{"id":311039,"date":"2026-07-31T19:52:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T19:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/311039\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T19:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T19:52:14","slug":"15-outdoor-art-shows-to-see-in-nyc-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/311039\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Outdoor Art Shows to See in NYC This Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

You know what they say: When the heat, and smoke, and floods go away, New York comes out to play. It’s finally time, and you’ve more than earned it. We’ve put together a playlist of sorts, one that takes you to islands, beaches \u2014\u00a0even bus shelters \u2014\u00a0across all five boroughs. <\/p>\n

See the city through a different lens via giant kaleidoscopes in Pelham Bay. Have yourself a game of ping-pong on artist-designed tables at Rockaway Beach. Get a little intimate with a massive teddy bear in a courtyard in Queens. Get weird with a neural network’s hallucinations in a Midtown sculpture garden. Frolic on Governors Island, my personal paradise. <\/p>\n

It’s the best time of year on the best city on earth. Live a little! <\/p>\n

\u2014Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor<\/p>\n

Gabriel Orozco: Public Nature<\/p>\n

JCDecaux Bus Shelters in New York City, Chicago, and Boston<\/a>
Through Sep. 6<\/p>\n

\"\"Installation view of Gabriel Orozco, “Monta\u00f1a con cielo rosa (Mountain Under a Pink Sky” (2026) (photo Nicholas Knight, courtesy of Public Art Fund, NY)<\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing better than that moment when routine life parts like a curtain and a moment of artistic interest shines through. Like encountering one of Gabriel Orozco\u2019s photos at a bus shelter across the city (plus Boston and Chicago). These trompe-l’oeil depictions intertwine natural and urban life \u2014\u00a0a tree shoots through a wall in one \u2014 transporting you when you least expect it. <\/p>\n

Between Tides<\/p>\n

Beach 67, Rockaway Beach<\/a>, Beach 67th Street, Arverne, Queens
Through Sep. 13<\/p>\n

\"\"Moko Fukuyama, “Old School” (2026), aluminum boat, reclaimed wood, plywood, automotive paint (photo Timothy Schenck; courtesy the artist and Public Art Fund, NY)<\/p>\n

Summer brought us to the intersection of art and athletics with basketball and soccer, but Rockaway Beach is holding down the vibe for the rest of the season with several sculptural ping-pong tables. Crafted by Moko Fukuyama, Ilana Harris-Babou, Las Hermanas Iglesias, Carlos H. Matos, Amalia Pica, and the collective SUPERFLEX, the tables function as interactive art installations that encourage play and public convening. It\u2019s BYOP (bring your own paddle \u2026 and balls), but there are free equipment rentals available throughout the weekends!<\/p>\n

Graciela Cassel: Nature Through Kaleidoscopes<\/p>\n

Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum<\/a>, 895 Shore Road, Pelham Bay, Bronx
Through Sep. 19<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

At this historic 19th-century manor house, two sculptures refract the landscape and craft it anew through steel, mirrors, and the visitor\u2019s own gaze. Argentina-born artist Graciela Cassel offers these monumental kaleidoscopes as lenses through which we might refocus our perception of the natural world as it changes over the course of the show\u2019s yearlong installation.<\/p>\n

Genesis Belanger: Heads or Tails<\/p>\n

City Hall Park<\/a>, Broadway and Chambers Street, Civic Center, Manhattan
Through Nov. 15<\/p>\n

\"\"Genesis Belanger, “Distressed Assets” (2026), pigmented cast concrete with stainless steel legs and armature (photo Nicholas Knight, courtesy the artist, Pace Gallery, Perrotin, and Public Art Fund, NY)<\/p>\n

This presentation of three sculptures by Genesis Belanger establishes City Hall Park as a rendezvous site for both reflection and recreation. Belanger calls on park visitors to embrace their own beauty, as well as that of their surroundings and broader ecosystem, with weighty sculptures that somehow manage to emphasize the lightness of life. <\/p>\n

Pierre Huyghe: UUmwelt<\/p>\n

Museum of Modern Art<\/a>,\u00a011 West 53rd Street, Midtown, Manhattan
Through Nov. 29<\/p>\n

\"\"Installation view of works by Pierre Huyghe (photo courtesy the Museum of Modern Art)<\/p>\n

