NY Weekly · Nov 9–15

NY Weekly, Nov. 9–15: Yoshitomo Nara Takes Over Chelsea, and Japan Shows Up in Script and Clay

Yoshitomo Nara is the story this week: a solo show at David Zwirner and, a few blocks away, a single painting on view before its auction. Japan also appears in kana script, fired clay and photography across the city. Add one show closing Saturday and the Neue Galerie reopening Thursday, and you have a full week of looking.

Nara in Chelsea

  1. Yoshitomo Nara

    Yoshitomo Nara

    David Zwirner, Chelsea · 2026-11-05–2026-12-12

    Nara's first solo show with David Zwirner and his first major New York solo in nearly a decade. New paintings and oil-stick drawings fill West 20th Street; thirteen white bronze heads from 2024 sit on 19th. Through December 12.

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  2. Fair Warning Shows Yoshitomo Nara's Milky Lake Painting in Chelsea, NYC, Before Nov. 19 Sale

    Fair Warning (Loïc Gouzer) exhibition space, Chelsea · 2026-11-06–2026-11-19

    Fair Warning shows Nara's 2011 canvas In the Milky Lake / Thinking One at 534 West 22nd Street, Nov. 6–19, ahead of its Nov. 19 sale, estimated at $10–15 million. Your chance to see it up close before it sells.

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Japanese Script and Clay

  1. Leaves of Words: Satoshi Nemoto, Tsuneo Nakazawa, Shinya Yamamura

    Leaves of Words: Satoshi Nemoto, Tsuneo Nakazawa, Shinya Yamamura

    Ippodo Gallery, Tribeca · 2026-10-30–2026-12-05

    One script, three materials: Satoshi Nemoto writes waka in ink on washi, Tsuneo Nakazawa forges verses in iron, Shinya Yamamura inlays mother-of-pearl into lacquer. At Ippodo in Tribeca through December 5.

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  2. Exploring the Unseen: The Sculptures of Tanaka Yū

    Exploring the Unseen: The Sculptures of Tanaka Yū

    Joan B. Mirviss, Upper East Side · 2026-11-05–2026-12-18

    Kyoto sculptor Tanaka Yū makes what look like cloth-wrapped boxes, every fold fired clay. The work asks what a container really holds. At Joan B. Mirviss on the Upper East Side through December 18.

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Japan in the Museums

  1. I'm So Happy You Are Here: Japanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now

    I'm So Happy You Are Here: Japanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now

    International Center of Photography, Lower East Side · 2026-10-15–2027-01-11

    Twenty-eight Japanese women photographers, from the 1950s to now, in a survey that began in Arles and makes its first US stop at ICP. It widens the usual picture of Japanese photography. Through January 11.

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  2. Masao Gozu: Windows and Bars

    Masao Gozu: Windows and Bars

    MoMA PS1, Long Island City · 2026-11-05–2027-03-15

    The first US museum show for Nagano-born, New York-based photographer Masao Gozu. His 1970s views through tenement windows are paired with recent photos from the same places. Free admission at MoMA PS1 through March 15.

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  3. No Ordinary Light: Akari at 75

    No Ordinary Light: Akari at 75

    The Noguchi Museum, Long Island City · 2026-11-04–2027-09-05

    Noguchi's paper-and-bamboo Akari lights turn 75. The show traces how he presented them alongside stone, metal and clay, from his 1951 Gifu trip onward. At the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City through September 5, 2027.

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Closing and Reopening

  1. Calida Rawles: Parallax

    Calida Rawles: Parallax

    Lehmann Maupin, Chelsea · 2026-10-15–2026-11-14

    Calida Rawles's new paintings grow from three photographs of her youngest daughter in a pool, taken seconds apart as the artist moved. Each shift in angle changes the composition. Lehmann Maupin, Chelsea, closes Saturday, Nov. 14.

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  2. 25th Anniversary Exhibition: Masterworks from the Neue Galerie

    25th Anniversary Exhibition: Masterworks from the Neue Galerie

    Neue Galerie, Upper East Side · 2026-11-12–2027-01-11

    After restoration, Neue Galerie reopens all galleries Nov. 12 with a 25th anniversary show including Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, plus Schiele and Kandinsky. Closed Tuesdays; through January 11.

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Food and Drops

  1. New in Midtown, NYC: Chef Chikara Sono Opens Kappo Sono at One Bryant Park

    New in Midtown, NYC: Chef Chikara Sono Opens Kappo Sono at One Bryant Park

    One Bryant Park, Midtown West · 2026-11-18

    Next week, on Nov. 18, Chef Chikara Sono opens Kappo Sono inside One Bryant Park: 16 seats, 10 at the counter, serving a 2.5-hour kaiseki menu built on Japan's 24 seasonal divisions.

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  2. New in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn: Studio Tropical Supper Club Opens With a 10-Seat Table

    New in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn: Studio Tropical Supper Club Opens With a 10-Seat Table

    Studio Tropical Supper Club, Clinton Hill · 2026-11-13

    Opening Nov. 13 in Clinton Hill: chef-artist Stephanie Bonnin seats ten at one communal table for a roughly seven-course Caribbean and Latin American menu, one seating Fridays and Saturdays, $140.

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  3. Stella McCartney x Yoshitomo Nara Third Collection Lands Nov. 11, Shoppable From NYC

    Stella McCartney x Yoshitomo Nara Third Collection Lands Nov. 11, Shoppable From NYC

    Stella McCartney · 2026-11-11

    Stella McCartney and Yoshitomo Nara release their third collaboration Nov. 11: knitwear, hoodies, vegan bags, printed trainers and an adidas SPW64 sneaker. Sold on stellamccartney.com and at select boutiques.

  4. Bottega Veneta x Moomin Capsule Lands in Japan Nov. 11, Then NYC and Worldwide Nov. 18

    Bottega Veneta x Moomin Capsule Lands in Japan Nov. 11, Then NYC and Worldwide Nov. 18

    Bottega Veneta (Japan first, then rest of world) · 2026-11-11–2026-11-18

    Bottega Veneta's Moomin leather capsule, with Intrecciato bags, charms and comic-stamped pieces, launches in Japan Nov. 11 and elsewhere, including New York, on Nov. 18.