An award-winning NYC blogazine, primarily about painting
Thursday, December 18, 2025
Hello, December! I’m grateful to everyone who has already supported Two Coats of Paint 2025 Year-end Fundraising Campaign. With roughly four weeks left, we still need additional contributions to fund 2026. If you haven’t yet donated, I encourage you to consider making your tax-deductible gift now. For two decades, I’ve managed to sustain Two Coats of Paint on a lean…
Contributed by Karlyn Benson / December brings numerous group exhibitions, making it the perfect time to collect art by local artists and purchase holiday gifts. On December 12-14, the pop up show Glögg Glögg features affordable work by over 30 artists at artist Melissa Dadourian’s studio near Woodstock, NY. Also in Woodstock, the 26th Annual 5 by 7 Show opens December 5 at the Kleinert/James Center for the Arts and features hundreds of small works by local artists. Notable exhibitions this month include Beth Dary at Front Room Gallery, Kylie Heidenheimer at Private Public Gallery, and Jim Denney and Jennifer Wynne Reeves at Philip Douglas Fine Art, all in Hudson. In Kingston don’t miss Julie Evans, Murray Hochman, Catherine Howe at 68 Prince Street…
Welcome to the Two Coats of Paint November selected guide to painting-centric exhibitions in New York, Brooklyn, and Queens….
Contributed by Karlyn Benson / November is starting out with a busy weekend of openings all across the region. On November 1, Dogs & Cats opens at SEPTEMBER with over 80 artists participating. 10% of all sales are being donated to the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement, a local organization committed to supporting and resourcing immigrants. Richard Boseman opens on Saturday, November 1 at Headstone, and in the Catskills…
Welcome to the Two Coats of Paint October selected guide to painting-centric exhibitions in New York, Brooklyn, and Queens. We’ll be updating the listings around mid-month, so if you want your show considered for inclusion, please send info about the show to staff@twocoatsofpaint.com. NOTE: The year-end fundraising campaign starts in a few weeks, but readers who want to get a headstart can make a tax-deductible contribution here. Thank you!
Contributed by Karlyn Benson / October is the most beautiful month to visit the Hudson Valley and surrounding regions. Don’t miss seeing the brilliant foliage and enjoying cooler days and clear blue skies. Special events this month include the O+ music and art festival in Kingston on October 10-12 and the WAAM Members Open Studio Tour October 11-12. In Hudson, Farrell Brickhouse is giving an artist’s talk at Philip Douglas on October 11….
Contributed by Sharon Butler / Make today a day you, like me, refrain from doomscrolling in despair or listening to pundits vainly in search of packaged optimism. Cued by this guide, you might instead opt for art feeds on Instagram and ultimately the shows themselves because nothing is more hopeful than art in the fall in New York. We kick off the first week with the art fairs and then turn our attention to gallery exhibitions, hopping from neighborhood to neighborhood, absorbing new work by artists we’ve known for years and others we’ve never met. For a good time, this is the place to scroll.
Contributed by Karlyn Benson / The summer heat has given way to mild and sunny weekends, making it the perfect time to explore the Hudson Valley. There are notable exhibitions opening throughout the month, starting on September 6 with What’s That Sound Everybody Look What’s Going Down, a group show at Private Public in Hudson including work by Richard Artschwager, Ross Bleckner, Sharon Butler, Michael David, James Esber, Ellen Kozak, Stephen Maine, Donna Moylan, Michael Rodriguez, and more….
Contributed by Karlyn Benson / It has been a really busy summer in the Hudson Valley, and as we move into August the momentum continues with dozens of noteworthy exhibitions throughout the region. Highlights include Ashley Garrett’s solo show opening August 16 at SEPTEMBER in Kinderhook, Janet Biggs’ multi-channel installation Eclipse (Amazon, September 7, 1858) at Private Public Gallery in Hudson, In This Here Place, We Flesh at Gallery 495 in Catskill, Jeanette Fintz and Monika Zarzeczna at 68 Prince Street in Kingston, and opening August 30, Nicole Cherubini, Susan Jennings, and Michelle Segre at Tanja Grunert in Hudson. Don’t miss the outdoor sculpture exhibitions MUSKEG, curated by Jacob Rhodes and Jessica Hargreaves at Mother-in-Law’s in Germantown and S.C.A.P.E., curated by Linda Dubillier and Jen Dragon at a new sculpture park in Woodstock.
Contributed by Sharon Butler / This month, many galleries are taking a well-deserved break after a shitshow of a year. A few, though, are curating through the heat and hanging new shows. At Karma, Jane Dickson holds forth with a series of amusement park nocturnes. 5-50 presents in “Becoming Otherwise” – paintings by Jocelyn Fine, Will Hutnick, Geist Topping, and Peter Schenck that crackle with energy in LIC. Deanna Evans Projects’ “ExtraOrdinary” features unsettled scenes of American home life by Lisha Bai, JJ Manford, and Ann Toebbe. At Margot Samel, Glasgow gallery Kendall Koppe presents Laura Aldridge, while Essex Flowers mounts “Overhang 2,” a ro art services pop-up riffing on the idea of summer group-show abundance and community. At The Hole, on Bowery, don’t miss “Herbivore,” which includes work by Bushwick stalwart Ben Godward.
