There are moments when New York’s art scene feels impossible to keep up with. Just when you think you’ve seen the shows worth traveling for, two more open that make you wish you were already on the next flight.

Right now, two exhibitions in particular have caught my attention: Anish Kapoor at Lisson Gallery and a newly opened Carol Bove exhibition at the Guggenheim. Both focus on sculpture. Both play with space and movement. And both remind me why New York remains one of the best cities in the world for contemporary art.

If you happen to be in the city, consider this your friendly nudge to go see them.

Anish Kapoor at Lisson Gallery (through April 11, 2026)

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I have a particular soft spot for Anish Kapoor. I saw his work at the Venice Biennale a few years ago where his work was split across the Gallerie dell'Accademia and the historic Palazzo Manfrin. Despite the controversy surrounding his Vantablack sculptures, I really enjoyed seeing everything, and the playful mirrors in the Palazzo Manfrin were a lot of fun for m and my friend. alone. I've also caught his previous shows at Lisson Gallery, and each time, the work manages to feel both familiar and entirely new.

This current show, titled Mirror Works, brings together a focused selection of stainless-steel sculptures made between 2010 and now. No pigment, no wax, no darkness — just mirrors. Monumental, polished concave forms that seem to pull you inward. And this time, also a newer piece, Untitled (2023), a steel cuboid built around a central void that reflects rather than absorbs light. Kapoor’s voids never stay still. Instead, they continue to shift, depending on where you stand or what the light is doing. So, walk around, watch the surface shift as you change position. It’s the kind of exhibition where being curious and exploring a little pays off.

Carol Bove at the Guggenheim (through August 2, 2026)

This one I am dying to see. I first encountered Carol Bove's work at Venice Biennale too (surprise, surprise!), and then again at the Kistefos Museum in Norway, an extraordinary sculpture park tucked into a forested island outside Oslo that alone was enough to bring me to Norway one summer a few years ago. Her work fit that setting so naturally: raw, industrial-looking steel sculptures that somehow manage to feel light and almost improvisational.

The Guggenheim show is her first-ever museum survey, which feels surprising given how long she's been making important work. The show includes more than 100 works, spanning 25 years, from early drawings and archival assemblages to the large steel "collage sculptures" she's now best known for. Crushed tubing, found metal, vivid automotive paint. Instantly recognizable. And, they seem perfectly suited for the Guggenheim environment.

Planning a New York art visit?
Two very different artists, two very different scales of ambition, two shows that I think are both really interesting, If you manage to see either of these exhibitions, I would love to hear what you think. I'll be living vicariously through you!