Kim Tschang-Yeul, Composition, 1970
If you’re in New York and don’t have plans for the first week of May: Don’t worry, you do now.
May is always a major moment for art in New York—typically stretched over multiple weeks of fairs, gallery openings, museum shows, and marquee auctions. For 2025, though, everything is condensed into one mega-week starting Monday, May 5th. Brace yourself: This might be the liveliest New York Art Week yet.
Your Curated Day-by-Day Guide to New York Art Week in May 2025
Monday, May 5: The soft launch
The first Monday in May is your chance to ease into the week—or not. If you want to spend your free time glued to Met Gala coverage, I don’t blame you. Most galleries are closed on Mondays anyway, so it’s a perfectly respectable plan. But if you want to get an early start, here’s where to go:
“The Making of Modern Korean Art” at Tina Kim Gallery (Chelsea, 6–8 p.m.): This is a rare Monday night gallery opening—and it’s where I’ll be this evening. The deeply researched show connects four pivotal postwar Korean artists—Kim Whanki, Kim Tschang-Yeul, Park Seo-Bo, and Lee Ufan—through decades of artworks, letters, and archival materials. It promises to be rife with poetic storytelling and masterful paintings.
—Casey Lesser
May 1, 2025