Generative artificial intelligence is dependent on human output, but can it interpret our own thoughts before we externalize them? Pierre Huyghe investigates AI\u2019s potential to realize the human imagination in an interactive, multimedia body of work in MoMA’s courtyard. Born from an artificial neural network\u2019s interpretation of recorded brain activity from a person asked to imagine a series of images,\u00a0UUmwelt\u00a0is also activated by visitors whose gazes alter the network\u2019s generative imagery in real time.<\/p>\n

Roberto Lugo: Alfarero del Barrio (Village Potter)<\/p>\n

Madison Square Park<\/a>, 11 Madison Avenue, Flatiron, Manhattan
Through Dec. 6<\/p>\n

\"\"Lugo\u2019s \u201cCapic\u00fa de Cari\u00f1o (I Heard It Both Ways)\u201d in Madison Square Park<\/p>\n

In this joyous display of Puerto Rican pride, Roberto Lugo adapts his singular painted ceramics into a two-part colossal sculpture series in Madison Square Park. Lugo’s egalitarian urn subverts historic associations of pottery with aristocracy via portraits of his own parents alongside renowned Puerto Rican figures including Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Broadway composer Lin-Manuel Miranda.<\/p>\n

Read Staff Writer Isa Farfan’s report<\/a><\/p>\n

Guardian Spirit<\/p>\n

Brooklyn Bridge, Pier 1, and Manhattan Bridge View (Public Art Fund)<\/a>, Dumbo, Brooklyn
Through March 8, 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"Woody De Othello, “Awareness” (2026), redwood (photo Nicholas Knight, courtesy Public Art Fund, NY)<\/p>\n

Three talismanic sculptures stand watch on the shores of Brooklyn, overlooking Manhattan and Governors Island. Artist Woody De Othello\u2019s totemic guardians accompany four monumental bronzes in this installation, reimagining Kongo nkisi objects often inhabited by spirits. Together they invite us to pause and reflect on the rituals, people, and small moments of tenderness that give form to our days.<\/p>\n

Homecoming: Chakaia Booker<\/p>\n

Socrates Sculpture Park<\/a>, 32-01 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, Queens
Through April 2027<\/p>\n

Chakaia Booker, who cuts and bends tires into transfixing abstract sculptures, returns to Socrates Sculpture Park to exhibit three works she made there in the late 1990s and early 2000s. On the occasion of the park\u2019s 40th anniversary, Homecoming reunites the sculptures with the site of their inception, whose history has been shaped by the labor of countless staff members, visitors, and artists, including Booker herself.<\/p>\n

Oscar Tuazon: Eternal Flame for Scott Burton<\/p>\n

NYC AIDS Memorial<\/a>, St. Vincent\u2019s Triangle, Greenwich Village, Manhattan
Through May 30, 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"Rendering of “Oscar Tuazon: Eternal Flame for Scott Burton” (2026) (image courtesy Public Art Fund)<\/p>\n

Next to the historic New York City AIDS Memorial, a starlit sentinel reaches into the sky like a beacon. Artist Oscar Tuazon\u2019s installation honors the life and work of American sculptor and performance artist Scott Burton, who died in 1989 from AIDS-related complications, by reimagining his last public commission. Though Burton’s piece was decommissioned in 2022, Tuazon\u2019s \u201cEternal Flame\u201d keeps the spirit of his practice burning brightly in our collective memory.<\/p>\n

Tuan Andrew Nguyen: The Light That Shines Through the Universe<\/p>\n

High Line<\/a>, Chelsea, Manhattan
Spring 2026\u2013Fall 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"Tuan Andrew Nguyen\u2019s \u201cThe Light That Shines Through the Universe\u201d (2026) glimmers warmly on the High Line plinth (photo Rhea Nayyar\/Hyperallergic)<\/p>\n

Tuan Andrew Nguyen\u2019s commission for the High Line pays homage to cultural loss and spiritual persistence through a 30-foot sandstone Buddha. The sculpture is a reference to two sixth-century statues in Afghanistan that were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. In Nguyen\u2019s reimagining, the statue stands tall, a symbol of resilience in the face of loss.<\/p>\n

Read Staff Writer Rhea Nayyar’s report<\/a><\/p>\n

Public Address by Alex Strada<\/p>\n

Various locations<\/a>
Through Oct. 2027<\/p>\n

\"\"Installation view of Alex Strada, \u201cPublic Address\u201d (2026) in Downtown Brooklyn (photo Michael Oliver; courtesy DCLA, DHS, and Storefront for Art & Architecture)<\/p>\n

