All you need to know about the New York art world this week.
Lisa Yin Zhang
December 2, 2025
— 4 min read
NYC Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani during an event on November 20, 2025 in New York City (photo by BG048/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
Hello, New York! We hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving, and that your December's off to a great start, even though it's dark and literally sleeting, plus expected to be the coldest winter since 1876 .... But I digress.
If you're wondering what exactly you've stumbled onto here, then may I introduce you to our formerly email-only New York Newsletter? Every Tuesday, we tell you what's going on in the city's art world, including exhibitions to visit, events to attend, and, especially this week, ways to warm up. If you're a New Yorker, someone who visits or enjoys the city, or just a sicko who wants to feel FOMO, please subscribe below. Either way, welcome.
This week, we present plenty of opportunities for spiritual uplift. Like Raúl de Nieves's cathedral of stained glass at Pioneer Works, for instance. Or a craft fair at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Or the brightest moon until 2042 (seriously). Plus, donation drives around the city — 'tis the season.
SPONSORED
Support Emerging Photographers at Light Work’s First Annual Holiday MarketHelp fund the organization’s programs, exhibitions, and community-access lab. Shop signed photo books, limited-edition prints, and one-of-a-kind art objects through December 10.
Learn moreMamdani's Transition Committee
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani also announced the 28 members of his Committee on Arts and Culture. It includes Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) alums and staff members of the Asian American Arts Alliance, Brooklyn Children's Museum, Mellon Foundation, and more.
Read our full report.
From Our Critics
Jennifer Packer, “A.D.I.P.T.A. after Jay Electronica” (2025), oil on canvas (photo Aruna D'Souza/HyperallergicAruna D’Souza
Jennifer Packer: Dead Letter at Sikkema Malloy Jenkins
"It feels like an investigation into how painting itself can be adequate to the complex process of seeing, feeling, and remembering."
Read the full review.
Installation view of central stained glass sequence in Raúl de Nieves: In Light of Innocence.AX Mina
Raúl de Nieves: In Light of Innocence at Pioneer Works
"It’s a rare experience to be able to look downward at stained glass. From below, these panels evoke judgment and command, as if the gods of tarot themselves were reminding me of my purpose in life. From above, they are all too human, as confused and bewildered about the fact of existence as I am."
Read the full review.
Cat Dawson
Hortensia Mi Kafchin: Paintings Made for Aliens Above at PPOW
"Transness works more like a fact of her experience and a source for her perspective than the exclusive content of the work."
Read the full review.
Hiroshi Sugito, “untitled (5)” (2025), acrylic and pigment on paper (photo Natalie Haddad/Hyperallergic)Natalie Haddad
Hiroshi Sugito: slicing apples at Mendes Wood DM
If Hiroshi Sugito’s deserted, dreamlike scenes seem to be suffused with drama, perhaps they actually are. The artist is an expert at transforming flat shapes and colors in an undefined pictorial space into what can seem like stage settings. In his latest exhibition at Mendes Wood DM, however, he diverges from the more overtly set like compositions of many past works. The most representational piece, “untitled (5)” (2025), balances a small house next to a giant apple on the edge of a horizon, like a storybook world, but the soft application of muted pigments makes them barely tangible. In contrast, the large, unframed “untitled (6)” (2025) is all atmosphere: a pale blue haze lined with forms that could be simplified trees or just lines and spheres suspended in the weightless realm of the picture plane. Either way, the show is strange and beautiful.
ICYMI
Claude Monet, "San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk" (1908), oil on canvas (all photos Natalie Haddad/Hyperallergic, unless otherwise noted)Venice has come to Brooklyn, haven't you heard? Reviews Editor Natalie Haddad's review of the Monet in Venice show at the Brooklyn Museum is melt-in-your-mouth — these paintings are "liquid oxygen," she writes, "weightlessly drowning the visual field in lily pad clouds of green, red, pink, and purple amid the undulating blue." The perfect way to brighten up a gray December afternoon.
What Else Is Happening?
- New York City artists called on City Council to address censorship and growing uncertainty under the Trump administration during a recent oversight hearing.
- The final Supermoon of the year — the "Cold Moon" — will rise on the horizon right after sunset. (Thurs Dec 4) [livescience.com]
- A craft show at the Church of St. John the Divine? Sign me up. (Fri Dec 5–Sun Dec 7) [stjohndivine.org]
- Nitehawk Cinema is exchanging non-perishable food for movie passes for its Holiday Food Drive! (Through Mon Dec 15) [instagram.com]
- All this month, Playground Coffeeshop in Brooklyn will accept essentials donations to be distributed to shelters and supportive housing. (Through Wed Dec 31) [instagram.com]
- Pssst ... if you're an artist in New York State, applications just opened for an $8,000 cash grant. (Through Tues Jan 27) [nyfa.org]
