It’s always a treat when our favorite artists, or their art, come to town. And Ruth Asawa is near the top of the list. Following a long run in San Francisco, her retrospective has finally opened at the Museum of Modern Art and it shouldn’t be missed. Neither should another favorite, Nayland Blake, whose work is on view at Matthew Marks in Chelsea. And veteran art dealer Jane Lombard celebrates the 30th anniversary of her eponymous gallery with a knockout group show. Hurry, because the last two end this weekend.
Though it has its imperfections, as our own Lisa Yin Zhang writes in her thoughtful review, Sixties Surreal at the Whitney Museum is also well worth a visit, and you’re sure to find something you love in this ambitious group exhibition. Finally, artist Paul Chan sings the praises of Marta Lee’s creations, which will likely become a favorite for many art lovers. —Natalie Haddad, Reviews Editor
30 X 30: A Selection of Thirty Artists Over Thirty Years
Jane Lombard Gallery, 58 White Street, Tribeca, Manhattan
Through October 25
Mounir Fatmi, “Maximum Sensa:on Suspended” (2016) on view at Jane Lombard Gallery (photo Aaron Short/Hyperallergic)
“At a time when the contemporary art world appears to be swerving away from politics … Lombard knows that all politics are personal.” —Aaron Short
Nayland Blake
Matthew Marks Gallery, 522 and 526 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
Through October 25
Installation view of Nayland Blake, “Session” (photo Lisa Yin Zhang/Hyperallergic)
“Blake’s rigorously conceptual work reroutes your expectations for both object and artwork, not merely implying but actively implicating your body.” —Lisa Yin Zhang
Marta Lee: 11:11
Tappeto Volante, 126 13th Street, Brooklyn
Through November 2
Left: Marta Lee, “Rainbow (Around Her Neck)” (2024), acrylic, crayon, and graphite on linen over canvas; right: Marta Lee, “Prisma” (2025), acrylic on linen (photo by and courtesy Ruby Chan)
“Given the personal quality of the objects, I can’t help but imagine that Lee is building an ark of her own, one painting at a time.” —Paul Chan
Sixties Surreal
Whitney Museum of American Art, 99 Gansevoort Street, West Village, Manhattan
Through January 19, 2026
Installation view of Sixties Surreal, feauturing Claes Oldenburg’s “Soft Toilet” (1966, center) and Alex Hay, “Paper Bag” (1968; back left) (photo Hrag Vartanian/Hyperallergic)
“The exhibition gathers the work of 111 artists across a wide range of media as evidence that the sexual, fantastical, and unconscious undercurrents of the psychologically fractured 1960s surfaced in art.” —LYZ
Ruth Asawa: A Retrospective
Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street, Midtown, Manhattan
Through February 7, 2026
Ruth Asawa, “Untitled (WC.187, Two Watermelons)” (1960s), ink on technical paper (photo Lisa Yin Zhang/Hyperallergic)
“Asawa’s works aren’t metaphorical, allusive, concerned with their own cleverness. They don’t stand in for other things, they become their own versions of them.” —LYZ