November is a strong month for contemporary art in New York. The season is shaped by Yoshitomo Nara’s first major New York solo show in nearly a decade, a major new programme at MoMA PS1, and exhibitions spanning abstraction, fashion, photography, internet art and historical painting.
Here are the exhibitions and events worth seeing in New York this month.
Yoshitomo Nara at David Zwirner
Yoshitomo Nara opens at David Zwirner on November 5 and runs until December 12. The exhibition presents new paintings and drawings, recent sculptures, and works from the 1980s to today.
It is Nara’s first solo presentation with David Zwirner and his first major New York solo show in nearly a decade. For visitors interested in contemporary painting, portraiture and the emotional language of figuration, this is one of the month’s most anticipated gallery exhibitions.
MoMA PS1’s November programme
MoMA PS1 opens several major exhibitions on November 5, making it one of the best destinations for contemporary art this month.
Hard Art
Hard Art examines the legacy of abstract painting by Black artists in the United States from 1969 to today. The exhibition features more than 40 artists across three generations, bringing together historical painting with recent work that incorporates sculpture, video, sound and painting.
It is a major exhibition for understanding how abstraction has been used to explore identity, history, materiality and political experience.
New York Fashion at PS1, 1980–1984
New York Fashion at PS1, 1980–1984 revisits MoMA PS1’s early fashion programme through archival material and partial reconstructions of installations by designers including Julio Espada, Charles James, Willi Smith and Betsey Johnson.
The exhibition includes photographs, ephemera and printed matter from MoMA PS1’s archives and private collections. It is a strong choice for anyone interested in the relationship between fashion, performance, installation and New York’s cultural history.
Masao Gozu: Windows and Bars
Masao Gozu: Windows and Bars is the artist’s first museum exhibition in the United States. It brings together photographs from the 1970s to today, including his Windows series of tenement residents and Harry’s Bar series, alongside recent returns to the same sites.
The exhibition is a compelling look at photography, urban life and the passage of time.
November Open House
On November 7, MoMA PS1 holds an Open House celebrating Hard Art, Masao Gozu: Windows and Bars, New York Fashion at PS1, 1980–1984 and Modern Spotlight: Fred Wilson. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and includes talks, workshops and family activities.
More contemporary exhibitions
Several other exhibitions open in early and mid-November.
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Zeng Fanzhi at Hauser & Wirth opens on November 5, presenting a new sculpture and a suite of paintings of imagined celestial landscapes.
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Jem Perucchini: Sospiro opens at David Zwirner on November 6, with new figurative paintings drawing on Renaissance art, African wax prints and Ethiopian church frescoes.
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Li Hei Di: the year of mud opens at Pace Gallery on November 6, presenting paintings that move between figuration and abstraction.
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Na Mira: NO SMOKING opens at MoMA on November 14, using radio frequencies, infrared heat and holography in a newly commissioned media installation.
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artport: A History of Internet Art opens at the Whitney on November 21, gathering more than 100 commissioned net-art works from 2001 to 2024.
Historical and modern art
November also brings several important historical exhibitions.
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25th Anniversary Exhibition: Masterworks from the Neue Galerie opens on November 12, filling the museum with collection highlights including Klimt’s Adele Bloch-Bauer I, German and Austrian masterworks, and Wiener Werkstätte design.
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Kent Monkman: Officer and Laughing Girl opens at the Frick Collection on November 12, with new paintings responding to Vermeer’s work and exploring trade, colonisation and Indigenous-European encounters.
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Rothko/Gottlieb: The Surrealist Years opens at 125 Newbury on November 13, presenting paintings and works on paper from 1941 to 1951.
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Pierre Huyghe: UUmwelt remains at MoMA’s sculpture garden until November 29, using machine learning and fMRI-derived data to generate images in real time.
Art fairs in November
New York also hosts two major art fairs this month.
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Salon Art + Design takes place at the Park Avenue Armory from November 4 to 8.
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ADAA The Art Show runs from November 12 to 16.
Together, the fairs offer a different kind of art experience from the museum and gallery exhibitions, with a focus on design, collectible art and the international market.
How to plan your visit
For a focused contemporary-art day, start at MoMA PS1 for Hard Art, Masao Gozu: Windows and Bars and New York Fashion at PS1, 1980–1984. If you are visiting on November 7, plan around the Open House, which brings all of these exhibitions together.
For a second day, visit David Zwirner for Yoshitomo Nara, then continue to MoMA, the Whitney or the Frick depending on whether you prefer contemporary media, internet art or historical painting. November offers a particularly rich mix of contemporary art, fashion history, photography and modern masters across New York.
