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.

Harmony Korine Makes Sense of His Shape-Shifting Art: ‘It’s Really One Whole Work’

Harmony Korine's first-ever U.S. retrospective, titled "Perfect Nonsense," has opened at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami. The exhibition gathers over 50 pieces spanning his career, including adolescent writings, zines, collages from the 1990s, figurative paintings, and recent works using game engines. Korine, known for transgressive films like *Gummo* (1997) and *Spring Breakers* (2012), also founded EDGLRD, a studio producing experimental content with cutting-edge tech, such as his 2023 project *AGGRO DR1FT*, which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival.

Hyperallergic’s Guide to the 2026 Venice Biennale

Hyperallergic has published its guide to the 2026 Venice Biennale, detailing what to see and do at this year's edition. The guide covers the three main categories of the Biennale—the Giardini with 29 permanent national pavilions, the Arsenale with temporary rented spaces, and collateral events across the city. Key developments include the return of Russia to its permanent Giardini pavilion and Israel's participation with a new contractual stipulation preventing its artist from closing the pavilion, after Ruth Patir's protest in 2024. South Africa withdrew following the cancellation of Gabrielle Goliath's video installation 'Elegy,' which mourns victims of Israel's genocide in Gaza and will now be shown at a historic church. The United States will be represented by Alma Allen after Barbara Chase-Riboud stepped down, and Qatar is set to become the first country in decades to build a new pavilion in the Giardini.

Who are the members of the Venice Biennale jury?

Qui sont les membres du jury de la Biennale de Venise ?

The 61st Venice Biennale, opening May 9, 2026, has announced its international jury, which is composed entirely of women. The five members are Solange Oliveira Farkas (president), Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi, hailing from Brazil, Thailand, Spain, the United States, and Switzerland. Their backgrounds span the Global South, feminist studies, and transnational curatorial practices.

Stockholm's Market Art Fair is a new model art fair from which to learn something

La Market Art Fair di Stoccolma è un nuovo modello di fiera d’arte da cui imparare qualcosa

The Market Art Fair in Stockholm, founded in 2006 by galleries from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland, held its 20th edition from April 23-26, 2026, at Magasin 9 during Stockholm Art Week. The fair features 54 exhibitors from 8 countries and 150 artists, with 80% of works tied to the Nordic context and 20% international. Highlights include a solo presentation by Olafur Eliasson at i8 Gallery (Reykjavík) featuring his sculpture *Rare metallic plant* (2026), and a preview of the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale by artist Benjamin Orlow at Season 4 Episode 6 gallery. The fair has recently opened its selection to international galleries, a shift welcomed by collectors.

Fraenkel Gallery Partners with New York’s Metrograph for Artist-Curated Series

Fraenkel Gallery has partnered with New York's Metrograph theater to present a film series curated by six of its represented artists. The series, titled "Fraenkel Gallery Presents," runs from May 8–17, with each artist selecting a film and several introducing their screenings. The collaboration includes an opening event featuring artist Carrie Mae Weems and director Joel Coen.

Philadelphia Museum welcomes Rocky statue with new exhibition | Daily Sabah

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is opening a new exhibition titled "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments," which explores the cultural and artistic significance of the Rocky Balboa statue that sits at the museum's steps. Guest curator Paul Farber organized the show, which spans over 2,000 years of boxing imagery and includes works by Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Andy Warhol. The exhibition marks a shift in the museum's long-standing ambivalent relationship with the statue, which was originally placed on the steps during filming of the "Rocky" movies and later relocated before returning in 2006. After the exhibition closes in August, the statue will be permanently installed at the top of the museum's steps for the first time.

Philadelphia Museum of Art Launches Rocky Exhibition: A New Look at Monuments, Culture, and Legacy

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has opened a new exhibition titled “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments” in April 2026, which examines the cultural significance of public monuments through the lens of the fictional boxer Rocky Balboa. Curated by Paul Farber and drawing on the work of Monument Lab, the show brings the iconic Rocky Statue inside the museum, placing it alongside classical and contemporary artworks by artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol, as well as historical objects spanning 2,000 years.

