Kamrooz Aram Is Everywhere
Read Aruna D’Souza’s take on the Iranian artist. Plus, Duchamp is coming to MoMA, Upstate art this month, and more.
We hope you had a lovely Easter, if you celebrate. And even if you don't, I think you'll still get a kick out of the absolutely fantastic costumes from the Easter Bonnet Parade over the weekend, including egg cartons as headwear, birdcage veils, and a whole family of shrimp.
We spent the morning at the press preview for the Duchamp exhibition at MoMA, spanning the entire sixth floor. It's encyclopedic, thought-provoking, and sometimes surprising. Stay tuned for more detailed coverage, but to start, know that he didn't quit painting for lack of talent. See for yourself when it opens to the public on Sunday — I'd budget a couple of hours.
You know that feeling when an artist's work seems to be everywhere you look? Critic Aruna D'Souza had that feeling with Kamrooz Aram — she's seen his paintings, drawings, and installations in three shows across two continents this year alone. They have this easiness to them — this sense that history, even in its cruelty, can be handled lightly.
Kamrooz Aram Breaks Down the Grid
The Iranian artist is doing more than simply inserting Islamic visual idioms into Western abstraction, D'Souza argues. "You might see a painterly language that has so fully absorbed all the world has to offer that it has become a chimera without a single source, an idiom with many origins but no hierarchies."
Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair Returns to Powerhouse Arts This Spring
Over 50 exhibitors, hands-on programming, and a juried print exhibition make up the fair’s expanded second edition. April 9–12, 2026.
Downtown Art
The Museum Breathing Life Into New York’s Downtown Performance Scene
Tavia Nyong'o pens a love letter to the Leslie-Lohman Museum, a safe haven for an "us" that has been subject to escalating political attacks in the United States. "Who are we?" they write. "Lesbian. Gay. Bisexual. Transgender. Queer. Questioning. Intersex. Plus. Plus. Black. Brown. Indigenous. People of Color."
Upstate Art
10 Exhibitions to See in Upstate New York This April
Lisa Karrer’s “warm technology,” Deirdre O’Connell’s loving portraits, Caleb Weintraub’s fantastical realms, and more. | Taliesin Thomas
May You Live in Interesting Times — The IFPDA Print Fair Asks, Do Bad Times Really Inspire Great Art?
This year’s edition brings together over 80 exhibitors presenting works from Francisco Goya to Kara Walker. April 9–12 at Park Avenue Armory.
From Our Critics
Aaron Boehmer
Dean Majd: Hard Feelings at Baxter St Camera Club of New York
"Through Majd’s lens, life and death are not opposites, but a continuum wherein the most painful shadows are softened by glimmers of light."
John Yau
Cinga Samson at White Cube
"We are part of the scene, but as intruders, invisible to its closed world."
What Else Is Happening?
- Randall's Island is hosting a seining kickoff party! (Seining, if you also didn't know, involves fishing with a giant net.) They'll have water-themed crafts and other activities as well. (Thurs Apr 9) [Randall's Island Park Alliance]
- Red Hook Open Studios' Second Thursday artist hangout comes a little early this month. (Thurs Apr 9) [Red Hook Open Studios]
- Accent Sisters is hosting a book launch by writer and artist Kanako Nishi featuring music, film, drinks, and refreshments. (Sat Apr 11) [Accent Sisters]
- Artists Steve DiBenedetto and Amy Sillman will be in conversation at Derek Eller Gallery this Saturday! (Apr 11) [Derek Eller Gallery]
- Performance Space New York's free weekly artist-led workshop continues this Sunday! (Sun Apr 12) [Performance Space New York]
- Contributor Molly Crabapple will be discussing her new book Here Where We Live Is Our Country with writer Ibtisam Azem at the Central Library. (Mon Apr 13) [bklynlibrary.org]
- New Directors/ New Films, cohosted by Lincoln Center and MoMA, begins tomorrow! (Apr 8–19) [filmlinc.org]
- McCarren Demo Garden is hosting free basic gardening sessions at the titular park in Williamsburg. (Saturdays through Apr 26) [McCarren Demo Garden]
- ... Or if you find yourself on the other end of the city, the Bronx River Community Garden's doing the same. (Saturdays through May 9) [Bronx River Community Garden]
- Poetry in Motion — the MTA initiative bringing poems to subway cars for nearly 30 years — is giving away bookmarks in all boroughs all of April. (Through April 30) [MTA Arts & Design]
- Flatiron NoMad Partnership is hosting an open call for artists for a permanent mural on 28th Street. (due Apr 20) [flatironnomad.nyc]
