what defined 2025 curators pick the years best art

Several international curators and museum directors, including Connie Butler of MoMA PS1, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, Julieta Gonzalez of the Wexner Center for the Arts, and Madeleine Grynsztejn of MCA Chicago, selected artworks that they believe define 2025. Highlights include Ayoung Kim's video installation 'Delivery Dancer’s Arc: 0º Receiver' (2024), Beeple's 'Regular Animals' premiered at Art Basel Miami Beach, and Kerry James Marshall's painting 'Haul' (2025) from his retrospective at the Royal Academy of Arts. Julieta Gonzalez also pointed to a broader constellation of practices emphasizing collectivity, ecological thinking, and Indigenous cosmologies rather than a single emblematic work.

frieze new york 2025 preview

Frieze New York 2025 is set to take place at the Shed in Manhattan, bringing together over 65 contemporary art galleries from more than 25 countries. The fair coincides with major institutional shows at the Guggenheim, Whitney Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as the recent reopening of the Frick Collection after a $220 million renovation. Notable galleries include Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Pace, and David Zwirner, alongside international dealers like Goodman Gallery and Kurimanzutto. The Focus section, curated by Lumi Tan, features 12 young galleries. On the eve of the fair, Frieze itself was sold by Endeavor to former CEO Ari Emanuel for a reported $200 million.

guggenheim museum 2026 exhibitions carol bove taryn simon

The Guggenheim Museum has announced its 2026 exhibition lineup, headlined by a Carol Bove survey filling the entire Frank Lloyd Wright–designed rotunda from March 5, 2026. The show, curated by Katherine Brinson, spans 25 years of Bove’s work, including early drawings and her signature twisted metal sculptures. Following Bove’s exhibition, Taryn Simon will take over the rotunda from September 18, 2026, to March 2027, with a photo-based installation that invites visitors to navigate a "whirlwind" of images. Additionally, a group show titled "Guggenheim Pop" will feature Pop art icons like Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and Claes Oldenburg alongside contemporary artists such as Maurizio Cattelan, Lucia Hierro, and Josh Kline.

Mother Exhibition Palazzo Reale Milan

mother exhibition palazzo reale milan

Milan’s Palazzo Reale has launched "The Great Mother," a massive exhibition exploring the evolution of motherhood and female power throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Curated by Massimiliano Gioni and produced by the Nicola Trussardi Foundation, the show features over 400 works by 127 international artists, including Louise Bourgeois, Cindy Sherman, and Rineke Dijkstra. The exhibition spans 29 halls, juxtaposing avant-garde historical works with contemporary installations to examine how gender roles and the maternal image have been constructed, challenged, and reclaimed.

10 Must-See Museum Exhibitions This Spring

Major museums worldwide are launching a series of high-profile exhibitions this spring that challenge traditional art historical narratives. Highlights include a Marcel Duchamp retrospective at MoMA, a deep dive into Pop art's legacy at the Guggenheim, and significant surveys of icons like Frida Kahlo and Agnes Martin. Meanwhile, UCCA Beijing is presenting a major exhibition of Duan Jianyu, highlighting the evolution of Chinese painting in relation to Western influence.

How JR Transformed Paris’s Oldest Bridge Into a Massive Grotto

French artist JR has transformed Paris's Pont Neuf, the city's oldest bridge, into a massive inflatable grotto titled *La Caverne du Pont Neuf* (2026). The installation measures 120 meters long, 20 meters wide, and up to 18 meters tall, and will be open to the public from June 6 to June 28. It incorporates sound design by Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk, augmented reality via Snap Inc., and a Bloomberg Connect guide. Over 800 people helped realize the project, which was fabricated from 18,900 square meters of fabric and 20,000 cubic meters of pressurized air by French firm Air Toiles Concept. The work concludes a five-year series of large-scale trompe l'oeil pieces by JR and pays homage to Christo and Jeanne-Claude's *The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris* (1975–85), with the blessing of their foundation.

