Kennedy Yanko’s Epic Two-Gallery Exhibition of Crushed Metal

Spanning two galleries in New York City, artist Kennedy Yanko presents her largest exhibition to date with 30 crushed metal and “paint skin” sculptures that pack a resonating gravitational punch. In Tribeca, “Epithets” at James Cohan Gallery is a gray-walled gritty exhibition, while “Retro Future” at Salon 94 on the Upper East Side occupies all three floors that crescendos into sunlit rooms and a bonus group exhibition curated by the artist. This double-venue experience offers great surprises for long-time fans and the perfect introduction for a newcomer.

Kennedy Yanko: Trembling down, 2024 \\\ Photo: Dan Bradica

Kennedy Yanko: Trembling down, 2024 (detail) \\\ Photo: Dan Bradica

Kennedy Yanko’s work is a poetic dance between large chunks of old crushed metal that she rescues from scrapyards, combined with “paint skins” – a material she creates by applying thick layers of paint to her floor and peeling them to become malleable “paintings” without a canvas.

Kennedy Yanko: Afterglow, 2025 \\\ Photo: Alexis Salas

Kennedy Yanko: Afterglow, 2025 (detail) \\\ Photo: Alexs Salas

Through Yanko’s vision and muscle, the brutally disfigured metal meets the “paint skins” to find a seductive confusion of material, weight, and age. Physically they hover between mass and air; emotionally they resonate with a kind of beautiful sadness and joyous hope.

Kennedy Yanko: Trembling down, 2024 \\\ Photo: Dan Bradica

Kennedy Yanko: Cowboy, gangster, politician, 2024 \\\ Photo: Dan Bradica

Kennedy Yanko: Cowboy, gangster, politician, 2024 (detail) \\\ Photo: Dan Bradica

Yanko is known for her brilliant use of color (see Design Milk’s review of her 2023 exhibition at Jeffrey Deitch that included near-glowing, jewel-like tones), often pulling color inspiration from the tiniest dots of oxidation or old paint specks in the objects she selects. And though you will find exceptional examples of colorful works at both exhibitions today, the surprise for me are the black works. Several monochromatic works in black hang at both locations, acting as a connection point between the spaces. Though not the largest works on view, their haunting gut-punch physicality is at an extreme, as if they are heavy shadows held between implosion and renewal.

Kennedy Yanko: Victim nor hero 2025 \\\ Photo: Alexis Salas

Kennedy Yanko: Victim nor hero 2025 (detail) \\\ Photo: Alexis Salas

Each location contains unique gems. At James Cohan Gallery, the stand-outs are two “white works” which may be the best ethereal balance between gravitational mass and a spiritual weightlessness. Each feels fully worn and eternally new.

Kennedy Yanko “Epithets” at James Cohan Gallery, New York \\\ Photo: Phoebe d’Heurle

Kennedy Yanko: Psychically Milked, 2025 \\\ Photo: Dan Bradica

Kennedy Yanko: Psychically Milked, 2025 (detail) \\\ Photo: Dan Bradica

Salon 94 takes advantage of its natural light and three-story viewing space (a literal “uplifting” experience when you take the spiral stairs), presenting two massive suspended works among the many other sculptures. The 13-foot “Replenishing the provocative force” on the ground floor hangs only a few centimeters over a mirror-polished pedestal, while “Jetstream Dreams” (below) holds a beautiful room on the 2nd floor.

Kennedy Yanko: Jetstream Dreams, 2025 \\\ Photo: Elisabeth Bernstein

Kennedy Yanko: Jetstream Dreams, 2025 \\\ Photo: Elisabeth Bernstein

I strongly recommend visiting both galleries – not just because each presents a unique view of Yanko’s current work, but also because the journey between the spaces adds something really special. It’s about a 20-minute trip by taxi or train (take the 6). Yanko’s work is surreal, unique, and unexpected, but it also opens your eyes to magical “real” moments on the sidewalk like no other exhibition on view now. For example, on my personal trip, I passed two constructions sites, a blue metal dumpster dented to its limit, and sat on the subway across from a woman with a black leather overcoat that matched the folds in the sculpture. This double venue is not an inconvenience, it’s an injection of complexity and life that will differ for every viewer, made possible through the particular qualities and aura of Yanko’s work.

Kennedy Yanko “Retro Future” at Salon 94 Gallery, New York

My personal advice is to see James Cohan Gallery first for the best crescendoing experience. Then at Salon 94, you will conclude on the 3rd floor where a bonus exhibition, curated by the artist, presents great work by Frank Stella, Leonardo Drew, John Chamberlain, and others, taking you deeper into the mind of what continues to inspire and influence the artist.

Kennedy Yanko \\\ Photograph: Antoine “Noemad” Reid

Find more images on the websites below and don’t miss the chance to visit in person for the next few weeks.

Exhibition Information:

Tribeca: Kennedy Yanko “Epithets” is on view at James Cohan Gallery in Tribeca, 48 Walker Street, New York, from April 5- May 10, 2025.

Upper East Side: Kennedy Yanko “Retro Future” is on view at Salon 94 Gallery on the Upper East Side, 3 East 89^th Street, New York, from April 5- May 3, 2025.

All images of work at James Cohan Gallery: © Kennedy Yanko 2025. Courtesy the artist and James Cohan, New York.

All images of work at Salon 94 courtesy Salon 94.