10 Exhibitions to See in Venice Which Aren’t Part of the Biennale

Ocula's editors have curated a list of 10 must-see collateral exhibitions in Venice that are not part of the main Biennale. Highlights include Shirin Neshat's film trilogy "Do U Dare!" about YouTuber Nasim Aghdam, Hernan Bas's ironic paintings of tourists at Ca' Pesaro, and the group show "Outta Love" featuring Francesca Woodman, Jenny Saville, and Wolfgang Tillmans. Another notable exhibition is "Turāndokht" from Parasol unit, which brings together 11 female artists from Central Asia to challenge Orientalist stereotypes.

Exhibition | Bùi Thanh Tâm, 'Here on and after' at Eli Klein Gallery, New York, United States

Eli Klein Gallery in New York is presenting "Bùi Thanh Tâm: Here on and after," the Hanoi-based artist's first solo exhibition in the United States. The show features 13 new and recent paintings that explore Vietnam's colonial history, the aftermath of war, and the persistence of memory. Tâm, a leading Vietnamese painter of the postwar generation, incorporates traditional folk woodblock prints—Đông Hồ, Hàng Trống, and Kim Hoàng—into layered, collaged works. The sunflower emerges as a central symbol of resilience and rebirth, influenced by Anselm Kiefer and Francis Bacon, while addressing trauma from French colonialism to Agent Orange. The exhibition includes series such as "Searching for the Sunflower," "Hello. God is here," "Utopia," and "Mutant," each examining themes of healing, endurance, and cultural transformation.

Exhibition | Carlos Garaicoa, 'Rituals and Liberty' at Goodman Gallery, New York, United States

Goodman Gallery presents Carlos Garaicoa's first solo exhibition at its New York viewing room, titled 'Rituals and Liberty.' The show features eight works, including five reliefs that blend painting and photography, and sculptural models incorporating 19th-century French engravings. The exhibition precedes Garaicoa's solo show at Museo La Tertulia in Cali, Colombia, in May. Garaicoa, a Cuban-born artist based in Madrid, explores urbanism and how architecture reflects and shapes society, continuing his long-standing interest in decoding urban infrastructures.

Exhibition | EILEEN AGAR, 'Leaves of the World' at Andrew Kreps Gallery, 22 Cortlandt Alley, New York, United States

Andrew Kreps Gallery in New York is presenting 'Leaves of the World,' an exhibition of works by Eileen Agar (1899–1991) spanning seven decades of her career, from 1927 to 1980. The show highlights Agar's enduring engagement with collage and her unique blend of surrealism, cubism, and abstraction, featuring pieces such as 'Leaves of the World' (c. 1940) and 'Personnage' (1949). A parallel exhibition of Agar's work will open at Alison Jacques in London this June.

Can the V&A’s New Museum Fulfill Its Democratic Promise?

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has opened its new V&A East museum and V&A East Storehouse in Stratford, East London. This expansion, part of a £660 million redevelopment, presents the museum's collection with a focus on community co-design, social justice themes, and local artists, aiming to be more accessible and democratic than its imposing South Kensington flagship.

MOCAD Reopens with New Exhibitions from Detroit Artists

Detroit's Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCAD) has reopened after an eight-month closure for construction, unveiling four new exhibitions as part of its 2026 Spring Exhibition and 20th anniversary. The renovations include a new HVAC system, educational space, and windows that allow passersby to see inside. The building has been renamed the Julia Reyes Taubman Building in honor of the late co-founder, whose family contributed $1.8 million toward the $3 million first phase. Mayor Mary Sheffield toured the exhibitions at an April 23 media preview, praising the museum's role in community healing and access. Featured exhibitions include "Olayami Dabls: Detroit Cosmologies," the first retrospective of the artist's nearly 50-year career, showcasing his evolution from figurative acrylics to abstract collage.

A World-Class Art Museum Arrives in the Texas Hill Country

A new museum called Arthouse is opening in Marble Falls, Texas, on April 25, 2026, during the town's Paint the Town Festival. Its inaugural exhibition, "Words Matter," features text-based artworks by artists including Faith Ringgold, Ed Ruscha, Terry Allen, and Jenny Holzer, drawn from the collection of oil and gas entrepreneur Mickey Klein and his wife Jeanne, who are longtime art collectors named to ARTnews' Top 200 Collectors list. The building, designed by Lake Flato, is a limestone and metal structure on Main Street that will serve as both a public gallery and an office.

Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe: ONE Art Space Hosts Celebrity Packed Chuck Connelly Art Show!

ONE Art Space in Tribeca is hosting "Tribeca’s Midnight Parade — When Art Runs Wild," a solo exhibition of paintings by Chuck Connelly. Co-curated by Adrienne Connelly and MaryAnn Giella McCulloh, the show features the 1994 painting "Animals in the Street," which depicts Tribeca figures as animal archetypes, including a lion judge and the artist as a horse. The private opening drew a celebrity guest list including Princess Tina Radziwill, orchestrated by PR powerhouse Norah Lawlor.

This California Art Show From Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys Pairs Major Artists With a Stunning Pacific Backdrop

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is hosting "Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys," an exhibition featuring over 130 works by 37 Black American and diasporic artists. The show, which began at the Brooklyn Museum in 2024, includes pieces by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Gordon Parks, Mickalene Thomas, and Derrick Adams, and was celebrated with a preview party attended by the collectors and their creative community.

Lake Flato Shapes a Stunning New Art Space in Texas Hill Country

A new art space called Arthouse is opening on April 25, 2026, in Marble Falls, Texas. Designed by the architecture firm Lake Flato, the 2,000-square-foot white building will display works from the personal collection of philanthropists Mickey and Jeanne Klein, including pieces by Mary C. Sloane, Kenturah Davis, Faith Ringgold, Ed Ruscha, James Turrell, and Teresita Fernández. The debut exhibition, "Words Matter," curated by Mickey Klein, explores text and narrative and coincides with the town's Paint the Town Art Festival. The building also features a courtyard designed by landscape designer Sada Uchiyama.

‘Never in a million years.’ The Rocky statue’s long, unlikely road to acceptance inside the Art Museum

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has brought the iconic bronze statue of Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa inside its building for the first time, as the centerpiece of the exhibition 'Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments.' The statue, created as a movie prop for 'Rocky III' by artist A. Thomas Schomberg, had stood outside the museum for decades, its artistic merit debated while it became a major tourist attraction.

11 can’t-miss art shows to see in Phoenix this spring

Phoenix is hosting a diverse array of spring art exhibitions across the city. Highlights include the 19th Annual Erotic Art Show at Exposed Gallery, Amy Menousek's feminist fiber work at Five15 Arts, Rachel Rinker's interactive sound and painting show at Tempe Center for the Arts, a group show of Japanese artists in Arizona at Shemer Art Center, and the "Art is History" exhibition at Lisa Sette Gallery, which critically examines art historical narratives.

Philadelphia’s New Art Fair Is Betting Big on Community

Philadelphia is set to launch a new contemporary art fair called Elsewhere on June 4, organized by Megan Galardi, founder of Blah Blah Gallery. The fair will take over the Yowie Hotel, a pair of 1900s rowhouses, featuring 26 galleries from cities including Los Angeles, Toronto, and London. Booth prices are kept low—around $3,000 for the largest rooms—and some exhibitors can sleep in their spaces to reduce costs. Participating galleries include Harlesden High Street, DARLA, and Blah Blah Gallery, with artists such as Patricia Renee’ Thomas, Emmanuel Massillon, and Qualeasha Wood. The fair also includes panels, DJ sets, reciprocal museum tours, and VIP studio visits.

Stockholm's Market Art Fair wants to prove the 'periphery is now essential'

The 20th edition of Stockholm's Market Art Fair for Modern and contemporary art opens in a new waterfront venue at Magasin 9 in the Frihamnen docks area, running until 26 April. This year, 54 dealers—mostly from the Nordics—are joined by international galleries from the US and UK, including Anthony Wilkinson gallery (London) and albertz benda (New York). The fair expanded its reach last year by opening applications to galleries without existing Nordic ties. Notable presentations include new works by Ólafur Elíasson (i8 gallery, Iceland), dystopian paintings by Munan Øvrelid (Galleri Haaken, Oslo), and textile works by Petra Lindholm (Magnus Karlsson gallery). Prices range from SEK 28,000 to €195,000, with strong early sales reported.