Contributed by Karlyn Benson / The Hudson Valley region is gearing up for Upstate Art Weekend, which runs for five days, from Thursday, July 17 through Monday, July 21. This year’s edition includes over 155 participants, with dozens of openings, performances, artist talks, and other events. July is a great month for excursions to the Catskills to explore an expanding selection of galleries and art spaces. Highlights include Arlene Schechet’s solo show at Catskill Art Space and Leo Koenig’s outpost in Andes. Another not-to-be-missed summer event is Art Omi’s Open Studios on July 12 from 1–4 pm. It’s the last chance to visit Pamela Salisbury Gallery in Hudson, as they are closing their current location on July 20. In Beacon, Mother Gallery reopens after a break in programming to present Line Load, a group show with work by Kerri Ammirata, Trudy Benson, Lauren Anaïs Hussey, Meg Lipke, and Paola Oxoa.
Contributed by Sharon Butler / A special note to New Yorkers who, like me, are loath to leave the city over holiday weekends or at any point during the summer, really: always check to see if galleries are open on Saturday. Chances are they aren’t. Many gallerists, kind of like Bartleby, simply prefer to close up shop for the entire long weekend. Other galleries, possibly your favorites, are shuttered until late summer or early fall, back to work only after the dust has settled from the September art fairs and blockbuster openings. For the hardcore stay-cation crowd of course, a slew of wonderful group shows are on view – sometimes freewheeling affairs in which emerging artists hang alongside more established ones we know and perhaps love. Where possible, I’ve listed the artists in each show so that you can hunt down the names already on your radar or target a few less familiar up-and-comers. Some of my best memories involve wandering around a nearly empty gallery with the editor on a sweltering summer afternoon and then ending up in a dark hideaway, drinking pints and arguing about the shows we saw. Save the shore for the off-season. As my mother, a woman who lived in a seaside town for most of her life, used to say, why go to the the beach in the summer? It’s a mob scene!
Contributed by Sharon Butler / June, academics’ favorite month, is here. I’m looking forward to checking out Smack Mellon’s“Remains to be seen,” a group show that brings together nine emerging artists whose practices find meaning in waste. Artist Austin Eddy has curated a star-studded exhibition called “A Movable Feast” at Halsey Mckay’s Greenpoint outpost. Abbey Lloyd has a solo at Ptolemy, a newish gallery in Queens. I’m looking forward to seeing some aggressive abstraction, with Iva Gueorguieva’s solo at Derek Eller and…
Contributed by Karlyn Benson / The first weekend of May is packed with shows opening and closing around the region. On Friday, May 2, “The River That Flows Both Ways: Ever Baldwin, Erika DeVries, Clarity Haynes, Portia Munson” opens at RUTHANN in Catskill. On Saturday May 3, Hudson-based Italian artist Lucio Pozzi opens at Philip Douglas Fine Art in Hudson, and “Ellon Gibbs: The Color Blue is Warm” opens at Gallery 495 in Catskill. Nearby in Hillsdale, LABspace opens two solo shows, Susan Meyer and Carlton Davis. In Kingston, “More Than Any Mirror” with Benjamin Herndon and Adie Russell opens at Headstone, and in Cold Spring, an exhibition of landscape paintings by Lisa Diebboll opens at Buster Levi. In the Catskills, Wade Kramm, Howard Schwartzberg, and Susan Silas are opening at Catskill Art Space, and a group show “Feeding Our Demons” opens at 1053 Gallery. Also on May 3, “Nature Reimagined” blooms with Rachel Burgess, KK Kozik, F Lipari and Warner Friedman opens at Bernay Fine Art in Great Barrington, MA. In Kent, CT, Carol Corey Fine Art will host an exhibition of works by legendary New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast for the gallery’s final show. Sunday, May 4 is the last chance to see three excellent exhibitions at CPW in Kingston: Mary Ellen Mark’s “Ward 81, My Sister, My Self;” Colleen Kenyon and Kathleen Kenyon, and Keisha Scarville in “Recess.” Sunday is also the last day for Amy Talluto’s solo show at the Garrison Art center. A new gallery, Ligenza Moore Gallery, is opening in Cold Spring on May 24 with a group show featuring work by Katherine Bradford, Don Voisine, Judy Pfaff, Chris Martin, Meg Hitchcock, and others.
Contributed by Sharon Butler / May is Art Fair Week in New York, but don’t forget to visit the galleries. A few have closed since our last guide—Dinner, Spanierman, and Pocket Utopia are all taking a break. Nathalie Karg is on hiatus. On a brighter note (literally), be sure to see “LFG” at The Hole, a group exhibition featuring blinking LED lights, painting, sculpture, and installation informed by video game aesthetics. McBride/Dillman, the newest…
