While August is typically one of the slower months in the art world, there are still dozens of exhibitions across New York City worth seeing before September mayhem. This month, there is a marked presence of galleries and institutions staging an eclectic mix of solo and group exhibitions that use conceptual starting points to explore medium and genre, making the connection between visual art and abstract ideas and emotions palpable. Below, we’ve earmarked five exhibitions from the Artnet Gallery Network not to miss.
**through August 28, 2026
Karen Knorr, Seven Mile Bridge to Key West, Florida (2016). Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery.
Taking inspiration from the 1957 novel by Jack Kerouac of the same title, “On the Road” brings together the work of a diverse group of photographers that express the nuances of everyday life and landscapes. Featuring some of the medium’s most acclaimed practitioners, including Edward Burtynsky and Steve McCurry, images of otherwise quotidian vignettes are rendered sublime—both visually and psychologically.
Sundaram Tagore Gallery is located at 542 W 26th Street, New York, NY
**through August 15, 2026
Lina Puerta, Ave del Peritoneo (2010). Courtesy of Hollis Taggart.
Every artist’s process and materiality is as unique as a fingerprint, and “A View All Their Own” brings together a multigenerational group of 20 contemporary women artists, highlighting a range of perspectives. Curated by Angelica Semmelbauer, and featuring painting, sculpture, photography, and mixed media works, ideas around memory, identity, and perception are brought to the fore—simultaneously on the individual, personal as well as collective, cultural levels.
Hollis Taggart Downtown is located at 109 Norfolk Street, New York, NY
**through August 16, 2026
Ellen Pau, Operation Theatre (1995). Photo: Charles Benton. Courtesy of the Sculpture Center.
Marking her first survey exhibition in the United States, “Ellen Pau: She Moves” explores the pioneering Hong Kong artist’s multifaceted oeuvre. Presenting 14 video works and installations dating from the late 1980s through today, the show examines the subtle and nuanced shifts in the evolution of her artistic language—which broadly parallels the many transformations of Hong Kong, a recurring touchstone for the artist. Political upheaval, social issues, economic shifts, and more are translated through Pau’s contemplative and poetic practice, reflecting the artist’s singular engagement with her immediate surroundings.
Sculpture Center is located at 44-19 Purves Street, Long Island City, NY
**through August 28, 2026
Rance Jones, Siren Tattoo (2021). Courtesy of Forum Gallery Inc.
Tapping into the vibrant, jubilant themes associated with summertime, “Summer of Love” features over 20 works on paper, paintings, textiles, and sculptures by 17 artists that capture the season’s emotional flair. Featuring work by both Modern and contemporary artists, what is revealed is a varied landscape that transcends place and time period, and reflects an ongoing engagement with the deeply human aspects of the season.
Forum Gallery, Inc. is located at 41 E 57th Street, Suite 1103, New York, NY
**through August 28, 2026
Anthony Peyton Young, The Voice: Lifting Me to Higher Highs (2025). Courtesy of Clamp.
Leveraging Southern craft traditions in his ongoing examinations of identity and history, Anthony Peyton Young’s second solo with Clamp, “From the Ground Up,” features an array of recent ceramic sculptures and drawings that use elements of humor and caricature to interrogate stereotypes. Here, Young takes particular focus on the tradition of face jugs (also known as face vessels or grotesque jars) hailing from the Edgefield District in South Carolina, exploring both the documented and undocumented cultural and community significance of these objects through a contemporary lens.
Clamp is located at 247 W 29th Street, New York, NY
Explore these exhibitions and more around thew world with the Artnet Gallery Network.