NYC Arts: The Complete Guide to Art and Culture

With a substantial reputation for curatorial innovation and depth of programming in diverse media, Exit Art is always changing. Throughout its 27-year history, Exit Art has been committed to programming that directly reflects the needs of artists. In the first decade it presented artists whose work challenged social, political, sexual or aesthetic norms and raised difficult questions of race, ethnicity, gender and equality.

It also mounted mid-career retrospectives with catalogs bringing public attention to artists now firmly established, including Jimmie Durham, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Juan Sanchez, Willie Birch, Krzysztof Wodiczko, Tehching Hsieh, Martin Wong and David Hammons among others.

In its second decade, it identified the emergence of a generation of young artists with diverse backgrounds, perspectives and aesthetics, launching the careers of Shirin Neshat, Fred Tomaselli, Nicole Eisenman, Roxy Paine, Patty Chang, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Chakaia Booker and more.

Landmark exhibitions include Endurance, a survey of body art actions in the 20th century; Show People: Downtown Directors and the Play of Time, examining the relationship between performance, theater and visual art; and Let the Artist Live!, where artists lived in the gallery for the duration of the show.

Issue-oriented survey exhibitions on the new generation of women artists, Wild Girls, and on the growing scarcity of water, The Drop, highlighted and reflected a multitude of voices and perspectives present in American culture. In 27 years of organizing exhibitions around pervasive, tipping-point issues, Exit Art has shown art to be an integral component of life, rather than an isolated discipline.

• Directions: Subway: A, C, E to 34th Street/Penn Station

• Archive: In-house archive available for viewing by appointment only. Contact Archivist Audrey Christensen at audrey@exitart.org.
• Disability Access: Wheelchair access on basement level.
• Space Rental: Contact Gallery Manager Seth Cohen at seth@exitart.org.

Get involved with Exit Art

• Donations through NYCharities.org
• Volunteer Opportunities: Contact Gallery Manager Seth Cohen at seth@exitart.org.