‘It’s a love letter’: exhibition pays tribute to Frank Gehry’s lesser-known works

Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills has opened an exhibition titled "Frank Gehry" showcasing the architect's lesser-known sculptural works, including fish lamps, a crocodile, snakes, and a stainless steel bear. Curated by Deborah McLeod, a personal friend of Gehry, the show celebrates his non-architectural creations that explore animal forms and light, with pieces like the 7-foot-long "Bear With Us" and fish lamps using LED bulbs. The exhibition serves as a tribute following Gehry's death in 2025 at age 96.

Duchamp in New York

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has launched a major solo exhibition dedicated to Marcel Duchamp, marking the artist's first comprehensive survey in New York City in over 50 years. The exhibition explores Duchamp’s revolutionary impact on modern art, featuring iconic works and archival materials that trace his history from the 1913 Armory Show to his later years in New York. The opening is complemented by a broader "Duchamp spring" in the city, including a forthcoming exhibition of his readymades at Gagosian.

wangshui ai abstract paintings love site santa fe

WangShui, an artist known for AI-assisted abstract paintings, challenges the stereotype of tech-focused artists as isolated nerds. In a studio visit, they described their practice as a spiritual project, using machine learning to create works like 'Scr∴ pe II (Isle of Vitr∴ ous)' at the 2022 Whitney Biennial and pieces at the 2024 Venice Biennale. Their latest collaboration with Maryam Hoseini, 'The Demon and the Muse (DM),' is on view at SITE Santa Fe International, covering the facade with red oil and black ink. WangShui emphasizes that AI is a tool for exploring consciousness and healing, not a replacement for human creativity.

upstate art weekend 2025 go to guide

The sixth edition of New York's Upstate Art Weekend, founded by Helen Toomer in 2020, runs July 17–21 across the Catskills and Hudson Valley, featuring 158 participating art organizations—a dramatic increase from 23 in its first year. Highlights include a Kishio Suga solo show at Dia Beacon, Sonia Gomes's first U.S. outdoor installation at Storm King Art Center, a group exhibition of seven women artists at Toomer's new project space Upbringing, Tomokazu Matsuyama's homage to Edward Hopper at the Edward Hopper House Museum, and a comparative show of Georgia O'Keeffe and Thomas Cole at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site.

frieze new york 2025 museum and gallery guide

Frieze New York 2025 is approaching, and Artnet News has published a guide to must-see museum and gallery shows across the city. Highlights include dual exhibitions by Kennedy Yanko at Salon 94 and James Cohan, a solo show by Salman Toor at Luhring Augustine, two concurrent Picasso exhibitions at Gagosian and Almine Rech, and a major survey of Rashid Johnson at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The guide covers emerging and established artists, with shows running from April through July 2025.

Our Guide to New York Art Week 2026

New York Art Week 2026 brings a major convergence of art events across the city, including several prominent art fairs such as Frieze New York, Independent New York, TEFAF New York, and NADA New York. The week also features gallery openings spanning from Tribeca to the Upper East Side, as well as auction previews ahead of key sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips.

First permanent Ruth Asawa gallery to open in honor of artist’s centennial.

A permanent gallery dedicated to the work of artist Ruth Asawa will open in San Francisco this spring. Located within the Minnesota Street Project in the Dogpatch neighborhood, the gallery's inaugural exhibition, "Ruth Asawa: Untitled," is scheduled to open on May 9th, managed by her family foundation, Ruth Asawa Lanier Inc.

michele pred projecting democracy

Artist and activist Michele Pred has opened a solo exhibition at Nancy Hoffman Gallery in New York, showcasing a body of work that addresses the erosion of civil and reproductive rights. The exhibition features her signature electroluminescent wire-stitched vintage handbags, sculptures made from found objects like wooden gavels and disarmed bullets, and large-scale inflatable abortion pill sculptures. Pred’s practice, rooted in her upbringing between California and Sweden, utilizes approachable domestic objects to deliver urgent political messages regarding bodily autonomy and social justice.

lee krasner jackson pollock the met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced a major joint exhibition titled "Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous," scheduled for this fall. Featuring over 120 works, the show marks the first comprehensive joint presentation of Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner’s entire careers, rather than focusing solely on their years as a married couple. Curated by David Breslin and Brinda Kumar, the exhibition will utilize the Met’s deep holdings alongside significant international loans to trace the evolution of these two Abstract Expressionist titans from their early WPA days to their late-career innovations.

