The busy spring art season has finally kicked off, and there are plenty of fairs and exhibitions to visit this month. From TEFAF and Frieze in New York to gallery shows in Paris, Monte-Carlo, and London, there is something on view wherever you may find yourself in the world.

Below, see PALMER’s list of can’t-miss exhibitions to see this May.

 

Christie’s

Masterpieces from the S.I. Newhouse Collection

“Orestes,” 1947, by Willem de Kooning. Courtesy of Christie’s.

On May 11, Christie’s presented the third in a series of historic sales from the late Condé Nast chairman S.I. Newhouse‘s collection. The sixth highest grossing of all time, the sale totaled over $177.79 million. The top lot was Francis Bacon’s “Self Portrait,” which realized over $34.62 million. Other works included a portrait of Lee Miller by Pablo Picasso, a rare, early 1947 enamel painting by Willem de Kooning, and a Cy Twombly “Bolsena” painting among many others…May 11.

 

TEFAF New York

Courtesy of TEFAF.

One of two annual fairs put on by the European Fine Art Foundation (the other is in Maastricht) TEFAF New York features a slew of strong New York galleries, with more of an emphasis on modern and contemporary art and design than the larger, original fair in the Netherlands. Dealers of antiquities and jewelry will still be present, especially fitting for the Old World feel of the Park Avenue ArmoryMay 12-16, at the Park Avenue Armory.

 

Frieze New York

Photograph by Casey Kelbaugh. Courtesy of Frieze.

One of the world’s leading art fairs, Frieze has again returned to New York’s Hudson Yards. Featuring more than 65 galleries from 27 countries, the fair will feature both established and upcoming visual artists. A Focus section will be dedicated to galleries under 12 years old, and an extended program of events at galleries and artist-led spaces will take place throughout the city during Frieze Week…May 17-21, at The Shed.

 

Sotheby’s

The Mo Ostin Collection 

“L’Empire des lumières,” 1951, by René Magritte. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

Legendary record executive Mo Ostin‘s ear for musical talent has been well documented, but his eye for visual arts was equally strong. Sotheby’s will offer The Mo Ostin Collection over both a dedicated evening auction on May 16—featuring masterworks by artists including René Magritte, Pablo Picasso, Willem de Kooning, and Cy Twombly—and in the Contemporary Day Auction on May 19, which will feature works by Takashi Murakami, Albert Oehlen, and Richard Prince…On view through May 18.

 

Petzel Gallery, New York

Ardomancer

Installation view, Ardomancer, Seth Price, Petzel, 2023. Courtesy of Petzel Gallery.

Contemporary artist Seth Price‘s exhibition brings AI-generated imagery and 3D graphics to traditional gestural painting. “Making art with extremely different tools and media helps you take control and lose it,” says the artist. “Recently I’ve also been suggesting words to an AI, and we go back and forth until I get an image I like.” This is only the second time in nearly a decade exhibiting new work in New York for Price, who has been the subject of exhibitions at the Aspen Art Museum and MoMA PS1Through June 3.

 

David Kordansky Gallery, New York

Cylindrical Lenses

Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery.

Fred Eversley‘s first solo New York gallery show since 1976, Cylindrical Lenses showcases the artist’s major new body of work. A leading figure of the Light and Space movement whose work spans six decades, Eversley—featured in Volume 3 of PALMER—is known for his “lenses,” which he creates by pouring layers of liquid polyester infused with brilliant color into vertical molds, which he then spins on a turntable into parabolic shapes. The six sculptures on view measure between seven and nine feet tall, and are made from tinted resin…Through June 10.

 

Lehmann Maupin, New York

The Conceptualists: Vol. II

“Conceptual artist #19 (A child of the 80’s, he places his Polaroid self portraits in a familiar spot whenever he’s feeling lost),” 2023, by Hernan Bas. Courtesy of Lehmann Maupin.

Miami-based artist Hernan Bas‘s humorous exhibition of new work with Lehmann Maupin depicts fictive conceptual artists and their various eccentric pursuits. The young, androgynous subjects make paper from Harlequin romance novels, erect fake road-side memorials, conduct pillow fight tournaments, and create sculptures from their own discarded popsicle sticks …May 17 through June 17.

 

Gagosian, New York

Avedon 100

Photograph by Rob McKeever. Artwork © The Richard Avedon Foundation. Courtesy of Gagosian.

A landmark exhibition celebrating 100 years since Richard Avedon‘s birth, Gagosian presents a selection of works by the iconic photographer, including celebrity portraits, fashion images, and documentary photography. Selected by more than 150 people from the art, fashion, music, and literary worlds—including Tonne Goodman, Hillary Clinton, Taryn Simon, Miuccia Prada, and Emma Watson—the installation represents six decades of Avedon’s oeuvre…Through June 24.

 

Deichtorhallen, Hamburg

All Systems Fail

“War of Roses [Sound Graph],” 2019, by Sarah Morris. Courtesy of Deichtorhallen.

All Systems Fail, presented by Deichtorhallen Hamburg, is the most comprehensive exhibition of artist Sarah Morris to date, totaling over 180 works including paintings, films, drawings, posters, and sculptures. The exhibition shows the full spectrum of Morris’s complex abstract works, which reflect her interests in networks, globalization, and the psychology of urban environments…Through August 20.

 

Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris

Basquat x Warhol. Painting Four Hands

“Andy Warhol & Jean-Michel Basquiat #143 New York City July 10, 1985,” 1985, by Michael Halsband. Courtesy of the artist and Fondation Louis Vuitton.

Twentieth century icons Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol created around 160 paintings together between 1984 and 1985, including some of the largest works produced during their respective careers. Basquiat × Warhol. Painting Four Hands at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris features more than three hundred works and documents—including 80 canvases jointly signed by the two artists—depicting the back-and-forth of collaboration between Basquiat and Warhol…Through August 28.

 

Hauser & Wirth, Monaco

The Poetics of Scale

Courtesy of Hauser & Wirth.

American artist John Chamberlain—known for his twisted sculptures composed of scrap metal, crushed automobile parts, and other industrial materials—will now have his early poetry from his year at Black Mountain College in the 1950s displayed publicly for the first time at Hauser & Wirth in Monaco. Shown alongside his ’80s sculptures of Gondolas and Tonks, the poems illuminate a little known aspect of Chamberlain’s practice…Through September 2.

 

Pitzhanger, London

Anthony Caro: The Inspiration of Architecture

Courtesy of Pitzhanger.

Opening on what would have been the artist’s 99th birthday, Anthony Caro: The Inspiration of Architecture focuses on the resurgence and development of architectural themes within Caro’s works. A pioneering modernist sculptor, Caro blurred the lines between art and architecture, and is lauded as the greatest British sculptor of his generation…Through September 10.

 

ICA Miami

Avery Singer: Unity Bachelor

“JUUL Smoke,” 2021, by Avery Singer. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth.

Avery Singer‘s new body of work, shown at ICA Miami, reflects on online and offline identities. Singer’s works are created using animation and design software, which then take shape on canvas using airbrushing, masking, and layering techniques. Her work belongs in the collections of the Whitney, the MoMA, and the Tate Modern…Through October 15.