Mid-Career Retrospectives & Surveys in NYC (May 2026)
8 mid-career retrospectives and surveys are on view at NYC galleries and institutions this May. These are not new-artist debuts and not full late-career museum retrospectives — they are the in-between shows where a gallery or non-profit takes stock of an artist with twenty or thirty years of practice and frames the arc.
Below: the list — title, artist, gallery, neighborhood, end date — and a sentence on what each show is doing.
1. The Adventure of Domenico Gnoli by Domenico Gnoli at Lévy Gorvy Dayan
- Artist
- Domenico Gnoli
- Gallery
- Lévy Gorvy Dayan
- Address
- 19 E 64th St, Upper East Side
- On view
- Mar 18, 2026 – May 24, 2026
The Adventure of Domenico Gnoli is at Lévy Gorvy Dayan, 19 E 64th St, Upper East Side, on view Mar 18 – May 24, 2026. Lévy Gorvy Dayan is delighted to present The Adventure of Domenico Gnoli, the largest exhibition of works by the artist in the United States in more than five decades, following his celebrated 1969 solo presentation at Sidney Janis Gallery, New York.
2. Popeye by Martin Wong at P·P·O·W
Popeye is at P·P·O·W, 392 Broadway, Chinatown, on view Apr 18 – May 31, 2026. P·P·O·W is pleased to present Martin Wong: Popeye, the gallery’s sixth solo exhibition of the artist’s work, and the first solo show of Martin Wong in New York in over a decade. Co-curated by Mark Dean Johnson and Anneliis Beadnell, Popeye examines Wong’s lifelong preoccupation with artistic subcultures—namely comic book illustration and early tattoo imagery—as reoccurring moti.
3. The Pursuit of Harmony by Henri Matisse at Acquavella Galleries
- Artist
- Henri Matisse
- Gallery
- Acquavella Galleries
- Address
- 18 East 79th Street, Upper East Side
- On view
- Apr 9, 2026 – May 23, 2026
The Pursuit of Harmony is at Acquavella Galleries, 18 East 79th Street, Upper East Side, on view Apr 9 – May 23, 2026. Acquavella Galleries is pleased to present Matisse: The Pursuit of Harmony, an exhibition featuring fifty paintings, works on paper, and sculpture by Henri Matisse on loan from museums, foundations, and private collections.
4. Portraits by David Armstrong at Artists Space
- Show
- Portraits
- Artist
- David Armstrong
- Gallery
- Artists Space
- Address
- 11 Cortlandt Alley, Chinatown
- On view
- Mar 10, 2026 – May 24, 2026
Portraits is at Artists Space, 11 Cortlandt Alley, Chinatown, on view Mar 10 – May 24, 2026. Artists Space presents the first US survey of photographer David Armstrong (1954–2014). Portraits illuminate Armstrong’s studied and experimental approach to the medium centered on an expansive deployment of portraiture, through which he transformed seemingly mundane landscapes, still lifes, and fashion imagery into vessels of intimacy, desire, and loss. The exhibition bring.
5. Anima by Felipe Baeza at Print Center New York
- Show
- Anima
- Artist
- Felipe Baeza
- Gallery
- Print Center New York
- Address
- 535 W 24th St, Chelsea
- On view
- Feb 5, 2026 – May 24, 2026
Anima is at Print Center New York, 535 W 24th St, Chelsea, on view Feb 5 – May 24, 2026. Print Center New York is pleased to present our spring 2026 exhibition Felipe Baeza: Anima, the first monographic institutional exhibition in New York surveying the artist's practice. Bringing together over 40 works demonstrating the range of Baeza's material experimentation, Anima is the first exhibition to deeply explore the artist's grounding in printmaking and the developme.
6. Kishio Suga by Kishio Suga at Mendes Wood DM
- Show
- Kishio Suga
- Artist
- Kishio Suga
- Gallery
- Mendes Wood DM
- Address
- 47 Walker Street, Tribeca
- On view
- Mar 13, 2026 – May 24, 2026
Kishio Suga is at Mendes Wood DM, 47 Walker Street, Tribeca, on view Mar 13 – May 24, 2026. Kishio Suga is one of the most important figures of the Japanese contemporary art scene. After studying painting at the Tama Art University, from 1968 he began working with elements drawn from reality, organic or artificial.
7. New York Days by Maï Lucas at Dashwood Projects
- Show
- New York Days
- Artist
- Maï Lucas
- Gallery
- Dashwood Projects
- Address
- 63 E 4th St, East Village
- On view
- Apr 9, 2026 – May 24, 2026
New York Days is at Dashwood Projects, 63 E 4th St, East Village, on view Apr 9 – May 24, 2026. Dashwood Projects, our gallery space at East 4th Street—between Bowery and Second Avenue just a few blocks from Dashwood Books, opened March 14, 2024. It is an experimental space to extend the life and boundaries of our publishing program dedicated to exhibitions and selling work by artists we've collaborated with over the years. One summer evening in 1986, Maï Lucas arrived.
8. Champs Délicieux by Aura Rosenberg & Egon Schiele at Meredith Rosen
- Show
- Champs Délicieux
- Artist
- Aura Rosenberg & Egon Schiele
- Gallery
- Meredith Rosen
- Address
- 327 W 36th St, 6th Floor, Hell's Kitchen
- On view
- Apr 24, 2026 – May 24, 2026
Champs Délicieux is at Meredith Rosen, 327 W 36th St, 6th Floor, Hell's Kitchen, on view Apr 24 – May 24, 2026. Meredith Rosen is pleased to present an exhibition by Aura Rosenberg and Egon Schiele. Pairing a new series of Rosenberg’s paintings on oilcloth with rare Schiele drawings, the exhibition explores eroticism as an entanglement of ordinary pleasures where bodily limits transform through material exploration.
How to plan a walk
Retrospectives reward unhurried visits. Plan ninety minutes minimum at any survey-scale show. Cluster Chelsea (C/E to 23rd) and the Upper East Side (4/5/6 to 86th) into separate days; downtown survey shows (F to East Broadway, 1 to Franklin) can usually be combined with smaller solos in the same building.
On the map
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Frequently asked
What's the difference between a retrospective and a survey?
A retrospective looks back across an artist's full career. A survey is more selective — a thematic or chronological slice. In practice, mid-career artists usually get surveys rather than retrospectives; the term 'retrospective' is more often reserved for late-career or posthumous shows.
Where can I see retrospectives in NYC?
MoMA, the Whitney, the Met, the Guggenheim, the Jewish Museum, the New Museum, and the Bronx Museum all program retrospective-scale shows. Galleries occasionally mount survey-scale exhibitions, especially when working with an artist's estate.
How much time should I allow?
Ninety minutes minimum for a survey of fifteen-plus works; two hours for a full museum retrospective. Bring water; many gallery interiors are warm.
Are there catalogs?
Survey shows almost always have a catalog or zine. Galleries give them away for free during the run; museums sell them in the bookstore. Catalogs are also usually available on the gallery's website after the show closes.
