Everybody comes back from vacation, school is back in session, and the art world gets into gear as the leaves change color for fall. Pittsburgh has a great balance of large institutions and small independent galleries, all of which have new programming in place for the change of seasons. These fall art shows make for great nights out, but if you miss the opening, you can still drop in during open hours well into the winter.
5 Must-See Fall Art Shows in Pittsburgh
Machine Turn Quickly: Hunter Foster & Ang Ziqi Zhang
ROMANCE, 155 N. Craig Street, Suite 110
September 12
After a successful inaugural show in the form of Fourth River this summer, Margaret Kross is continuing her 2025 programming in her gallery’s new Oakland space. Where Fourth River was a large, expansive group show, her next offering, Machine Turn Quickly, will be two artists working together. Ang Ziqi Zhang makes striking abstract oil and acrylic work. In contrast, Hunter Foster works in both painting and sculpture. Kross will also be on the heels of the art fair Art-o-Rama in Marseilles, France, continuing to represent Pittsburgh in the art world at large.
Mo Costello
April April, 409 South Trenton Avenue
September 13
Moving into their second year of programming in Pittsburgh, gallerists Lucas Regazzi and Patrick Bova are still developing their curatorial voice. Mo Costello is an artist they’ve represented since their days in Brooklyn that has been in several of their group shows, and this solo exhibition will give Costello’s work the space to breathe as the sole focus. Costello is an educator whose work draws from “the social life of objects” and “the infrastructure of care.” In practice, this means a close attention to materials and a sense of whimsy in the work.
Black Photojournalism
Carnegie Museum of Art, 4400 Forbes Avenue
September 13
The Carnegie will be breaking new ground with this exhibition celebrating the work of contemporary Black photojournalists. No other museum exhibition has devoted an entire exhibition to the ways Black photographers documented not just the the shifting social climates and injustices around them, as well as the joy and dynamism of daily life in their communities. The exhibit will draw from Afro American News, Atlanta Daily World, Pittsburgh Courier, Chicago Defender, and Ebony, as well as the history and craft of photojournalism as a whole.
Andy Warhol: Vanitas
Warhol Museum
October 10, 2025 – March 9, 2026
“Vanity of vanities…all is vanity” is a biblical truism that’s only become truer in the twenty-first century. Many accused Andy Warhol of being vain or superficial. But his focus on the self also took the form of introspection. This new show at the Andy Warhol Museum will highlight the themes of “Mortality, Vanitas, and Temporality” in Warhol’s work. The artist’s fascination with both death and fame converge in the idea of vanity. Vanitas also promises to explore more of Warhol’s Byzantine Catholic upbringing and interest in spirituality.
Gustaf Fjaestad, Birch Trees and Anemones at a Sunlit Lake, 1910. Oil on panel. 46 7/8 x 37 3/4 in. (119 x 96 cm)
The Scandinavian Home: Landscape and Lore
The Frick Pittsburgh
September 27, 2025 – January 11, 2026
This premiere exhibition at the Frick allows visitors to travel to the land of minimalist furniture, cold winters and hot saunas, and universal healthcare without leaving the East End. Collectors David and Susan Werner fell in love with the art of Scandinavia and created an extensive catalogue on view to the public in full for the first time this fall. The work spans Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland and includes furniture, ceramics, glass, painting, textiles, sculpture, and graphics. There’s even a small work by renowned Swedish mystical painter Hilma af Klint.
Story by Emma Riva
Cover photo courtesy of the Frick Pittsburgh
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