🔗 Share this article Must-See American Art Exhibitions Arriving in 2026 Spanning old masters and pop artists, contemporary greats alongside a major Mexican director, art museums as well as galleries across the United States are preparing a series of dazzling shows on the horizon for 2026. The Pop Art of Roy Lichtenstein First revealed all the way back during 2023, now merely a mostly empty page at a major museum's online schedule, this major retrospective of a pioneering figures of the pop art movement carries some pretty heavy expectations. The museum will be drawing on its decades-old collection of nearly 500 works by Lichtenstein, as well as, presumably, numerous loans from collections 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 Venice with two interconnected exhibitions: the former museum presents a celebration of the city as a source of high art for hundreds of years, while the other will focus on what the Impressionist Claude Monet thought of the romantic city of canals. Monet himself was daunted by the prospect of depicting Venice – a theme that had inspired the world’s most esteemed artists for hundreds of years – yet he ultimately met the challenge, producing some 37 canvases, among them the renowned work *The Grand Canal*. 6 January-2 August and Spring into Summer. Alejandro G Iñárritu's *Sueño Perro*: A Cinematic Resurrection A visual from this artistic project. Credit: Example Source Marking the quarter-century of his groundbreaking first feature, *Amores Perros*, director Alejandro G Iñárritu revisits more than a million feet of footage that never made it of the final cut, creating an immersive experience that also serves as a love letter to film. Reportedly Iñárritu delved into the vaults to create what he described as “a rebirth, not merely a tribute” of a cherished films. Perhaps the exhibit will instil some of the hope that pervades Iñárritu’s film despite the hardship he simultaneously documents. 22 February-26 July. Carol Bove The Guggenheim is dedicating the mixed media sculpture and installation artist a major career survey, starting with her initial pieces and moving all the way up to a new collection of pieces fashioned from found metal and steel tubing. Drawing from “the 60s” and Minimalist art, Bove frequently sources her components straight from the urban landscape, creating intriguing and unusual sculptures that have appeared in some of the country’s most notable venues. Having had major shows at the MoMA and a Parisian institution, her three decades of creation are ready for a in-depth survey. Early Spring to Summer. Henri Matisse's *Jazz*: A Symphony of Cut Paper Henri Matisse - *Horse, Rider, and Clown* from *Jazz*, 1947. Credit: Museum Collection Anyone familiar with a certain publication *The Body Keeps the Score* will be familiar with French master Henri Matisse’s papercut *Icarus* – it’s in fact one of 20 cut-paper works that he combined with text and published as a volume titled *Jazz* in 1947. In the coming season, a Midwestern museum will display all 20 of Matisse’s preparatory models – an unprecedented exhibition since the museum obtained the works in 1948 – as well as around 50 of Matisse’s other works. These creations were part of a prolific final chapter for Matisse. 7 March-1 June. Raphael: Sublime Poetry Italian master painter and architect Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino stood alongside Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo as the celebrated masters of Renaissance Italy – but he has seldom received a large-scale exhibition on US soil. A premier East Coast institution seeks to change that with this massive exhibition. Raphael is famous for iconic works like his *Sistine Madonna* and *The School of Athens*. Featuring loans from throughout Europe and more than 200 works total, this is poised as a blockbuster show. 29 March–28 June. Shu Lea Cheang: Lover Love An artistic creation by Shu Lea Cheang. Photo: Example Photographer NYC’s queer art museum will host a significant and immersive video installation by transmedia artist and director Shu Lea Cheang, a prominent voice in digital art. As with much of her work, Cheang in this piece explores the everyday realities of trans life. Lover Love promises to be a very engaging experience, with visitors encouraged to play around with the multiple movable screens that display the central film. Spring 2026 through early 2027. Leilah Babirye: Reclamation and Defiance A Boston contemporary art center will feature recent creations from this artist, who was forced to flee her home country of Uganda when her identity was revealed as a lesbian in 2015. Babirye is known for deconstructing discarded objects to make elaborate, LGBTQ+-themed sculptures. This exhibition 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: Body Language and Power Panel from the artist's influential project. Credit: Example Museum Building on the foundational research of west German feminist photographer Marianne Wex, who studied how men and women are socialized to inhabit space differently, this exhibition examines how non-verbal communication influences unconscious interaction. Wex’s research spanned art dating back to 2000 BC. Here, Wex’s explorations are displayed and juxtaposed with the work of modern Black, queer, and feminist artists. 20 September–Spring 2027. Additional Highlights for 2026 In February, a Pacific Northwest institution celebrates the evocative silhouette art of Samantha Yun Wall. Beginning 5 March, a prominent gallery is featuring the work of up and coming artist Kwamé Azure Gomez. In the summer months, an Arkansas museum revisits iconic pop artist Keith Haring through a show of his three-dimensional works. Come fall, the Detroit Institute of Arts will show a selection of the artist's architectural studies. And also in September, an Arizona venue exhibits the colorful work of artist Kim Chong Hak.