirror Rooms in the Chelsea locations, and a selection of new Infinity Nets paintings uptown. Expect to wait in line for a very long time.
2. Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer at The Met
November 13- February 12, 2018
Michelangelo Buonarroti’s work will be exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Titled Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer, this is a must-see for any Renaissance and Old Masters lovers who cannot make the trip to Europe. This exhibition will include 150 drawings, 3 marble sculptures, a wooden architectural model, and his earliest painting that has survived. This is a special exhibition since his drawings are hardly ever on display for the public, so if you are in the city this is your chance.
3. Club 57: Film, Performance, and Art in the East Village, 1978-1983 at the MoMA
Through April 1, 2018
Club 57: Film, Performance, and Art in the East Village, 1978-1983 at the Museum of Modern Art. Club 57 is located in the basement of a Polish Church at 57 St. Marks Place, and began as a no-budget venue for music and film exhibitions, and is known for its desire to experiment with new approaches of art, performance, fashion, music, and exhibition. On display from October 31 until April 1, 2018, this exhibition will be the first exhibition to show the changes in this space, where most of the works have not been on public display since the 1980s. With works commemorating and praising Club 57 for its achievements, there will be paintings, drawings, fashion design, theater, video, and film performances, as well as curating, printmaking, and collages to show all of the artistic aspects that have been represented in a period of scene-changing at this location.
4. White Man On a Pedestal: Kenya (Robinson) and Doreen Garner at Pioneer Works
Opening: November 10-December 17, 2017
White Man On a Pedestal: Kenya (Robinson) and Doreen Garner is an upcoming exhibition taking place at Pioneer Works. Opening November 10 and on view until December 17, 2017, the exhibition uses white-male-heteronormativity as a model to question the history of Western art. Both being African-American women, Robinson and Garner use their experiences to make a narrative about white male supremacy. The artists play with the size, texture, and scale of white monumentality itself, referencing historical moments, personal experiences, and fictional moments to assist in creating a narrative.
5. Art in the Open: 50 Years of Public Art in New York City at the Museum of the City of New York
November 10- May 13, 2018
Art in the Open: 50 Years of Public Art in New York City at the Museum of the City of New York. Opens November 10 – May 13, 2018, this exhibition highlights works that have transformed both the public spaces of the city as well as public expectation of the role and potential of art that exists outside of the traditional confines of museums and galleries. Expect to see works by Red Grooms, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and Kara Walker.
top image // Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirrors: Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity, 2016. Courtesy of seattleartmuseum.org