Five New York City Shows to See Right Now

From jobs to clothing to colors, and more, there’s a lot of variety in our list this week. While our critics are enjoying historical shows focused on labor in the United States and women’s workaday clothes, an exhibition that proposes different ways of looking at color is well worth a visit, as is one that brings together conceptual works by four longtime collaborators. And who can resist John Singer Sargent’s bewitching portrait “Madame X,” on view in The Met’s newly opened Sargent and Paris? —Natalie Haddad, Reviews Editor

American Job: 1940–2011

International Center of Photography, 84 Ludlow Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan
Through May 5

“If you’re looking to ground yourself in history, and might benefit from seeing that our present is … the continuation of one long, long fight, then American Job is worth a visit.” —Julia Curl

Read the full review here.

arms ache avid aeon: Nancy Brooks Brody / Joy Episalla / Zoe Leonard / Carrie Yamaoka: fierce pussy amplified: Chapter Eight

Participant Inc, 116 Elizabeth Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan
Through May 11

Carrie Yamaoka, “14 by 11 (flake.swell)” (2024), reflective polyester film, urethane resin and mixed media on wood panel (photo Natalie Haddad/*Hyperallergic*)

“[The show] creates a cohesive sensibility that is all the more meaningful because of the human relationships that underlie its formal relationships.” —NH

Read the full review here.

All That Remains

Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling, 898 St. Nicholas Avenue, Sugar Hill, Manhattan
Through May 25

Yiyo Tirado, “Real Estate” (2025) (photo Daniel Larkin/*Hyperallergic*)

“This exhibition is proof that unexplored vistas for color await those willing to travel off the beaten path.” —Daniel Larkin

Read the full review here.

Real Clothes, Real Lives: 200 Years of What Women Wore

The New York Historical, 170 Central Park West, Upper West Side, Manhattan
Through June 22

Left to right: Crest Uniform Company, blue polyester McDonald’s maternity uniform (c. 1976–78); Angelica Uniform Company, beige, red, and blue cotton waitress uniform with metal zipper (c. 1935–40); Penney’s pink Dacron polyester waitress uniform (c. 1955) (photo Julie Schneider/*Hyperallergic*)

“[The exhibition] anchors us in the fabric of everyday survival and acts of ingenuity, revealing ways to adapt, mend, and reinvent — and look good, on our own terms, while doing it.” —Julie Schneider

Read the full review here.