🔗 Share this article

Spanning old masters to contemporary icons, contemporary greats and even a renowned Mexican film-maker, art museums and institutions across the US have a series of spectacular shows coming up for 2026.

Roy Lichtenstein

Announced several years ago during 2023, and currently just a mostly empty page on a major museum's online schedule, this major retrospective of one of the pioneering figures of the Pop Art era comes with significant expectations. The museum plans to utilize its decades-old collection of nearly 500 works from Lichtenstein, in addition to, one would imagine, dozens borrowed works from collections around the world. TBD 2026.

Drawn to Venice and Monet and Venice

Bay Area sister institutions, the Legion of Honor along with deYoung, will be centering the Floating City with two interconnected shows: the former museum presents a exploration of the city as an engine of high art for hundreds of years, and the latter will focus on what impressionist Claude Monet thought of the romantic city of canals. Monet himself was daunted by the challenge of depicting Venice – a theme that had captivated the world’s most esteemed artists for hundreds of years – but he eventually met the challenge, producing 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

Celebrating the quarter-century of his massive first feature, *Amores Perros*, director Alejandro G Iñárritu returns to over a million feet of footage that never made it into the final cut, creating an immersive experience that doubles as a homage to film. Reportedly the director delved into the archives to create what he described as “not a tribute, but a resurrection” of a cherished films. Perhaps the installation will instil a sense of optimism that pervades Iñárritu’s film in spite of the hardship he simultaneously documents. 22 February-26 July.

Carol Bove

The Guggenheim will give the multidisciplinary sculptor creator a comprehensive retrospective, beginning with her early works and progressing all the way up to a new collection of works made from scrap metal and industrial materials. Drawing from “the 1960s” and Minimalist art, Bove often sources her components directly from the city environment, producing fascinating and strange sculptures that have been displayed in some of the country’s most notable venues. Having had major shows at Museum of Modern Art and the Palais de Tokyo, her thirty years of work are ready for a in-depth overview. Early Spring to Summer.

Henri Matisse's *Jazz*: A Symphony of Cut Paper

Those who know the book *The Body Keeps the Score* may recognize French master Henri Matisse’s cut-out *Icarus* – it’s actually one of 20 cut-paper works that he paired with text and published as a volume titled *Jazz* in 1947. In the coming season, a Midwestern museum will display the complete set of Matisse’s cut-paper maquettes – the first such showing after the museum obtained the works in 1948 – plus some 50 additional pieces by the artist. The cut paper works were part of a prolific final chapter for Matisse. 7 March-1 June.

Raphael: Sublime Poetry

The great artist Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino is ranked with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo as the celebrated masters of the Italian Renaissance – yet he has seldom been honored with a major show on American soil. New York’s Metropolitan Museum seeks to change that with this massive exhibition. Raphael is famous for masterpieces 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 explores the everyday realities of trans life. The installation promises to be a very engaging experience, with audience members invited to interact with the four moveable screens that display the core footage. 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 recognized for deconstructing unconventional materials to make intricate, queer-themed assemblages. This exhibition highlights recent pieces based on the concept of queer weddings. This continues her longstanding practice of employing reclaimed materials as a symbolic act of defiance. Late Summer 2026 into early 2027.

Taking Back Our Space: Body Language and Power

Building on the foundational research of German feminist photographer Marianne Wex, who studied how genders are socialized to use physical space differently, this exhibition examines how body language shapes unspoken interaction. Wex’s studies spanned art as old as ancient sculptures. In this presentation, Wex’s explorations are displayed and juxtaposed with the work of modern Black, queer, and feminist artists. Fall 2026 into 2027.

And more …

Early in the year, a Pacific Northwest institution celebrates the evocative shadow-based work of Samantha Yun Wall. Beginning 5 March, a prominent gallery is featuring the work of up and coming artist an innovative creator. In the summer months, an Arkansas museum reexamines 80s graffiti artist Keith Haring with a show of his three-dimensional works. Come fall, a Michigan museum will show a selection of Georgia O’Keefe’s architectural studies. Simultaneously, the Phoenix Art Museum exhibits the colorful work of South Korean painter Kim Chong Hak.