Welcome to the fall art season! And what a great one it’s shaping up to be. There’s so much to choose from that it’s hard to decide what to see first — but The Met’s newly opened Man Ray exhibition should be near the top of anyone’s list. Julia Curl offers her take on this highly anticipated show. Another notable opening is Flora Yukhnovich’s Four Seasons at The Frick, the painter’s response to François Boucher’s famous 1755 series of the same name at the museum.
Galleries are alive with new exhibitions as well. One standout, among many, is Lisa Corinne Davis at Miles McEnery Gallery in Chelsea. John Yau brought his discerning eye to the show; read his review linked below. Also closing next month are Ufuoma Essi at the Museum of Modern Art and the Works on Water Triennial at the Arts Center of Governors Island, both well worth a visit. Enjoy your art viewing this week. —Natalie Haddad, Reviews Editor
Ufuoma Essi
Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street, Midtown, Manhattan
Through October 13
Ufuoma Essi, “Bodies In Dissent” (2021), scanned Super 8mm film (color), 6 min. (image courtesy the artist)
“Essi’s great skill in these pieces lies in articulating her conceptual concerns through aesthetic and sensory means.” —NH
Read the review.
Lisa Corinne Davis: Syllogism
Miles McEnery Gallery, 525 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
Through October 25
Lisa Corinne Davis, “Notional Adage” (2025), oil on canvas (courtesy the artist and Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, NY; image by JSP Art Photography)
“[Davis] shows us a world we know exists but seldom see up close, a beautiful, multicolored system populated by geometric shapes, lines, and grids.” —John Yau
Read the review.
The Works on Water Triennial
Arts Center at Governors Island, 110 Andes Road, Governors Island, Manhattan
Through October 26
Jana Harper, “Song for the Water (2025) (photo Louis Bury/Hyperallergic)
“[Works on Water’s] willingness to revisit projects indicates that it values art for its depth and persistence rather than how it sets or fits trends.” —Louis Bury
Read the review.
Man Ray: When Objects Dream
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan
Through February 1, 2026
Man Ray, “Lee Miller” (1929), gelatin silver print; The Museum of Modern Art, New York (© Man Ray 2015 Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY / ADAGP, Paris 2025)
“When Objects Dream proves, thrillingly, that anyone left feeling jaded from the many, many recent exhibitions surrounding Surrealism’s centennial in 2024 can still see the movement’s key photographer with a fresh set of eyes.” —Julia Curl
Read the review.
Flora Yukhnovich’s Four Seasons
The Frick Collection, 10 East 71st Street, Upper East Side, Manhattan
Through March 9, 2026
Flora Yukhnovich, “Four Seasons: Winter,” detail (2025) (image © Flora Yukhnovich, courtesy the artist, Hauser & Wirth, and Victoria Miro, photo Joseph Coscia Jr.)
“Maybe Yukhnovich’s landscapes are … postcards from a post-human era in which nature, liberated from the unbridled consumption of the Anthropocene, can once again flourish. —Natalie Weis
Read the review.