Guides 7 years ago

These are the five exhibitions you HAVE to see in New York this summer

From the Rubin Museum to the MoMa

Interning in New York City this summer? Having trouble finding things to do in your free time? You’re in luck because the Big Apple is the best place to find interesting and engaging places to visit. If you’re an art aficionado or simply a curious student, here are five of the best art exhibitions to check out this summer.

View history through the lens of pioneering photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. Visit India in Full Frame and see 60+ photographs that reflect a time of immense political and social change, as India’s liberation from Great Britain and partition from Pakistan transformed the subcontinent. Now on view.

A post shared by Rubin Museum of Art (@rubinmuseum) on Jun 6, 2017 at 11:16am PDT

Henri Cartier-Bresson: India in Full Frame

Through September 4th, 2017

The Rubin Museum (150 W 17th St)

Incredible exhibition including photographs from Cartier-Bresson’s visit to India right after independence in 1947-48. Some of the most incredible and touching photographs include scenes from the aftermath of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination in which the leader is surrounded by flowers as well as landscapes in which thousands of people await the train carrying Gandhi’s ashes. The photographs also manage to illustrate the dichotomy between the condition of refugees in Punjab and the sumptuous dresses and diamonds of the Rajasthani maharajas.

Achilles falls in love with Penthesileia, dying in his hands: Achilles felt great distress in his heart. To have slain her and not have brought her as his most noble bride. For in stature and beauty she was flawless and equal to the immortals. –Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (2nd cent. AD) Credit: Cup with Achilles Slaying Penthesileia, Staatlichen Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, Munich. Come see it @ #worldofemotions through June 24. #worldofemotions #exhibition#onassisculturalcenternewyork #ancientart#archaeology #museum #greekart #greece#greek #history #mythology #aphrodite#venus #eros #thingstodo #newyorkcity #free

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A World of Emotions: Ancient Greece, 700 BC – 200 AD

Through June 24th, 2017

The Onassis Foundation (645 5th Ave)

This exhibition was curated by one of Columbia’s own professors of art history, Ioannis Mylonopoulos. It is encouraged that you review your knowledge of Greek myths before visiting! Pay special attention to the section on the murderous mother, Medea. The exhibition brings together some of the most famous and beautiful vases depicting this famous Greek filicide. Another recurring hero in A World of Emotions is none other than Achilles “the swift foot” that you can see dragging the body of Hector during the Trojan War and falling in love with Penthesileia the Amazon that he has just killed.

Robert Rauschenberg: Among Friends

Through September 17th, 2017

MoMa (11 W 53rd St)

A very varied and rich retrospective with paintings, photographs as well as installations. Rauschenberg’s work, which anticipated Pop Art movement in the 1950s included frequent use of newspaper and magazine photos. Pay special attention to the comical “Mud Muse”, an installation from the late 60s which is essentially a pool of bubbling mud as well as well as his X-ray resembling monoprints made in collaboration with Susan Weil.

For Diane Arbus, the city’s parks were arenas of rich and unpredictable encounter. She began photographing in Central Park in 1956—at the very beginning of her work as a serious artist—and returned repeatedly over her brief, fifteen-year career. Lévy Gorvy is currently presenting the first exhibition to focus solely on Arbus’ photographs made in Central Park and Washington Square. Titled 'Diane Arbus: In the Park,' the show is on view through June 28. – Diane Arbus, 'Two ladies walking in Central Park, N. Y.C. 1963,' © The Estate of Diane Arbus – #Arbus #DianeArbus #LevyGorvy #LevyGorvyGallery #Lévygorvy #LévyGorvyGalley #CentralPark #WashingtonSquarePark #WashingtonSquare #photography

A post shared by Lévy Gorvy (@levygorvygallery) on May 18, 2017 at 10:04am PDT

Diane Arbus: In the Park

Through June 28th, 2017

Lévy Gorvy Gallery (909 Madison Avenue)

A lovely exhibition of Diane Arbus’ rarely seen photographs ranging from the late 50s to the early 70s taken in Washington Square and Central Park. Arbus is best known for her captivating portraits of people from the margins of society. Pay special attention to the photographs of children as Arbus captures their young and amusing emotions perfectly. For literature buffs, there is also a very fine portrait of Jorge Luis Borges in Central Park.

Unfinished Conversations: New Work from the Collection

Through July 30th, 2017

MoMa (11 W 53rd St)

This exhibition contains works from more than a dozen artists from the past decade. The artwork concentrates on current social and political unrest and anxiety. This exhibition puts a strong focus on the black community as well as state violence and activism. Pay special attention to photographs from the “African Spirits” series by Cameroonian photographer Samuel Fosso. The photographs include portraits of Fosso assuming the guise of political activist Angela Davis and Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba.

Columbia University