For those who fret at the museum over how much to pay as a suggested admission, two venues are making your lives a whole lot easier. City Hall Park in lower Manhattan and the Hessel Museum of Art at Bard College offer free admission—no strings attached—to two knockout exhibitions this summer.

Twenty-seven sculptures by Sol LeWitt (or structures, as he calls them) are scattered throughout
City Hall Park. The works span the artist’s 40-year career, exploring the intersections of geometry, color and structure. Pyramids constructed from cinder blocks painted white offer a surprisingly harmonious juxtaposition to the iconic federal buildings of the city’s skyline.

The minimalist art history lesson continues with the first of a two-part retrospective of Blinky Palermo at the Hessel Museum of Art at Bard College. After a breathtaking train trip up the Hudson River to Rhinecliff, the cool chromatic canvases by Blinky Palermo offer the chance to dive headfirst into the artist’s unique interpretation of painting. Colorblocked panels wrapped in fabric and numerous blue triangles will have you reevaluating the notion of paint on canvas.

A jog down the Hudson to Beacon will bring you to part two of the retrospective at the Dia Art Foundation. Housed in a former Nabisco factory, the enormous space is flooded with light, and Palermo’s playful permutations of color combinations have never been more vibrant. A mecca of minimalism, the museum is well worth the nonnegotiable $10 admission fee.

(post by Sam Parker; photo credits: Jason Wyche, Jen Ziehe and Richard Barnes)