As Ruth Jean-Marie notes in her review of Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum’s exhibition, it’s an interesting time to highlight intimacy in art, with so much turmoil in the world. But maybe that’s just what we need right now to offer us solace. Sunstrum’s art centers women caring for each other. A group exhibition at 12 Franklin in Greenpoint addresses intimacy from a different angle, by focusing on the innermost parts of our bodies and our own relationships with them. Meanwhile, Kader Attia’s deeply personal artwork invites audiences to share in his life experience as the son of immigrants in France. And Shellyne Rodriguez’s new public artwork in The Bronx is a tribute to her beloved borough. Make sure to check out some great painters, too, including Karin Davie and the always enchanting Monet. —Natalie Haddad, Reviews Editor
soft weapons: Keep Your Fucking Hands off My Body
12 Franklin, 12 Franklin Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Through November 22
“I pushed through the heavy doors of 12 Franklin to look at photographs of the inside of a vagina taken by a sex toy camera. Whew.” —Lisa Yin Zhang
Kader Attia: Shattering and Gathering Our Traces
Lehmann Maupin, 501 West 24th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
Through December 20
Kader Attia was born into a colonial ordeal but dreamt his way out of it, one artwork at a time. This show continues the French-Algerian artist’s career-defining meditations on repairing and healing collective and personal histories. Suitcases filled with mirror shards lead you to a film in a basement space featuring Attia’s mother, feminist decolonial author Françoise Vergès, and artist Jean-Jacques Lebel. Each one of them has a story to tell about a certain suitcase. Ultimately, the artist’s message is optimistic: Through the bruising splinters of memory shines the light of life. The most pulled-together among us are often the ones who had once been shattered into pieces. —Hakim Bishara
Karin Davie: It Comes in Waves
Miles McEnery Gallery, 525 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
Through December 20
“As much as Davie controls what happens in her compositions, complete command escapes her, creating a sense of tension.” —John Yau
Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum: Parabellum
Galerie Lelong, 528 West 26th Street
, Chelsea, Manhattan
Through December 20
“It feels like a particularly interesting time to be highlighting moments of intimacy amid backdrops of strife, given that we live in a time rife with famine, war, and genocide.” —Ruth Jean-Marie
Monet and Venice
Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Through February 1, 2026
“For all the wall texts and archival materials … nothing justifies celebrating this sliver of his oeuvre more than the paintings themselves.” —NH
Shellyne Rodriguez: “Phoenix Ladder: Monument to the People of the Bronx”
Grand Concourse and Morris Avenue, Concourse Village, The Bronx
Ongoing
“[The artwork] portrays an ascending ladder with no end, in an artistic testament to the resilience of the borough in the face of adversity.” —Isa Farfan
