If patterns and performance were the only art options in town, there would still be plenty to see this week. You can find the latter, or archives of it, in one of the season’s major art events, MoMA Ps1’s newly opened survey of work by artist, performer, musician, and curator Vaginal Davis. As Daniel Larkin describes in his review, the show is a trip through the artist’s many themes and roles. Performance is also a key part of Duane Linklater’s current exhibition at Dia Chelsea. The last of a series of Saturday dance pieces takes place this weekend, though there’s plenty more to see in this deeply meaningful display.
Patterns appear in appear in very different forms in two more of our favorite shows this week. On the Upper East Side, you can see Judy Ledgerwood’s improvisational take on the Pattern and Decoration movement. Conversely, Chelsea’s Print Center presents a thought-provoking take on infographics inspired by W.E.B. Du Bois. —Natalie Haddad, Reviews Editor
Judy Ledgerwood: Twilight in the Wilderness
Gray Gallery, 1018 Madison Avenue, Floor 2, Upper East Side, Manhattan
Through November 1
“I have always thought of Ledgerwood as a consummate painter who transformed the rigidity of Pattern and Decoration’s reliance on repetition into a mode of improvisation and surprise.” —John Yau
Data Consciousness: Reframing Blackness in Contemporary Print
Print Center New York, 535 West 24th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
Through December 13
“The experience [of the show] is like encountering an iceberg of meaning: seeing an enormous structure while realizing that most of its entirety I may never be able to perceive.” —Seph Rodney
Duane Linklater: 12 + 2
Dia Chelsea, 537 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
Through January 24, 2026
“Linklater not only lets buffalo run free in 12 + 2, conceptually at least, but in the installation, performance, and paintings on view he also reimagines the world in their terms.” —Aruna D’Souza
Vaginal Davis: Magnificent Product
MoMA PS1, 22–25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, Queens
Through March 2, 2026
“For her survey, Ms. Davis oscillates between the miniature and the monumental as a strategy to jolt viewers out of complacency and see the imagery anew.” —Daniel Larkin