A culmination of her multiyear artist residency with NYC\u2019s Department of Homeless Services, Alex Strada\u2019s Public Address transposes handwritten reflections from the residents and frontline workers of city-operated shelters onto aluminum street signs installed along the streets of four boroughs. Alongside Strada\u2019s main installation in Columbus Park, the street-side insights of our impacted neighbors open a channel for dialogue between NYC\u2019s \u201cright to shelter\u201d obligation, the increasing privatization of public space, and the worsening housing affordability crisis.<\/p>\n

Courtyard Commission: Precious Okoyomon<\/p>\n

MoMA PS1<\/a>, 22-01 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, Queens
Through 2028<\/p>\n

\"\"Staring at the exit of Okoyomon\u2019s \u201cThe Pleasure Principle\u201d (2026) in the MoMA PS1 courtyard (photo Hrag Vartanian\/Hyperallergic)<\/p>\n

Precious Okoyomon humanizes the very institutional MoMA PS1’s courtyard with a tiny forest filled with a cornucopia of plants. At the center is “The Pleasure Principle,” the latest iteration of the artist’s lost childhood teddy bear, which invites you to slide through its butt until you exit through its mouth. A tranquil \u2014 and welcome \u2014 patch of green in a neighborhood increasingly crowded out by tall condo buildings.<\/p>\n

Public Art on Governors Island<\/p>\n

Governors Island<\/a>
Long-term view<\/p>\n

\"\"Installation view of Rachel Whiteread, “Cabin” (2016) (photo Timothy Schenck, courtesy the Trust for Governors Island)<\/p>\n

Trust us, Governors Island is worth the trek, or more accurately, the short ferry ride \u2014 even more so for the wonderful public art offerings. This season, highlights are Mohawk artist Alan Michelson\u2019s installation consisting of hundreds of thousands of oysters, drawing on New York\u2019s little-known history as an oyster hub. Plus, Sam Van Aken\u2019s public-orchard-as-artwork with more than 100 fruit trees, Rachel Whiteread\u2019s ghostly cabin, Mark Dion\u2019s mad laboratory, and more still.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Photoville Festival<\/p>\n

Various Locations<\/a>
Long-term view<\/p>\n

\"\"Ryan Koopmans & Alice Wexell, “The Wild Within” (2026) (photo courtesy Photoville Festival)<\/p>\n

New York City\u2019s premier photo festival stages free outdoor photography exhibitions across the five boroughs. Among the ongoing highlights are an ode to grassroots soccer communities on a global scale in Goal Click: Window to the World at the South Street Seaport, a celebration of the quiet and quotidian in My Love Letter to Queens at Astoria Park, and a closer look at a Bolivian youth subculture inspired by manga and kawaii accessories through Identity at Travers Park. <\/p>\n

Sara Ouhaddou: Al Qalam (The Pen)<\/p>\n

Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza<\/a>, Financial District, Manhattan
Ongoing<\/p>\n

\"\"City officials, including new cultural affairs commissioner Diya Vij, unveiled Ouhaddou\u2019s tribute to the Little Syria literary community on April 30. (photo Hrag Vartanian\/Hyperallergic)<\/p>\n

Sara Ouhaddou\u2019s vivid mosaics, a monument to the city\u2019s first Arabic-speaking enclave, animate a lush plaza in Manhattan\u2019s financial district. Ouhaddou, born in France to a Moroccan family, tenderly places her own experience as an immigrant in dialogue with the literary history of Manhattan\u2019s \u201cLittle Syria,\u201d a thriving neighborhood of immigrants from Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine that was dismantled by the creation of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel in the 1940s. This work translates excerpts of works by nine of the neighborhood\u2019s prolific writers, such as\u00a0Khalil Gibran<\/a>, into her own mosaic language, emulating the complex linguistic and cultural exchanges that defined the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Read Staff Writer Isa Farfan’s report<\/a><\/p>\n

This guide was written by Hrag Vartanian, Rhea Nayyar, Lakshmi Rivera Amin, Lisa Yin Zhang, and Isa Farfan. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You know what they say: When the heat, and smoke, and floods go away, New York comes out…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311040,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,56,63,65,64],"class_list":["post-311039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}