Get into the back-to-school spirit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition P.S. Art 2017: Celebrating the Creative Spirit of New York City Kids (until 29 October), an annual juried show of works by pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students at the city’s public schools. The works—some astonishingly precocious—feature cityscapes, animals, grandparents, self-portraits and other subjects in a variety of media. Take time to read the artists’ statements, which express a clear sense of purpose. Second grader Vailin Santiago says: “When people look at my artwork, I want them to feel excited and thrilled because I always feel the same way when I create art.”
Catch Carol Rama: Antibodies at the New Museum before its closes this weekend (until 10 September). This largest-ever US survey of the late, self-taught Italian artist’s work, with around 150 paintings, objects and works on paper, is a dizzying trip through Rama’s bizarre, visceral, violent and often erotic work. Some depict nudes splayed on iron hospital beds and others have snakes emerging from women’s vaginas. Beyond the subject matter, which reflects how Rama grappled with her mother’s hospitalisation in a psychiatric clinic, it is interesting to see her use of various materials, such as glass, rubber tyres or animal claws.
Early fall is the perfect time of year for a trip to the Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, just outside New York. The sculpture park's exhibition David Smith: the White Sculptures (until 12 November) is the first to focus on his use of the colour and includes six large-scale works from 1962-63, nine indoor sculptures, eight paintings and 38 photographs, plus a documentary film. The show marks 50 years since the founder of the park, Ralph Ogden, bought 13 sculptures by Smith for his institution. The show isn't the only reason to come. The park also has important works by Alexander Calder, Mark di Suvero and Richard Serra, among many others.