Must-See Exhibits for Early 2025 in New York City
The transition from winter into spring brings exciting art exhibits visible on the horizon.
Photo from Museum at FIT - A collection of sea life-inspired jewelry, including examples from Chloe, Yves Saint Laurent, and Christian Lacroix
Three notable New York museums are anticipated to reopen to the public this year. The Frick Collection has announced their reopening in April 2025, and the Studio Museum in Harlem will open its doors in the fall. The New Museum has not yet announced an official reopening date within the year, although it is slated for 2025.
But the transition from winter into spring brings the openings of exciting art exhibits, and there are captivating ones to set our sights on throughout early 2025. In anticipation of freshly mounted works in familiar spaces, I rounded up five exhibits that I think fellow New Yorkers – or visitors – should take advantage of seeing throughout the start of the year.
Pirouette: Turning Points in Design at the Museum of Modern Art
For those interested in a retrospective of what was once futuristic, a technological time capsule will be available through Pirouette: Turning Points in Design at the Museum of Modern Art. This exhibit explores the language of design, such as the use of emojis for personal pleasure or the accessible icon used in urban design. Recognizable industrial designs, like the Walkman Portable Audio Cassette Player or Macintosh 128K Home Computer, are shown highlighting the gradual incorporation of technology into our personal lives. According to the museum’s site, the exhibit “features objects—from Post-Its to Spanx—that embodied experiments with new materials, technologies, and concepts; offered unconventional solutions to conventional problems; and had a deep impact both on design and the world at large.” If pixels are your passion, this exhibit runs from January 26 through October 18.
Fashioning Wonder: A Cabinet of Curiosities at The Museum at FIT
This exhibit offers an exploration into cabinets of curiosities, or wunderkammern – and a lesser-explored glimpse into museum history, as these collections were considered precursors to the modern museum. Fashioning Wonder: A Cabinet of Curiosities moves beyond the oft-seen objects or curated trinkets and explores the role of garments found within this collectable movement. The exhibition will contain a selection of nearly 200 garments and accessories which are grouped into ten main cabinets within the museum’s main gallery. The immersive exhibit “allows for interaction with objects, encouraging visitors to identify unusual or obsolete objects and to engage with the sensory appeal of fashion,” according to the museum’s site. The exhibit is curated by the Senior Curator of Costume, Dr. Colleen Hill. Fashioning Wonder: A Cabinet of Curiosities runs from February 19 – April 20, 2025 at The Museum at FIT.
Amy Sherald: American Sublime at the Whitney Museum of American Art
Amy Sherald is well-known for intimate portraiture and capturing the contemporary African American experience in the United States. Sherald was selected by First Lady Michelle Obama to paint her portrait for the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. While her works can be found throughout numerous art institutions across the US, Amy Sherald: American Sublime will mark the artist’s first solo exhibition at a New York museum. Her works will be on view alongside her earlier and lesser-known works, spanning to the start of her career in 2007. Amy Sherald: American Sublime runs from April 9 to August 3, 2025 at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Superfine: Tailoring Black Style at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Through a range of media, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style explores the emergence and evolution of the Black dandy, from 18th century examples to today’s embodiments. Drawing from historical analysis, the exhibit is inspired by Monica L. Miller’s book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity from 2009. “Style and its role in forming black identities in the Atlantic diaspora is at the heart of this show,” shares Miller, the Guest Curator of the show alongside Head Curator Andrew Bolton. Superfine: Tailoring Black Style runs from May 10 – October 26, 2025
Hilma af Klint: What Stands Behind the Flowers at Museum of Modern Art
With her cult-like following (and debates surrounding her position as the forerunner in the abstract art movement), Hilma af Klint: What Stands Behind the Flowers is likely to attract crowds and reviews. Her solo exhibition at The Guggenheim, Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future, drew the largest crowds of any exhibit in the museum’s history, according to Artnet. But unlike that popular exhibit, this one at the Museum of Modern Art will focus on the artist’s newly discovered drawings and watercolors of flowers from 1919 and 1920. Rather than depicting traditional still life; the artist’s incorporation of abstraction should be a delight allowing viewers to experience new renderings featuring the artist’s signature style. “I have shown,” af Klint wrote at the time, “that there is a connection between the plant world and the world of the soul.”
Two additional notable shows include Neue Sachlichkeit/New Objectivity at Neue Galerie from February 20 through May 26 and Monstrous Beauty: A Feminist Revision of Chinoiserie at the Metropolitan Museum of Art running from March 25 through August 17.