Spanning Renaissance masters to pop artists, modern visionaries and even a major Mexican film-maker, art museums as well as institutions across the US are preparing some spectacular exhibitions coming up for 2026.
The Pop Art of Roy Lichtenstein
Announced all the way back in 2023, and currently just a mostly empty page on a major museum's website, this major retrospective of a central creators of the pop art movement comes with some pretty heavy expectations. The institution plans to utilize its long-held holdings of close to 500 works from Lichtenstein, in addition to, one would imagine, dozens borrowed works from institutions around the world. Dates to be announced 2026.
Drawn to Venice and Monet and Venice
San Francisco partner museums, the Legion of Honor along with another, will focus on the Floating City through two linked shows: one location will offer a exploration of the city as a source of artistic inspiration throughout the centuries, while the other zooms in on what the Impressionist Claude Monet made of the romantic city of canals. The artist was daunted by the prospect of depicting Venice – a subject that had inspired the world’s most esteemed artists for centuries – yet he ultimately rose to the task, creating some 37 paintings, including the masterpiece *The Grand Canal*. 6 January-2 August and Spring into Summer.
Sueño Perro: a film installation by Alejandro G Iñárritu
Marking the 25th anniversary of his groundbreaking first feature, *Amores Perros*, filmmaker Alejandro G Iñárritu revisits over 1m ft of footage that never made it of the released movie, crafting an art installation that also serves as a love letter to celluloid. Accounts suggest the director delved into the archives to create what he called “not a tribute, but a resurrection” of a cherished films. Perhaps the installation will evoke some of the hope that pervades Iñárritu’s film despite the pain he simultaneously documents. Late Winter through Summer.
The Sculptural World of Carol Bove
The Guggenheim is dedicating the multidisciplinary sculptor artist a comprehensive retrospective, beginning with her early works and progressing all the way up to a new series of works made from scrap metal and steel tubing. Drawing from “the 60s” and Minimalist art, Bove frequently sources her materials straight from the city environment, producing intriguing and unusual sculptures that have been displayed in some of the country’s most notable venues. With significant exhibitions at the MoMA and the Palais de Tokyo, her thirty years of creation are ready for a thorough survey. 5 March–2 August.
Matisse’s Jazz: Rhythms in Color
Anyone who know a certain publication *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 paired with text and published as a book titled *Jazz* in 1947. In the coming season, Chicago’s Art Institute exhibits all 20 of Matisse’s cut-paper maquettes – the first such showing since the museum acquired the works in 1948 – as well as around 50 of Matisse’s other works. The cut paper works were part of a late stage flowering for Matisse. 7 March-1 June.
Raphael: Master of the Renaissance
Italian master painter and architect Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino stood alongside Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo as the renowned masters of Renaissance Italy – yet he has seldom received a major show on American soil. New York’s Metropolitan Museum aims to rectify that with this landmark show. Raphael is famous for iconic works like his *Sistine Madonna* and *The School of Athens*. With works from all across Europe and over 200 works total, this promises to be a blockbuster show. 29 March–28 June.
Shu Lea Cheang's *Lover Love*: An Interactive Vision
A New York Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art presents a significant and immersive film-based work by transmedia artist and film-maker Shu Lea Cheang, a prominent voice in new media art. In keeping with much of her work, Cheang in this piece investigates the daily struggles of trans life. Lover Love promises to be a highly interactive experience, with visitors invited to play around with the four moveable screens that show the central film. 2 April–January 2027.
Leilah Babirye
The Institute of Contemporary Art Boston will feature recent creations from this artist, who was compelled to leave her native Uganda after being outed as a lesbian in 2015. Babirye is known for transforming unconventional materials to make elaborate, LGBTQ+-themed assemblages. The show showcases new work based on the concept of queer weddings. It extends her ongoing project of employing found items as a meaningful gesture of resistance. Late Summer 2026 into early 2027.
Taking Back Our Space
Building on the pioneering work of west German feminist photographer Marianne Wex, who analyzed how men and women are conditioned to inhabit space differently, this show examines how non-verbal communication shapes unconscious interaction. Wex’s research included art as old as 2000 BC. In this presentation, Wex’s findings are both exhibited and put into conversation with the work of modern diverse artists. 20 September–Spring 2027.
And more …
Early in the year, a Pacific Northwest institution celebrates the evocative shadow-based work 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, the Crystal Bridges Museum reexamines 80s graffiti artist Keith Haring with a show of his three-dimensional works. In September, a Michigan museum presents a selection of Georgia O’Keefe’s architecture paintings. And also in September, the Phoenix Art Museum displays the vibrant work of South Korean painter Kim Chong Hak.
