Spring Art Fairs
New York’s spring fair season is the ultimate time to survey the global art world and discover new galleries and artists from near and far. With no shortage of diverse art and programming to see, this fair season offers something for everyone.
FRIEZE NEW YORK
What: Frieze New York returns again to The Shed, bringing together cutting-edge presentations from the leading galleries of the world. Frieze—headquartered in London and operating editions in New York, London, Los Angeles, and Seoul as well as EXPO Chicago and the Armory Show—is much more than a global fair. This organization also operates Frieze Magazine and holds programming year-round.
This year, the fair will commission bold performance, public interventions, and durational works by Berlin-based artist Pilvi Tamala, New York-based artist Asad Raza, and New York and Puerto Rico-based artist Carlos Reyes at The Shed and High Line.
Who: Frieze will feature presentations by over 65 galleries ranging from international powerhouses, such as Gagosian, White Cube, and David Zwirner, to emerging galleries and artists, such as Champ Lacombe, King’s Leap, and G Gallery, in its dedicated Focus section.
When: May 8-11
Where: The Shed (545 West 30th Street)
Image: courtesy of Frieze
THE PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW
What: Presented by the Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD), The Photography Show is the ultimate destination for photography lovers. One of the longest running photography fairs, AIPAD has served as a showcase for the world’s leading and cutting-edge photographers since its founding in 1979.
Who: The Photography Show will feature 77 international exhibitors, including Santa Monica’s Rose Gallery, Vienna’s Galerie Johannes Faber, Cologne’s Galerie Julian Sander, Cannes’ Echo Fine Arts, Buenos Aires’s Vasari, and many others. The fair will also include presentation from publishers and publications, including New York’s Aperture, Paris’s Atelier EXB, and Bologna’s L’Artiere, among others.
When: April 24-7
Where: Park Avenue Armory (643 Park Avenue)
Image: The Photography Show 2024, courtesy of AIPAD
TEFAF New York
What: Organized by The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF), TEFAF New York is a destination for museum-quality works of not only modern and contemporary art but also jewelry, antiques, and design.
TEFAF New York’s Maastricht counterpart is known for showcasing the crème de la crème of Old Master paintings, antiques, and classical antiquities as well as modern and contemporary art, photography, jewelry, 20th-century design, and works on paper, and this year’s Maastricht fair presented amazing treasures have been unseen for decades if not centuries, including a Titian masterpiece and medieval manuscript picturing Henry VIII of England with his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. TEFAF New York always presents a splendid display of works, and we are excited to see what TEFAF unveils at their New York edition.
Who: The 2025 roster features over 90 exhibitors from 13 countries, 21 cities, and 4 continents, including New York’s Sean Kelly Gallery, Karma, and Friedman Benda; Cologne’s Galerie Gisela Capitain; the Italian powerhouse Galleria Continua, Munich’s Hemmerle; Stockholm’s Modernity Stockholm, and many more of the world’s acclaimed galleries.
When: May 9-13
Where: Park Avenue Armory (643 Park Avenue)
Image: view of Kasmin’s presentation at TEFAF New York 2024, courtesy of Kasmin | Sebastiano Pellion
NADA New York
What: The New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) is a fair dedicated to highlighting cutting-edge contemporary art, especially from emerging and global galleries and artists. Known as a pre-eminent destination highlighting up-and-coming artist, this year’s fair will also feature a section dedicated to galleries and artists from Texas and Mexico, curated by Asia Society Texas curator Owen Duffy.
Who: NADA 2025 will bring together showcases from 120 galleries and arts organizations from 19 countries and 50 cities—as far ranging as Berlin, Brussels, Shanghai, Istanbul, Capetown, San Juan, Mexico City, Wroclaw, Belgrade, Tokyo, San Francisco, Houston, Philadelphia, and beyond.
These 120 presentations range from a number of New York’s beloved cutting-edge galleries, including JDJ, Harper’s, HESSE FLATOW, and Rachel Uffner, as well as contemporary galleries from around the world, such as Brussels & Paris’ Stems Gallery, Montreal & Toronto’s Patel Brown, Los Angeles & Lisbon’s de boer, and many others.
When: May 7-11
Where: The Starrett-Lehigh Building (601 West 26th Street)
Image: installation view from NADA New York 2024, picturing Jongwan Jang’s “Where Birds Don’t Cry 2” and “Where Birds Don’t Cry,” “Pink Icicles 2” (2024) and “A Candy Planet” (2023) at the Foundry Seoul booth, credit: Jeenah Moon for The New York Times
INDEPENDENT
What: A fair dedicated to spotlighting rising talents, Independent is distinct from other art fairs in that it is invite-only—with most other fairs, galleries apply to participate. This year, the art will address a range of pressing cultural and sociopolitical topics, such as the climate crisis, Indigenous identity, and comedy’s enduring role in art.
For the first time, the fair will present “Independent Debuts”. Spread throughout the fair, this section will feature 22 solo presentations of artists who have not previously had single-artist showings in New York. In past years, the fair highlighted Oscar Murillo, Nicolas Party, and more recently Deborah Joyce Holman at the start of their careers, and this endeavor celebrates and continues the fair’s legacy of and commitment to championing new talent at the start of illustrious careers.
Who: This year’s lineup will include over 118 artists presented by 82 international galleries and arts organizations.
When: May 9-11
Where: Spring Studios (50 Varick Street)
Image: Pope.L, Unknown title (washcloth painting with OJ Simpson), 1990, courtesy of The Estate and Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York and Independent
FUTURE FAIR
What: First launched in 2021, Future Fair is a tech-forward fair that aims to empower small art galleries. For its fifth anniversary edition, the fair will continue raising up emerging and cutting-edge artists with unique profit-sharing model where galleries are not just presenters but also shareholders of the fair’s success.
Who: Future Fair 2025 will bring together 69 local and international exhibitors. The fair has a history of promoting women-owned galleries or galleries committed to raising up the voices of women artists (these galleries made up 75% of exhibitors at last year’s fair), and this year’s fair is no different—exhibitors include London’s Gillian Jason Gallery, Leipzig’s Galerie Lætitia Gorsy, and Montreal’s The Wishbone Gallery, among many others.
When: May 8-10
Where: Chelsea Industrial (535 West 28th Street)
Images: Carlos Rodriguez, Los Durmientes del Desierto, 2024, courtesy of the artist and Hashimoto Contemporary, NY, SF