🔗 Share this article

Spanning Renaissance masters to pop artists, modern visionaries alongside a major Mexican film-maker, art museums as well as institutions across the US have a series of dazzling shows on the horizon in 2026.

The Pop Art of Roy Lichtenstein

Announced several years ago during 2023, now just a placeholder listing at a major museum's website, this major retrospective of one of the central creators of the Pop Art era comes with some pretty heavy expectations. The institution will be drawing on its long-held holdings of close to 500 works by Lichtenstein, as well as, one would imagine, numerous loans from institutions around the world. TBD 2026.

Venetian Visions: From Old Masters to Monet

San Francisco sister institutions, the Legion of Honor along with deYoung, will focus on the Floating City with two linked shows: the former museum will offer a exploration of the city as an engine of artistic inspiration throughout the centuries, and the latter will focus on what the Impressionist Claude Monet thought of the romantic city of canals. Monet himself was daunted by the challenge of depicting Venice – a subject that had inspired the world’s most esteemed artists for centuries – but he eventually rose to the task, producing some 37 canvases, among them the masterpiece *The Grand Canal*. 6 January-2 August and Spring into Summer.

Alejandro G Iñárritu's *Sueño Perro*: A Cinematic Resurrection

Celebrating the quarter-century of his massive first feature, *Amores Perros*, filmmaker Alejandro G Iñárritu revisits over 1m ft of footage that was left out into the released movie, creating an art installation that also serves as a love letter to film. Accounts suggest the director delved into the vaults to create what he described as “a rebirth, not merely a tribute” of a cherished films. It's possible the installation will evoke a sense of optimism that runs through Iñárritu’s film in spite of the hardship he also chronicles. Late Winter through Summer.

The Sculptural World of Carol Bove

The Guggenheim is dedicating the mixed media sculpture and installation artist a major career survey, starting with her early works and moving all the way up to a new series of works fashioned from scrap metal and industrial materials. Drawing from “the 1960s” and Minimalist art, Bove frequently takes her materials straight from the urban landscape, creating intriguing and unusual constructions that have been displayed in some of the country’s most notable art spots. Having had major shows at Museum of Modern Art and a Parisian institution, Bove’s thirty years of work are ripe for a in-depth survey. 5 March–2 August.

Matisse’s Jazz: Rhythms in Color

Anyone familiar with the book *The Body Keeps the Score* will be familiar with French master Henri Matisse’s papercut *Icarus* – this is actually one of 20 paper compositions that he combined with text and published as a volume titled *Jazz* in 1947. This spring, a Midwestern museum will display all 20 of Matisse’s preparatory models – an unprecedented exhibition since the museum acquired the works in 1948 – as well as around 50 additional pieces by the artist. The cut paper works were part of a late stage flowering for Matisse. March through early Summer.

Raphael: Sublime Poetry

The great artist Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino stood alongside Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo as the renowned titans of Renaissance Italy – yet he has rarely been honored with a major show on US soil. New York’s Metropolitan Museum seeks to change that with this landmark show. Raphael is well-known for masterpieces like his *Sistine Madonna* and *The School of Athens*. With loans from all across Europe and more than 200 works in all, this is poised as a blockbuster show. 29 March–28 June.

Shu Lea Cheang's *Lover Love*: An Interactive Vision

NYC’s Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art presents a major, large-scale film-based work by transmedia artist and director Shu Lea Cheang, a prominent voice in digital art. In keeping with much of her work, Cheang in this piece investigates the daily struggles of trans life. Lover Love is designed as a very engaging experience, with audience members encouraged to interact with the four moveable screens that display the central film. 2 April–January 2027.

Leilah Babirye

A Boston contemporary art center showcases recent creations from this artist, who was compelled to leave her home country of Uganda after being outed as a lesbian in 2015. Babirye is known for transforming unconventional materials to make elaborate, queer-themed assemblages. The show showcases recent pieces based on the theme of queer weddings. This continues her longstanding practice of using reclaimed materials as a meaningful gesture of resistance. 27 August–18 January 2027.

Taking Back Our Space: Body Language and Power

Expanding upon the foundational research of German feminist photographer Marianne Wex, who analyzed how genders are socialized to use physical space differently, this show examines how non-verbal communication shapes unconscious interaction. Wex’s research included art dating back to ancient sculptures. In this presentation, Wex’s findings are displayed and juxtaposed with the work of modern Black, queer, and feminist artists. Fall 2026 into 2027.

And more …

In February, the Seattle Art Museum celebrates the haunting silhouette art of an emerging artist. Beginning 5 March, an art gallery is highlighting the work of up and coming artist Kwamé Azure Gomez. During the summer, an Arkansas museum reexamines iconic pop artist Keith Haring through a show of his three-dimensional works. Come fall, the Detroit Institute of Arts will show a collection of the artist's architecture paintings. Simultaneously, an Arizona venue exhibits the colorful work of South Korean painter Kim Chong Hak.