14 Must-See Museum Shows in New York This Spring

New York museums are launching a significant slate of spring exhibitions, featuring major retrospectives and thematic surveys. Highlights include "Noguchi's New York" at the Noguchi Museum, exploring the sculptor's unrealized urban projects; "Raphael: Sublime Poetry" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a comprehensive look at the Renaissance master; and "Gothic by Design: The Dawn of Architectural Draftsmanship," also at the Met, focusing on medieval architectural drawings.

Frida Kahlo: Making of an Icon

frida kahlo making of an icon

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has launched a major exhibition titled "Frida Kahlo: Making of an Icon," which explores the artist's transformation from a relatively unknown figure during her lifetime into a global cultural phenomenon. Curated by Mari Carmen Ramírez, the show features over 200 objects related to "Frida mania" alongside works by 80 contemporary artists who have been influenced by her legacy. The exhibition traces her life from her childhood in Mexico City and her tumultuous relationship with Diego Rivera to her emergence as a symbol for various social movements.

Private galleries bring immersive Art Week experience

Private galleries and pop-ups are collaborating with venues and brands to bring immersive experiences during Miami Art Week 2025. Highlights include the launch of CONTRA, a private events platform, with a VIP grand opening at Wyncatcher in Wynwood featuring DJ sets and an installation by Daniel Allen Cohen. The NFL returns with an expanded Artist Replay experience, including debut artworks from active player Marco Wilson and legend Martellus Bennett. Opera Gallery Miami presents “In Dialogue with Color: Mid-20th Century to Now” with works by Roy Lichtenstein, Yayoi Kusama, and others. London-based SLAWN debuts “Heroes, Villains, and Violence” at The Art of Hip Hop, while artists Amanda Linares and Lee Pivnik install site-specific works for the City of Miami Beach’s “No Vacancy 2025” program at hotels.

Our Critics Disagree on MoMA PS1’s Greater New York, a Wide-Ranging Survey Defined by a Fascination with Fragility

MoMA PS1 has launched the sixth edition of Greater New York, its signature quinquennial survey featuring 53 artists living and working across the city's five boroughs. Marking the institution’s 50th anniversary, this iteration was organized entirely by the museum’s internal curatorial staff rather than outside contributors. The exhibition moves away from the introspective, surrealist themes of the pandemic-era 2021 edition, focusing instead on the social fabric of the city and the systemic challenges facing its residents.

james turrell skyspace aros museum denmark

A new James Turrell "Skyspace" titled *As Seen Below – The Dome, a Skyspace by James Turrell* will open in June at the ARoS Aarhus Art Museum in Denmark. Billed as the largest such work in a museum context, the installation features a domed space roughly 50 feet tall and 130 feet in diameter, accessible via an underground corridor, with an open aperture at the top that brings the sky into intimate focus. The work completes the museum's "Next Level" expansion, which already includes an underground exhibition space and an outdoor "Art Square" set to open next year.

jennie c jones met roof commission

Artist Jennie C. Jones has unveiled "Ensemble" (2025), a rooftop commission at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art featuring three monumental, wind-activated stringed instruments—an Aeolian harp, zither, and one-string—that visitors are asked not to touch. The sculptures, coated in deep red powdered aluminum and concrete panels, are designed to be played by the breeze, though wind did not cooperate during the press preview. Jones drew inspiration from the Met's collection of 5,000 musical instruments, African American folk instrument makers like Moses Williams and Louis Dotson, and Minimalist abstraction, creating a work that explores anticipation and the sonic potential of untouchable objects.

8 Must-See Museum Shows Celebrating Overlooked Women Artists

This article highlights eight museum exhibitions scheduled for fall 2025 that focus on historically overlooked women artists. Featured shows include "Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend an Inch" at Spelman College, "Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within" at the Chazen Museum of Art, and "Edmonia Lewis: Indelible Impressions" at the Cantor Arts Center, among others. Each exhibition aims to bring renewed attention to artists who faced racial and gender barriers, such as Afro-Indigenous sculptor Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, ceramicist Toshiko Takaezu, and 19th-century sculptor Edmonia Lewis.

This Groundbreaking New Showcase of Nearly 60 Works Is the Biggest-Ever Exhibition of LGBTQ+ African Art

The Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art has opened "Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art," the largest-ever exhibition dedicated to LGBTQ+ African art. The show, curated by Kevin Dumouchelle and Serubiri Moses, features nearly 60 works by 30 artists from across Africa and its diasporas, spanning photography, painting, tapestry, collage, and sculpture.

