Installation view of the 2025 Armory Show at Javits Center in Manhattan, NY. (Photo: Casey Kelbaugh)
Every year, New York City hosts some of the world’s most prestigious art fairs, including Frieze, the AIPAD Photography Show, and, most recently, the Armory Show. Held from September 5 to 7, 2025, at the Javits Center, this year’s iteration of the event gathered more than 200 galleries from all over the world.
“[The Armory Show] has been an anchor to the New York art world for many years, and the fair has grown just as New York has grown into the capital of the global art market,” fair director Kyla McMillan said in a recent interview. “It means so much to so many people.”
Indeed, the sheer number of attendees at the Armory Show is a testament to how meaningful it is. In the span of only three days, some 50,000 visitors flocked to Javits Center, encountering such prestigious galleries as Yancey Richardson, Sean Kelly, and White Cube, among many others. Also in attendance were several international institutions, representing countries like Taiwan, Japan, France, Nigeria, and Sweden.
“For exhibitors in the U.S., participating in the Armory Show tells the story of what’s happening in the American art market,” McMillan added. “And for exhibitors outside of the U.S., the Armory Show is the fair to engage with American audiences.”
Perhaps nothing encapsulated that sentiment better than the fair’s “Focus” section, which highlighted works from the American South. Here, Austin-based artist RF Alvarez showcased paintings of cowboys inspired by Paul Cadmus; Baldwin Lee unveiled photographs depicting Black communities across the South; and Monica Kim Garza managed to fill a whole booth with a triptych of a dinner party, revealing how the foods of her Mexican-Korean heritage blend with those of the South.
The fair’s “Platform” section offered an equally comprehensive view of contemporary art across the U.S. Curated for the first time by a nonprofit, Souls Grown Deep, “Platform” compiled artwork by Black artists who lived in and whose practices were informed by the American South. A particular highlight was an installation from Gee’s Bend, Alabama, celebrating the “airing of the quilts,” an annual tradition in which quilts are hung on clotheslines to air in the warm sun and be admired by community members and other passersby.
“We’re a fair that happens at an exciting cultural moment in New York, alongside the US Open, New York Fashion Week, and more recently, Collectible Design,” McMillan said. “We want to build bridges, and bring new audiences into the fair to meet our exhibitors.”
To discover more highlights from this year’s fair, visit the Armory Show website.
This year’s iteration of the Armory Show celebrated not just New York’s contemporary art scene, but that of the United States as a whole.
Photograph by Baldwin Lee. (Courtesy Howard Greenberg Gallery)
assume vivid astro focus, “Deep Sea Kiki,” 2024. (Photo: Michael Lopez, courtesy Frederic Snitzer Gallery)
Samantha Yun Wall, detail from “Family Secrets,” 2022. (Photo: Timothy Hawkinson Gallery)
Matthias Bitzer, “The Impossible Lens,” 2025. (Courtesy Francesca Minini Gallery)
Attracting some 50,000 visitors, the art fair hosted more than 200 galleries from the U.S. and from countries like Peru, Japan, and France.
Installation view of the 2025 Armory Show at Javits Center in Manhattan, NY. (Photo: Casey Kelbaugh)
Julio Le Parc, “Partiel de: Serie 16 n°9,” 2020. (Photo: Charles Roussel, courtesy Nara Roesler Gallery)
Installation view of the 2025 Armory Show at Javits Center in Manhattan, NY. (Photo: Casey Kelbaugh)
Installation view of the 2025 Armory Show at Javits Center in Manhattan, NY. (Photo: Casey Kelbaugh)
Special sections at the Armory Show emphasized artwork from the American South, uplifting often overlooked visual traditions and cultures.
Photograph by Baldwin Lee. (Courtesy Howard Greenberg Gallery)
Samantha Yun Wall, “Foreign Body 17,” 2020. (Photo: Timothy Hawkinson Gallery)
Marco A. Castillo, “Lam Palo 2,” 2024. (Photo: Marco A. Castillo Studio, courtesy Nara Roesler Gallery)
Installation view of the 2025 Armory Show at Javits Center in Manhattan, NY. (Photo: Casey Kelbaugh)