Guide

Four New York City Art Shows to See Right Now

From Glenn Ligon’s critique of society’s ills to Diane Arbus’s complicity in them, the solo shows below provide plenty of food for thought.

Natalie Haddad, Hakim Bishara, Lakshmi Rivera Amin, Monica Uszerowicz

June 23, 2025 — 3 min read

Elle Pérez, "Boog's Tattoo" (2009/2025) from Somewhere We Belong (image courtesy the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, and 47 Canal, New York)

Artist’s voices aren’t always easy to listen to. Sometimes it’s because they’re speaking to uncomfortable realities that shape our societies and lives. In other cases, the art may be part of that uncomfortable reality, reflecting rather than critiquing harmful perspectives. The solo exhibitions below all represent artists with strong individual visions and voices, some more problematic than enlightening, but all thought provoking.

A small but succinct show of Glenn Ligon’s works demonstrates why the artist’s dissection of racism through language and intelligibility is as urgent now as it was nearly 40 years ago. Chloë Bass similarly uses text, but joined with mirrors and home movies, to look at what it means to be mixed race in a society that fetishizes differences, while Elle Pérez uses photography to capture moments of togetherness among the varied families in a person’s life.

Finally, Hyperallergic’s Managing Editor, Hakim Bishara, goes into the belly of the American psycho-social beast with a massive Diane Arbus retrospective. No, it’s not a show that we heartily endorse, but — especially given that the venue wouldn’t allow outside photography — it is one that you should see for yourself. —Natalie Haddad, Reviews Editor

Elle Pérez: The World Is Always Again Beginning, History with the Present

American Academy of Arts and Letters, Broadway between West 155 and 156 Streets, Washington Heights, Manhattan
Through July 3

Elle Pérez, “Untitled (car body)” from *La Despedida* (2025) (image courtesy the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, and 47 Canal, New York)

"[The exhibition] is about Pérez’s earliest impulse: to hold a feeling still — which is, really, a means of honoring the living, witnessing them." —Monica Uszerowicz

Read the full review here.

Glenn Ligon

Brant Foundation, 421 East 6th Street, East Village, Manhattan
Through July 19

"His use of language as a medium points up its failings as well as the viewer’s stake in what’s said and whether or not it’s legible to us." —NH

Read the full review here.

Chloë Bass: Twice Seen

Alexander Gray Associates, 384 Broadway, Tribeca, Manhattan
Through July 26

Installation view of Chloë Bass, “we turn to time” (2024), four-channel HD video and audio, duration: 23 minutes, 57 seconds (photo Lakshmi Rivera Amin/*Hyperallergic*)

"She’s daring us — particularly those of us from multiracial backgrounds — to redefine 'capture,' to pay attention to seemingly unremarkable things, and refuse to turn ourselves and one another into novelties." —Lakshmi Rivera Amin

Read the full review here.