Nine shows to see during Frieze New York

"Eight years in the making, Sublime Poetry is his first comprehensive exhibition in the US, gathering 237 works spanning the whole of his career-a surprising number of them major loans from the Louvre, Uffizi, Rijksmuseum and other institutions."

"For centuries, Raphael was best known for his idealised depictions of the Madonna and Christ Child, leading to countless imitations. The show's curator, Carmen C. Bambach, calls the phenomenon "an oversaturation" that "severely tarnished" the motif. Her solution? Present a much wider "social and historical context" of motherhood and childhood mortality."

"Before viewers experience the full flowering of Raphael's sublime Madonnas, they encounter objects and images that attest to the agony and sheer danger of childbirth."

"Once every five years, MoMA PS1 celebrates the artists of the five boroughs in its museum-spanning show Greater New York. The sixth quinquennial coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Queens institution's founding and features works by 53 local artists and collectives. Unlike other major -ennials, Greater New York does not try to tack on a theme, instead letting its more than 150 photographs, paintings, drawings, animations, sculptures, installations and performances speak for themselves."

Sublime Poetry presents 237 works across Raphael’s career in a US exhibition that took eight years to prepare, including major loans from major European institutions. Raphael’s reputation for idealized Madonna and Christ Child imagery is described as having been oversaturated through imitation, which tarnished the motif. The exhibition addresses this by placing motherhood and childhood within social and historical context, including evidence of childbirth agony and mortality before viewers reach Raphael’s most celebrated Madonnas. Greater New York 2026, MoMA PS1’s quinquennial show, coincides with the museum’s 50th anniversary and features 53 artists and collectives from the five boroughs. The exhibition avoids a single theme, presenting more than 150 works across multiple media, including photography, video, sculpture, installations, and performances.

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