The New York arts scene is varied, extravagant and sophisticated. From Manhattan to Brooklyn, there are plenty of places to go. This spring brings major contemporary art exhibitions, not to mention exhibitions looking at cultures that are not represented nearly enough. Here at a glance are the major events of the spring season!

Guggenheim Museum

On Kawara – Silence is undoubtedly the concept event of the year: a retrospective exhibition of works by the Japonese artist, long a New York resident, who died last summer, is spread out through the Guggenheim’s spectacular architecture. It’s one of the great events currently under way on New York’s arts scene. The exhibition is drawing an international crowd of art lovers. Kawara’s work is both elegant and humanist, but it isn’t easy to understand. Take you time. The experience will be enriching.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan has reorganized its modern art collections. The thematic route is marked by masterpieces from Europe and North America. The Plains Indians Artists of Earth and Sky presents rare and unexpected objects, some of which date from 100 B.C., of both aesthetic and anthropological value, paying sincere homage to the powerful aura of Native culture on the North American plains.

Whitney Museum

Mark your calendars! The Whitney will be inaugurated on May 1, 2015. Visitors are awaiting with equal impatience the chance to discover the museum’s architecture, by Renzo Piano, and a first look at the installation of its collections and the major opening exhibition. With an unmatched view over the Hudson River, a gourmet restaurant and a trendy café, the Whitney promises to be THE fine weather spot in Manhattan.

Brooklyn Museum of Art

Few artists are as colourful as Kehinde Wiley. The exhibition Kehinde Wiley a New Republic radiates extraordinary energy that leaves no one indifferent. Wiley, one of the great painters of figural and pictorial theatricality, reinvents traditional historical and portrait painting with humour and grandeur in compositions starring young Blacks. Two decades of work by this darling of the galleries are now on show at the Museum.

New York Botanical Garden

Mexican artist Frida Kahlo cultivated her garden. The exhibition Frida Kahlo, Art, Garden, Life, which starts this spring and continues all summer, only shows a few of her works, but what works they are indeed! It is also an opportunity to discover the gorgeous Botanical Garden in the Bronx. It’s a spring stroll off the beaten track.

Frieze Art Fair

The fair, which comes from London, brings together works from the greatest European galleries, as well as few others, carefully selected. The booths show all the latest things at exorbitant prices. Everybody who is anybody will be there, for cocktails and to look around, on Randall’s Island May 14 to 17. The elite crowd will definitely be found on the ferries from Manhattan that make the crossing in a few minutes.

Artist Space Exhibitions

Artist Space, a chic Soho loft, is still inhabited by experimental art. Upstairs, where all the trendy New Yorkers go, they’re showing Hito Steyerl, feminist artist, and her powerful videos. Artist Space is very trendy, and so is its philosophy. A visit will lead you underneath the light of suspended screens to view astonishing works. This exhibition will take you out of your daily grind.

Petzel Gallery

Uptown, one of the galleries on the Upper East Side, is showcasing German artist Charline von Heyl. Her paintings translate a pictorial discourse that is both personal and formalistic. Questions of painting asked with the intelligence of the paintbrush and the vivacity of a contemporary spirit. Of the three Petzel galleries in Manhattan, this is the one not to miss.

Text: Diane Stehle