Monday brief
Must-See Art Shows
As the new year unfolds in the art world, museums and galleries are revealing a lineup brimming with bold concepts, surprising juxtapositions, and fresh artistic voices—guaranteed to engage, challenge, and transform the way we perceive art. From comprehensive retrospectives to innovative group shows, here are 10 exhibitions in 2026 that should be on your radar.
James Moore
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As the new year unfolds in the art world, museums and galleries are revealing a lineup brimming with bold concepts, surprising juxtapositions, and fresh artistic voices—guaranteed to engage, challenge, and transform the way we perceive art. From comprehensive retrospectives to innovative group shows, here are 10 exhibitions in 2026 that should be on your radar.
1. Leonora Carrington
Musée du Luxembourg, Paris, France | February 18–July 19, 2026
This groundbreaking exhibition, the first in Italy and France devoted solely to Leonora Carrington, presents the Surrealist visionary as a “Vitruvian Woman,” a complete artist blending harmony, transformation, and innovation. The show traces her influences, from early encounters with Italian Renaissance art in Florence to her Celtic and post-Victorian heritage and her formative work in the Surrealist circles of France.
Featuring paintings, drawings, writings, and rarely seen pieces, the retrospective illuminates Carrington’s exploration of myth, metamorphosis, feminism, and the natural world, highlighting her enduring importance in 20th-century art.
2. Caravaggio | Revolution: Baroque Masterpieces from the Roberto Longhi Foundation
Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC, USA | April 25–October 25, 2026
For the first time, the Mint Museum hosts an exhibition dedicated to Caravaggio, showcasing over 30 works from the collection of art historian Roberto Longhi, including the iconic Boy Bitten by a Lizard. The exhibition explores key moments of Caravaggio’s career, emphasizing his dramatic chiaroscuro, stark realism, and revolutionary impact on European painting.
3. Frida: The Making of an Icon
Tate Modern, London, UK | June 25, 2026–January 3, 2027
Dive into the life of Frida Kahlo—artist, activist, and cultural icon. This exhibition features over 130 works, including her celebrated paintings, alongside personal items, photographs, and documents that illuminate her carefully curated public image. Visitors will explore her art in the context of modernism, Mexican identity, and 20th-century politics, showing how Kahlo’s influence continues to resonate worldwide.
4. Matisse, 1941–1954
Grand Palais, Paris, France | March 24–July 26, 2026
This retrospective focuses on the final years of Henri Matisse, when illness confined him to bed, prompting the creation of his iconic cut-outs. With over 230 works from the Centre Pompidou and international loans, the exhibition highlights his bold use of color, form, and movement, revealing a multidisciplinary practice encompassing painting, drawing, textiles, and stained glass.
5. Raphael: Sublime Poetry
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY, USA | March 29–June 28, 2026
A rare opportunity to explore Raphael’s genius, this exhibition traces his career from Urbino to Florence and Rome. Highlighting his portrayal of women and iconic Madonna and Child compositions, it features over 200 works, including rarely seen treasures, revealing the depth, sensitivity, and influence of one of history’s greatest artists.
6. 61st Venice Biennale
Venice, Italy | May 9–November 22, 2026
The Venice Biennale returns with its 61st edition, themed In Minor Keys, curated by Koyo Kouoh. The event brings together artists from national pavilions and the central exhibition, exploring overlooked emotional and sensory dimensions of human experience. Featured artists include Abbas Akhavan (Canada), Yto Barrada (France), Kingsley Ng and Angel Hui (Hong Kong), and Sara Flores (Peru).
7. Renoir and Love. Happy Modernity (1865–1885)
Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France | March 17–July 19, 2026
Renoir is revisited through the lens of love and social connection. The exhibition examines his pivotal years between 1865 and 1885, highlighting luminous works like Dance at the Moulin de la Galette and Luncheon of the Boating Party, emphasizing his observation of human interaction and the vibrancy of modern life.
8. Fear No Power: Women Imagining Otherwise
National Gallery Singapore | Until November 15, 2026
This exhibition presents the groundbreaking work of five Southeast Asian women artists—Nirmala Dutt, Imelda Cajipe Endaya, Amanda Heng, Phaptawan Suwannakudt, and Dolorosa Sinaga—whose art challenges authority and traditional definitions of feminism. Covering the 1960s to 2010s, the exhibition celebrates their artistic and social contributions.
9. UNBOUND: Art, Blackness & the Universe
Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA, USA | Until August 16, 2026
Exploring Black identity and cosmology, UNBOUND uses painting, sculpture, and installation to examine connections between the universe and African diasporic experiences. Seventeen artists imagine new constellations of thought, blending ancestral knowledge, myth, and science to expand perspectives on art and existence.
10. Rothko in Florence
Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy | March 14–July 26, 2026
This extensive Rothko retrospective highlights the influence of Renaissance art on the American master. Curated by Christopher Rothko and Elena Geuna, the exhibition spans early figurative work to mature color field paintings, shown across Palazzo Strozzi and two satellite venues, including Museo Nazionale di San Marco and the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, emphasizing Rothko’s enduring dialogue with Florence’s artistic heritage.
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