abstract expressionists women christian levett

The American Federation of the Arts (AFA) has launched a major touring exhibition titled "Abstract Expressionists: The Women," featuring nearly 50 works from the collection of Christian Levett. Currently on view at the Muscarelle Museum of Art in Virginia, the show highlights 32 artists who were pivotal to the movement but often overshadowed by their male peers. The exhibition includes masterpieces by celebrated figures like Helen Frankenthaler and Lee Krasner alongside rediscovered works by lesser-known painters such as Emiko Nakano and Yvonne Thomas.

martin wong painting unseen art basel miami beach ppow

A long-unseen 12-foot-wide painting by Martin Wong, titled *Tai Ping Tien Kuo (Tai Ping Kuo)* (1982), will be exhibited at Art Basel Miami Beach next month courtesy of New York gallery P.P.O.W. The work, which features a rare nude portrait of the artist’s mother and stepfather, was last shown publicly in 1987 at the Asian Arts Institute in New York. It was kept in storage for decades because Wong’s mother, Florence Wong Fie, objected to its display out of modesty. The painting adopts a classical three-panel altarpiece format, blending Chinese American history with references to Western art, the Taiping Rebellion, and Wong’s own Lower East Side influences.

tom sachs thaddaeus ropac interview nike

Tom Sachs has opened a new exhibition titled “A Good Shelf” at Thaddaeus Ropac’s London gallery during Frieze Week, featuring NASA-emblazoned ceramics inspired by Japanese tea bowls and space travel. The show runs through December 20 and includes hand-formed ceramics displayed on shelves made from rough materials like cinderblock and plywood. This marks Sachs’s return to the spotlight after a 2023 scandal in which former studio staff accused him of creating a toxic workplace, leading Nike to pause its sneaker partnership with the artist; the partnership resumed in September 2024.

nicole wittenberg maison la roche

Nicole Wittenberg's new painting series "Ain't Misbehavin'" is on view at Maison La Roche in Paris through July 19, 2025. The exhibition, a collaboration between Massimo De Carlo and Fondation Le Corbusier, features large floral works that eliminate depth and press blossoms against the picture plane, creating a dialogue with Le Corbusier's purist modernist architecture. Wittenberg, a San Francisco-born artist who studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, has work in the collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Boston Museum of Fine Art, and the Albertina.

modern korean art book exhibition

A new exhibition and book, "The Making of Modern Korean Art: The Letters of Kim Tschang-Yeul, Kim Whanki, Lee Ufan, and Park Seo-Bo, 1961-1982," at Tina Kim Gallery in New York presents the early correspondence and artworks of four pioneering Korean artists. The show, on view through June 21, features paintings by Lee Ufan, Kim Whanki, Park Seo-Bo, and Kim Tschang-Yeul, alongside letters that document their struggles and aspirations during the 1960s and '70s, before they gained international recognition. The accompanying book, published by Gregory R. Miller & Co. and Tina Kim Gallery, is edited by art historians Yeon Shim Chung and Doryun Chong.

5 Highlights of Art Düsseldorf

5 Highlights der Art Düsseldorf

The Art Düsseldorf contemporary art fair has opened its latest edition, showcasing a diverse range of works that balance humor with urgent political and global themes. Highlights from the fair include Christian Jankowski’s monumental sculptures based on children's clay models at Galerie Crone, Julian Charrière’s environmentally conscious installations at Dittrich & Schlechtriem, and Jody Korbach’s satirical paintings that reference German art history and pub culture at Petra Martinez.

yoshitomo nara hayward gallery london 2025

The first U.K. public institutional solo exhibition of Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara opened at London's Hayward Gallery in June 2025, featuring over 150 works spanning four decades. The retrospective includes paintings, drawings, sculptures, and installations, such as the large-scale painting "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight" (2017), which sold for $12.3 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong. Notable visitors include artist Takashi Murakami and collector RM of BTS. The exhibition runs through August 31.

museum openings 2026

Major international museum projects are nearing completion for 2026, signaling a period of significant institutional expansion despite global economic and political pressures. Key highlights include the long-awaited Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, designed by Frank Gehry, which will finally open its doors on Saadiyat Island after two decades of planning. Meanwhile, Los Angeles is preparing for two major debuts: George Lucas’s $1 billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and Refik Anadol’s Dataland, a dedicated space for AI-driven digital art.