Seoul According to Artist Etsu Egami

Japanese-born artist Etsu Egami, known for large-scale abstract paintings exploring language and communication barriers, has been chosen to inaugurate Korea's new OAR Contemporary Museum in Gyeongju with a solo exhibition titled "Egami Etsu: Echoes of the Earth." The show, running until September 21, features site-specific works inspired by the city's ancient tombs and the museum's architecture. Egami, who was raised across Washington, DC, Paris, and Japan and studied in Germany, Beijing, and New York, has previously exhibited at the Guggenheim in New York, Grand Palais in Paris, and Mori Art Museum. She first showed in South Korea in 2022 at Tang Contemporary in Seoul, and her work has gained recognition among Korean curators and collectors.

New York Museums are Showcasing African American Art, Exhibitions Feature Lorna Simpson, Rashid Johnson, Beauford Delaney, Amy Sherald, Black Dandyism & More

New York museums are presenting a wave of major exhibitions focused on African American art this spring and summer, many running through fall 2025. Solo shows include the largest-ever surveys of Rashid Johnson at the Guggenheim Museum, Amy Sherald at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and Jack Whitten at the Museum of Modern Art. The Drawing Center hosts the first museum exhibition dedicated to Beauford Delaney's drawings, while the Brooklyn Museum presents the first museum show for sculptor Nancy Elizabeth Prophet. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, highlights include the newly renovated Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, a Lorna Simpson painting exhibition, a roof garden installation by Jennie C. Jones, and the Costume Institute's "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" exploring Black dandyism.

Three key takeaways from Lagos’s newest African art symposium

The second week of November 2025 marks Lagos Art Week, featuring the 10th edition of Art X Lagos, West Africa’s leading international art fair, and the 15th edition of Lagos Photo Festival, now a biennial. A new symposium, Re: assemblages, hosted by the Alliance Française de Lagos and organized by the Guest Artists Space and Yinka Shonibare Foundations, brought together cultural practitioners from across Africa and the diaspora to discuss African and Afro-diasporic art archives. Key takeaways include the importance of archives as living tools for shaping the future, concerns about restricted access to the archives of late curators Okwui Enwezor and Bisi Silva, and the need for restitution efforts to incorporate African knowledge systems and language, not just the return of objects.

Actions for the Earth: Art, Care & Ecology

The article titled 'Actions for the Earth: Art, Care & Ecology' discusses an exhibition or initiative that explores the intersection of art, environmental care, and ecological awareness. It likely highlights how artists and cultural institutions are responding to climate change and ecological crises through creative practices and community engagement.

art met roof garden jennie c jones

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has unveiled its 2025 Roof Garden Commission, titled *Ensemble*, by artist Jennie C. Jones. The installation features three upright sculptures made from concrete travertine and powder-coated steel, whose angular forms are inspired by musical instruments—a zither, an Aeolian harp, and a one-string instrument. A fourth red floor piece acts as a "conductor." The works are equipped with frets and strings that vibrate in the wind, inviting viewers to engage with them as both visual and sonic objects. The exhibition also includes collaborative programming, performances, and a publication with contributions from curator Lauren Rosati and artist Glenn Ligon.

guggenheim ycc party new york

The Guggenheim Young Collectors Council (YCC) hosted its 2025 party at the museum's New York rotunda, honoring Korean artist Ayoung Kim as the recipient of the LG Guggenheim Award. The event featured a multisensory experience with tarot readings, motion-capture avatars, a performance by YCC Artist Collaborator LaJuné McMillian using LG OLED technology, and a DJ set by Kito, drawing a crowd of artists, curators, and collectors including Naomi Beckwith, Ella Emhoff, Tschabalala Self, and Moses Sumney.

Singapore Art Museum at 30: tough decisions

The Singapore Art Museum (SAM) is celebrating its 30th anniversary while navigating the challenges of its 2022 relocation to Tanjong Pagar Distripark, a remote industrial building that has drawn mixed reactions—some visitors find it too inaccessible, while younger audiences applaud the move away from the colonial civic district. Director and CEO Eugene Tan defends the decision, citing the building's high ceilings and flexible spaces as ideal for contemporary art, and announces a fifth gallery opening by 2026 that will bring total exhibition space to 3,800 square meters. The museum also plans to experiment with open-air exhibition techniques in the new space, aiming to reduce energy demands.

6 gripping museum exhibitions to view this winter

Six major museum exhibitions opening across the U.S. this winter are profiled, including 'Austrian Expressionism and Otto Kallir' at LACMA, which features a newly acquired Gustav Klimt painting and works by Egon Schiele; 'Divine Color: Hindu Prints from Modern Bengal' at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the first U.S. exhibition to explore how lithography transformed Hindu devotional art; 'Frida: The Making of an Icon' at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, examining Kahlo's rise from local painter to global brand; 'Conversation Pieces: Stories from the Fashion Archives' at the Denver Art Museum, showcasing garments from its permanent collection; and 'Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work' at the Smithsonian.

