Top Attractions and Events to Explore in Upstate New York This May

Exploring the Vibrant Art Landscape of Upstate New York in May

As the vibrant hues of spring saturate the landscape of Upstate New York, the region’s art galleries and museums come alive with colorful exhibitions, thought-provoking installations, and lively celebrations of creative expression. This May, art lovers are treated to a diverse array of shows that capture the dynamic spirit of the season and reflect the rich artistic life outside New York City. From abstract paintings and sacred geometries to explorations of identity and memory, the Upstate art scene is flourishing in compelling ways.

Photography with Purpose: Stephen Mallon and Wolfgang Tillmans

At Front Room Gallery in Hudson, Stephen Mallon’s exhibition Passing America presents a striking series of C-Type photographs that examine the grandeur and decay of the U.S. train system. With titles like “Locomotive FEC 803” and “Gondola WFRX 914233,” Mallon’s work captures the essence of America’s industrial backbone—layered with graffiti, nostalgia, and grit.

In contrast, Wolfgang Tillmans’s show at Hudson Hall, organized with the Second Ward Foundation, offers meditative glimpses into everyday life spanning from 1988 to 2015. Works like “still life, New York” and “chaos cup” reveal beauty in mundane moments, while “man with clouds” and “arms and legs” explore intimacy, identity, and freedom. Tillmans combines personal documentary with universal resonance, reminding us of the emotional weight carried by the simple details of life.

Geometric Meditation: Bruce Cahn’s Sacred Forms

At Opus 40 in Saugerties, Bruce Cahn’s posthumous exhibition Woodstock Work reveals a lifetime of quiet contemplation through gouache mandalas. Cahn’s sacred geometry—seen in works such as “Blue Eye Mandala” and “Four Axe Mandala”—blends Eastern spiritual forms with deeply intuitive, almost mystical symbolisms. Executed in vivid colors and sharp contrasts, his pieces evoke spiritual maps to inner dimensions. The setting of Opus 40 adds to the contemplative nature of Cahn’s work, emphasizing harmony between art and environment.

Land and Abstraction: Lisa Diebboll’s Natural Observations

Nature-inspired abstraction shines in Lisa Diebboll’s Between Observation and Abstraction at Buster Levi Gallery, Cold Spring. Her plein air practice results in works like “Squirrel Island Assemblage” and “Chartreuse and Ultramarine Violet Receding,” where Diebboll blends the organic with the abstract. She encourages close engagement with the canvas—viewers notice how brushstrokes and compositional rhythms change from near to far, mirroring the shifting perceptions we have of the natural world.

Identity, Heritage, and Earth: Boundless Creativity in Kingston

At the Reher Center for Immigrant Culture and History in Kingston, Boundless Creativity showcases the work of immigrant artists in the Hudson Valley. Anat Shiftan’s porcelain pieces evoke natural resilience through floral imagery, while Elisa Pritzker’s “Magic Leaf” merges environmental and cultural symbolism. Highlight works include Néstor Madalengoitia’s surreal watercolor “Tai chi-Paracas no. 64,” a bold fusion of gesture and myth.

Vessels of Transformation: Nicki Green’s Ceramic Language

In Boiceville, the River Valley Arts Collective hosts Nicki Green’s Fruitful Vine, a ceramic solo show staged at the Al Held Foundation. Green’s “Hybrid Vessel” series combines decorative jars overtaken by amorphous clay blooms, conjuring ritualistic energies and queer embodiment. Her work speaks of fluid identities and formative transformation, evident in the three stoic “Tender Offering Jars” and other futuristic forms alive with texture and metaphor.

The Evolution of Abstraction: Peter Shear’s Visual Poetry

Over in Germantown, Mendes Wood DM opens A Point Between the Eyes, Peter Shear’s first solo exhibition in New York. Through small oil paintings like “Press” and “Memory Game,” Shear explores the boundaries of abstract composition. His ability to layer rhythm, shape, and hue results in works that are simultaneously minimal and emotionally evocative—visual haikus that quietly challenge our aesthetic expectations.

Animal Magnetism: Menagerie at the Wellin Museum

The Wellin Museum of Art in Clinton dives deep into animals in art with the exhibition Menagerie. Featuring historical pieces such as Albrecht Dürer’s iconic “The Rhinoceros” (1515), alongside modern reinterpretations like Shahzia Sikander’s mixed-media work and Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka’s “Koinobori (eggs in the belly),” this show examines how animals function as symbols, companions, and provocateurs across cultures and eras.

Feminine Futures: Elijah Wheat Showroom’s Dual Exhibition

In Newburgh, the Elijah Wheat Showroom presents two exhibitions. Compact, Relaxed, & Intact features Millicent Young’s suspended clay sculptures and Virginia L.