🔗 Share this article

From Renaissance masters and pop artists, contemporary greats and even a major Latin American director, galleries as well as galleries across the United States have some spectacular exhibitions coming up in 2026.

The Pop Art of Roy Lichtenstein

Announced all the way back during 2023, and currently merely a mostly empty page on a major museum's website, this major retrospective of one of the central creators of the pop art movement comes with significant anticipation. 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 globally. TBD 2026.

Drawn to Venice and Monet and Venice

San Francisco partner museums, one prestigious venue along with another, will be centering Venice through two linked exhibitions: one location will offer a exploration of the city as a source of artistic inspiration throughout the centuries, and the latter will focus on what impressionist Claude Monet made of the enchanting city of canals. Monet himself felt intimidated by the prospect of painting Venice – a theme that had inspired the most revered artists for hundreds of years – but he eventually met the challenge, creating some 37 canvases, among them the masterpiece *The Grand Canal*. Winter through Summer and 21 March-26 July.

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

Celebrating the quarter-century of his groundbreaking first feature, *Amores Perros*, filmmaker Alejandro G Iñárritu returns to more than a million feet of film that never made it of the released movie, creating an art installation that also serves as a homage to film. Reportedly Iñárritu dug deep into the vaults to create what he described as “not a tribute, but a resurrection” of one of his most beloved films. It's possible the installation will instil some of the hope that pervades Iñárritu’s film in spite of the hardship he simultaneously documents. Late Winter through Summer.

The Sculptural World of Carol Bove

A major New York museum is dedicating the multidisciplinary sculpture and installation artist a comprehensive retrospective, beginning with her early works and progressing through to a new series of works made from found metal and steel tubing. Drawing from “the 1960s” and Minimalist art, Bove often sources her materials straight from the urban landscape, producing fascinating and strange sculptures that have been displayed in some of the country’s most notable venues. With major shows in Museum of Modern Art and the Palais de Tokyo, her three decades of creation are ready for a in-depth survey. Early Spring to Summer.

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 in fact one of 20 cut-paper works that he paired with text and published as a volume titled *Jazz* in 1947. This spring, Chicago’s Art Institute will display all 20 of Matisse’s preparatory models – an unprecedented exhibition since the museum obtained the works in 1948 – plus some 50 of Matisse’s other works. The cut paper works represented a late stage flowering 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 titans of the Italian Renaissance – but he has seldom been honored with a major show on American soil. A premier East Coast institution seeks to change that with this massive exhibition. Raphael is famous 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 promises to be 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 significant and immersive film-based work by Taiwanese-American artist and film-maker Shu Lea Cheang, a major figure in new media art. In keeping with most of her work, Cheang in this piece investigates the everyday realities of transgender existence. The installation is designed as a highly interactive piece, with audience members invited to play around with the four moveable screens that show the core footage. Spring 2026 through early 2027.

Leilah Babirye: Reclamation and Defiance

A Boston contemporary art center will feature new work from this artist, who was compelled to leave her native Uganda after being outed as a lesbian in 2015. Babirye is recognized for transforming unconventional materials to make elaborate, LGBTQ+-themed assemblages. The show showcases new work based on the concept of queer weddings. This continues her ongoing project of using reclaimed materials as a symbolic act of resistance. Late Summer 2026 into early 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 conditioned to use physical space differently, this exhibition examines how body language influences unconscious interaction. Wex’s research spanned art dating back to 2000 BC. In this presentation, Wex’s findings are displayed and put into conversation with the work of modern Black, queer, and feminist artists. Fall 2026 into 2027.

And more …

In February, the Seattle Art Museum celebrates the evocative shadow-based work of Samantha Yun Wall. Beginning 5 March, an art gallery is featuring the work of up and coming artist Kwamé Azure Gomez. During the summer, an Arkansas museum reexamines 80s graffiti artist Keith Haring with a show of his sculptural works. Come fall, the Detroit Institute of Arts will show a selection of Georgia O’Keefe’s architecture paintings. Simultaneously, an Arizona venue exhibits the colorful work of South Korean painter Kim Chong Hak.