THE SMOKING SECTION: GOTHAM CHELSEA UNVEILS FIRST ASHTRAY ART EXHIBITION FEATURING COMMISSIONED WORKS BY PREMIER ARTISTS

Gotham, the world's first cannabis concept store, has unveiled 'The Smoking Section,' its first commissioned art exhibition at Gotham Gallery in Chelsea, New York. Running from November 6, 2025, to January 5, 2026, the show features over 45 artists and designers—including Ridykeulous (Nicole Eisenman and A.L. Steiner), Daniel Gordon, Mika Tajima, Deborah Czeresko, and Peter Shire—who each created original ashtrays that range from functional to conceptual. Curated by Rachel Berks, Gotham's VP of Product Development & Partnerships, the exhibition explores the ashtray as both a ritual object and cultural symbol, linking cannabis culture to contemporary art.

Smithsonian’s First Major Exhibit Of African LGBTQ+ Art On Display Through August

The National Museum of African Art, part of the Smithsonian Institution, has opened "Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art," its first major exhibition dedicated to African LGBTQ+ art. Featuring 60 works by artists from over a dozen countries across Africa and its diaspora, the show includes paintings, sculptures, textiles, photography, film, and video. Co-curated by Serubiri Moses and Kevin D. Dumouchelle, the exhibition highlights collaboration, joy, and lived experience, with artists such as Zanele Muholi, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Jim Chuchu, Ṣọlá Olúlòde, and Leilah Babirye. Originally scheduled to open in May 2025 to coincide with WorldPride in Washington, the exhibition was postponed to January 2026 due to a Smithsonian budget situation, but ultimately opened as planned.

Getty Features Timeless Artifacts with ‘Photography and the Black Arts Movement 1955-1985’

The Getty Museum is hosting a comprehensive exhibition titled “Photography and the Black Arts Movement 1955-1985,” featuring over 150 works including paintings, photographs, video art, and archival memorabilia. Developed in partnership with Cal State Northridge, the show highlights the pivotal role of Black photographers and artists in documenting and shaping the Civil Rights era and the subsequent Black Arts Movement. The collection includes iconic imagery from figures like Barkley L. Hendricks and Gordon Parks, as well as local Los Angeles legends such as Betye Saar and Harry Adams.

National Museum of African Art Announces “Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art”

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art has announced “Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art,” an exhibition opening January 23 through August 23, 2026. Featuring nearly 60 works by LGBTQ+ artists from Africa and its diaspora—including Zanele Muholi, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Leilah Babirye, Jim Chuchu, and Ṣọlá Olúlòde—the show spans painting, photography, sculpture, installation, video, and digital art. Co-curated by Serubiri Moses and Kevin D. Dumouchelle, the exhibition is built on years of dialogue with artists and communities, centering their voices and lived experiences.

Smithsonian American Art Museum presents blockbuster Grandma Moses exhibition

The Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., will present "Grandma Moses: A Good Day's Work" from November 25, 2025, through July 12, 2026. The exhibition features 88 works by Anna Mary Robertson "Grandma" Moses (1860–1961), drawn from the museum's collection, private collections, and public institutions. It repositions Moses as a multidimensional force in American art, exploring her artistic evolution from farmwife to famous artist in Cold War America, and includes photographs, ephemera, and excerpts from her autobiography. The show is organized by Leslie Umberger, senior curator of folk and self-taught art, and former Randall Griffey, with support from curatorial assistant Maria R. Eipert.

New exhibit 'Ode to Dena' explores Altadena’s deep Black artistic legacy

The California African American Museum in Exposition Park has opened 'Ode to ’Dena: Black Artistic Legacies of Altadena,' a free exhibition celebrating the deep Black artistic heritage of the Altadena neighborhood. Curated by Dominique Clayton, the show features over 20 Black artists with ties to the area, including a wall of archival family photos, works by 98-year-old Betye Saar, and pieces by Kenturah Davis and her family. The exhibition was organized rapidly after the Eaton Fire, incorporating debris from the disaster, such as a scorched flugelhorn and a charred sound bowl, to reflect loss and resilience.

Guest Artists Space Foundation announces ambitious 2025–26 programme exploring African art archives

Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) Foundation and Yinka Shonibare Foundation have announced the 2025–26 edition of 'Re:assemblages', a programme focused on African and Afro-diasporic archives as sites for artistic inquiry and decolonial practice. Curated by Naima Hassan with contributions from Maryam Kazeem, Ann Marie Peña, and Jonn Gale, the initiative includes international convenings, symposia, fellowships, and micro-publications, anchored by a two-day symposium in Lagos during Lagos Art Week (4–5 November 2025). The programme draws on the Picton Archive at G.A.S.'s Lagos campus and is supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art, featuring four curatorial themes: Ecotones, The Short Century, Annotations, and The Living Archive. It also launches the African Arts Libraries Lab (AAL Lab), a pan-African network of libraries and publishers across Lagos, Dakar, Marrakesh, Cairo, Nairobi, Cape Town, and Limbe.

