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Spanning old masters to contemporary icons, contemporary greats alongside a renowned Latin American film-maker, galleries and institutions throughout the US have some spectacular exhibitions coming up in 2026.

Roy Lichtenstein

Announced all the way back in 2023, and currently merely a placeholder listing at a major museum's website, this major retrospective of one of the central creators of the Pop Art era carries some pretty heavy anticipation. The museum will be drawing on its long-held holdings of nearly 500 pieces by Lichtenstein, in addition to, one would imagine, numerous borrowed works from collections globally. TBD 2026.

Venetian Visions: From Old Masters to Monet

San Francisco sister institutions, the Legion of Honor and another, will be centering the Floating City with two linked shows: one location will offer a celebration of the city as a source of high art throughout the centuries, while the other will focus on what the Impressionist Claude Monet made of the romantic city of canals. The artist was daunted by the prospect of painting Venice – a theme that had captivated the world’s most esteemed artists for centuries – yet he ultimately met the challenge, creating approximately 37 paintings, among them the renowned work *The Grand Canal*. 6 January-2 August and Spring into Summer.

Sueño Perro: a film installation by Alejandro G Iñárritu

Marking the quarter-century of his massive debut film, *Amores Perros*, director Alejandro G Iñárritu returns to over a million feet of footage that was left out of the released movie, crafting an art installation that also serves as a love letter to film. Accounts suggest the director delved into the vaults to create what he called “not a tribute, but a resurrection” of one of his most beloved films. Perhaps the exhibit will instil some of the hope that pervades Iñárritu’s film despite the hardship he also chronicles. 22 February-26 July.

Carol Bove

The Guggenheim is dedicating the mixed media sculpture and installation artist a major career survey, starting with her early works and progressing through to a fresh series of pieces made from scrap metal and industrial materials. Drawing from “the 60s” and minimalism, Bove often sources her components straight from the urban landscape, producing fascinating and strange constructions that have appeared in some of the country’s most notable venues. With major shows at Museum of Modern Art and a Parisian institution, her three decades of creation are ripe for a thorough survey. 5 March–2 August.

Matisse’s Jazz: Rhythms in Color

Those who know the book *The Body Keeps the Score* will be familiar with French master Henri Matisse’s cut-out *Icarus* – this is in fact one of 20 cut-paper works that he combined with text and bound into a book titled *Jazz* in 1947. This spring, a Midwestern museum will display all 20 of Matisse’s cut-paper maquettes – an unprecedented exhibition after the museum acquired the works in 1948 – plus around 50 additional pieces by the artist. These creations were part of a late stage flowering for Matisse. March through early Summer.

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 – but he has rarely received 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*. Featuring works from throughout Europe and over 200 works total, this is poised as a blockbuster show. 29 March–28 June.

Shu Lea Cheang: Lover Love

A New York Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art will host a major, large-scale video installation by transmedia artist and director Shu Lea Cheang, a major figure in digital art. As with much of her work, Cheang here explores the everyday realities of transgender existence. Lover Love is designed as a highly interactive piece, with audience members invited to interact with the multiple movable screens that display the core footage. 2 April–January 2027.

Leilah Babirye: Reclamation and Defiance

A Boston contemporary art center will feature recent creations from this artist, who was forced to flee her native Uganda when her identity was revealed as a lesbian in 2015. Babirye is known for transforming unconventional materials to make elaborate, queer-themed assemblages. The show showcases new work based on the concept of same-sex marriage. This continues her ongoing project of employing found items as a symbolic act of defiance. 27 August–18 January 2027.

Taking Back Our Space: Body Language and Power

Expanding upon the foundational research of west German feminist photographer Marianne Wex, who studied how genders are conditioned to use physical space differently, this exhibition investigates how body language shapes unconscious interaction. Wex’s research spanned art as old as 2000 BC. In this presentation, Wex’s explorations are displayed and juxtaposed with the work of modern Black, queer, and feminist artists. 20 September–Spring 2027.

And more …

Early in the year, a Pacific Northwest institution showcases the evocative shadow-based work of an emerging artist. Beginning 5 March, an art gallery is featuring the work of up and coming Black artist an innovative creator. During the summer, an Arkansas museum revisits 80s graffiti artist Keith Haring with a show of his three-dimensional works. In September, a Michigan museum will show a collection of the artist's architecture paintings. Simultaneously, the Phoenix Art Museum displays the colorful work of South Korean painter Kim Chong Hak.