whitney museum downtown preview

The Whitney Museum of American Art is preparing to open its new Meatpacking District museum, designed by Renzo Piano, on May 1. The new building will nearly double the museum's previous exhibition space, with two floors dedicated to its collection, and is expected to benefit from the millions of visitors who use the High Line. Despite past public criticism of expansions by other major New York museums like MoMA and the Frick, insiders including former MoMA curator Robert Storr and former Whitney director David Ross express strong support for the move, viewing it as a necessary and bold step forward.

Guggenheim to Screen Artistic Portrait of Soccer Legend Zinédine Zidane

The Guggenheim Museum in New York will screen Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno's 2006 film "Zidane, a 21st century portrait" from June 11 to July 19, 2026, timed with the FIFA World Cup. The two-channel video piece follows French soccer legend Zinédine Zidane during a 90-minute match between Real Madrid and Villarreal, captured by 17 cameras to create an intimate, voyeuristic portrait of the player. This marks the film's first showing at the Guggenheim since the museum acquired one of 17 unique editions.

The exhibitions to see in New York during Art Week 2026

Le mostre da vedere a New York durante l’Art Week 2026

The article highlights a selection of must-see exhibitions in New York during the 2026 Art Week, spanning major museums and galleries. At MoMA, three shows explore memory, identity, and artistic experimentation: Elizabeth Murray's retrospective on fragmented painting, Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa's works addressing Guatemala's civil war, and Arthur Jafa's curated connections across the museum's collection. The Whitney Museum presents the 82nd Whitney Biennial, featuring 56 artists questioning what it means to be 'American,' alongside an Andy Warhol exhibition of rarely seen polaroids from 1972-73. Hauser & Wirth debuts its first Carol Rama show, highlighting six decades of her experimental, anticonformist art.

nahmad contemporary picasso exhibition naomi campbell

Nahmad Contemporary will present an exhibition titled “Picasso | Painter and Model, Reflections by Naomi Campbell” at its Gstaad, Switzerland space from February 14 to March 15. The show focuses on Pablo Picasso’s late series “Le Peintre et son modèle” (The Painter and his model), featuring 14 works from 1963–1965, many previously exhibited at institutions like the Centre Pompidou, Fondation Beyeler, Museo Reina Sofía, and Guggenheim Museum. Supermodel Naomi Campbell contributes personal reflections on the artist-muse relationship, offering a contemporary perspective on themes of desire, power, and the gaze.

At the Guggenheim Bilbao, the Infinite Poetry of Ruth Asawa’s Aerial Sculptures

Au Guggenheim Bilbao, l’infinie poésie des sculptures aériennes de Ruth Asawa

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is hosting the first major European retrospective of American artist Ruth Asawa, showcasing her signature hand-woven wire sculptures. These delicate, organic forms, which challenge gravity and play with transparency, are presented in dialogue with the museum's monumental architecture. The exhibition traces her journey from a childhood spent in Japanese-American internment camps during WWII to her formative years at the legendary Black Mountain College under the mentorship of Josef Albers.

At the Guggenheim, Carol Bove Bends Metal—and Minimalism—to Her Will

At the Guggenheim, Carol Bove Bends Metal—and Minimalism—to Her Will

A major new exhibition of Carol Bove's work has opened at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Titled "Carol Bove: The séance isn't over," the show features over two dozen of the artist's large-scale sculptures, many crafted from delicately arranged steel tubing and precariously balanced metal plates. The installations are strategically placed within the museum's iconic rotunda, creating a dynamic conversation with the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed spiral.

teamlab abu dhabi

Japanese art collective teamLab is opening its first custom-built museum on April 18 in Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Cultural District, near the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the forthcoming Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. The 183,000-square-foot waterfront building, designed with MZ Architects, features a new series titled "Phenomena" that harnesses wind, water, and light to create immersive, kinetic environments. Highlights include installations like "Morphing Continuum," where floating silver balls form tornado-like formations, and a "wet zone" with glowing ovoids that respond to touch. The museum represents teamLab's most ambitious and technically challenging artworks to date.