Rose Art Museum Holds First Benefit Gala in Over 20 Years

The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University held its first benefit gala in over twenty years in New York City on May 12, 2025. The event honored Lizbeth Krupp, longtime Chair of the museum's Board of Advisors, and acclaimed artist Hugh Hayden, whose major survey "Hugh Hayden: Home Work" is currently on view at the museum. Co-chaired by Sara Friedlander and Abigail Ross Goodman, the gala raised over $900,000 toward a new $2 million Exhibition Endowment Fund, seeded by a lead gift from Krupp, to support future contemporary art exhibitions.

At 1-54 New York 2026, Afro-Brazilian art takes centre stage for the first time

The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in New York (May 13–17, 2026) will debut a curated section titled '1-54 Presents: Brazil Beyond Brazil,' focusing exclusively on Afro-Brazilian art and artists. Organized by Brazilian curator Igor Simões, the section features works by ten Black Brazilian artists—including Ana Claudia Almeida, Rebeca Carapiá, and Rommulo Vieira Conceição—presented by leading Brazilian galleries such as Almeida & Dale, Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, Nara Roesler, and Aura. The initiative draws on archival research, reinterprets modernist legacies, and challenges narrow narratives around Afro-Brazilian art, highlighting the cultural links between Africa and Latin America.

1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair highlights Afro-Brazilian art

The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair will return to New York's Starrett-Lehigh Building from May 13 to May 17, 2026, for its 12th edition. Featuring over 20 exhibitors from 12 countries, the fair introduces a curated section titled "1-54 Presents: Brazil Beyond Brazil," led by Brazilian curator and professor Igor Simões, marking the fair's first focus on Afro-Brazilian art and the cultural connections between Africa and Latin America. New participants include Adegbola Gallery (Lagos), Aura (São Paulo), and Black Pony Gallery (Bermuda), alongside returning exhibitors such as 193 Gallery and Galerie Myrtis.

Kellogg Gallery spotlights unconventional, colorful artists

Cal Poly Pomona's W. Keith and Janet Kellogg University Art Gallery is presenting "Color & Quirk," an exhibition running from August 25 to November 18, 2025, curated by Michele Cairella Fillmore. The show features unconventional, colorful artists who avoid white, black, and gray, including Megan Geckler, known for immersive flagging tape installations like "You can never quarantine the past," Colin Roberts, who creates plexiglass sculptures inspired by glass architecture, and Seda Saar, whose work explores perception, light, and color through interior architecture and themed entertainment design.

Art Vibe: June 2025

The article surveys notable art exhibitions in Kenya for June 2025, highlighting a range of venues and artists. Key shows include 'The Print Press' at Alliance Française de Nairobi (June 13–29), featuring printmakers such as Michael Soi, Mari Endo, Dennis Muraguri, and James Mbuthia, and 'The Promise' by Moses Nyawanda at Talisman Restaurant in Karen (May 27–June 27). The piece also covers exhibitions by Jonathan Sölanke Gathaara Fraser at Circle Art Gallery, Michelle Nyambura at Tafaria Castle, Annick Mitchell in Rosslyn, and Khalid Shatta and Onesmus Okamar, emphasizing both established and emerging voices across media.

Art News: A Preview Of The Lucas Museum Of Narrative Art and A Roberta Flack Auction at Julien’s

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a 300,000-square-foot institution designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec, will open in Los Angeles' Exposition Park on September 22. The 11-acre campus includes a park by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA and will feature over 1,200 objects across 30 galleries, showcasing narrative art from ancient sculptures to modern cinema, drawn from the museum's founding collection. Separately, Julien's Auctions will host "Roberta Flack: Style, Art & Music," a no-reserve auction celebrating the singer's life and cultural impact, including her Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand Piano.

Boston’s streets transform into open-air galleries

Boston has launched its first-ever citywide public art exhibition, the Boston Public Art Triennial, titled "The Exchange." The exhibition features 21 large-scale installations by local and international artists placed across neighborhoods including Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan, Downtown Crossing, and the Charlestown Navy Yard. Works address themes such as indigeneity, sustainability, shared humanity, affordable housing, and Black motherhood. The triennial also includes an accelerator program that funds and supports local artists with professional development. The exhibition runs through October 31, 2025, with over 100 associated events citywide.