Iconic 'Rocky' statue outside Philadelphia Museum of Art will now get its own exhibit -- and be moved indoors

The iconic Rocky Balboa statue, long stationed outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), is being moved indoors for a new exhibition titled "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments." Opening this weekend, the show examines how the fictional boxer and his statue became a symbol of Philadelphia's identity, tracing over two millennia of artists' engagement with boxing and celebrity. The exhibition includes works by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol alongside the bronze statue, which attracts roughly 4 million visitors annually. After the exhibit ends in August, the city's statue will be permanently relocated to the top of the museum steps, replacing a temporary loan from Sylvester Stallone's private collection. A new statue honoring legendary Philadelphia boxer "Smokin'" Joe Frazier is being built at the statue's original location.

The Sprawling New David Geffen Galleries At LACMA Open To The Public On Sunday, May 3

The David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) will open to the public on Sunday, May 3, after 20 years of development. Designed by architect Peter Zumthor, the 900-foot-long horizontal glass and concrete structure overlooks the La Brea Tar Pits and stretches over Wilshire Boulevard. The main floor, elevated 30 feet above street level, offers 110,000 square feet of gallery space for LACMA’s permanent collection. The inaugural exhibition is inspired by four major bodies of water—the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea—and features works by artists including Todd Gray, Do Ho Suh, Lauren Halsey, Tavares Strachan, Jeff Koons, and Diego Rivera. The building also includes open plazas, an outdoor public space, and an Erewhon Cafe, with a larger restaurant and wine bar planned for fall 2026.

Lubaina Himid has been busy ‘Predicting History: Testing Translation’

Lubaina Himid has been selected to represent the United Kingdom at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia in 2026 with a major solo installation titled 'Predicting History: Testing Translation' at the British Pavilion. The exhibition, running from May 9 to November 2026, features a new series of large, multipaneled paintings in dazzling colors, surreal settings, and a soundscape created in collaboration with artist Magda Stawarska. Himid, a Turner Prize-winning pioneer of the Black British Art Movement and Emeritus Professor at the University of Central Lancashire, explores themes of belonging, migration, and making a home in a new place.

In Barcelona, the Joan Miró Foundation celebrates 50 years. All the planned initiatives

A Barcellona la Fondazione Joan Mirò festeggia 50 anni. Tutte le iniziative in programma

The Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona is celebrating its 50th anniversary with an extensive program of exhibitions, concerts, performances, and public initiatives. The festivities begin on June 11 with the exhibition "Poetry Has Just Begun: 50 Years of the Miró," a retrospective tracing the foundation's history and its role in the international art system. Other highlights include "Miró and the United States" in autumn, exploring the artist's dialogue with post-war American avant-garde figures like Louise Bourgeois, Helen Frankenthaler, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko, organized in collaboration with the Phillips Collection in Washington. In March 2026, the foundation will unveil a new permanent collection layout based on Miró's creative processes and open the Garden of the Cypresses, a previously inaccessible historic area on Montjuïc.

The Bronx Museum of the Arts hosts Seventh AIM Biennial open house

The Bronx Museum of the Arts hosted its Seventh AIM Biennial Open House on April 18, a free family day that combined hands-on art-making activities with the ongoing biennial exhibition. Visitors participated in button-making, print-making, screen printing, and memory box creation, led by AIM artists including Skip Brea, Hedwig Brouckaert, Ricki Dwyer, Leekyung Kang, Juyon Lee, lauren mcavoy, Piero Penizzotto, Motohiro Takeda, and V Yeh. The day also featured a critique session with artist V Yeh and a panel discussion titled “Tender Monuments,” moderated by co-curator Nell Klugman, exploring themes of personal, communal, and environmental grief.

'HEAD STRETCH' at Andrew Kreps Gallery, 394 Broadway, New York, United States on 24 Apr–20 Jun 2026

Andrew Kreps Gallery in New York presents 'Head Stretch,' a group exhibition featuring Felipe Barsuglia, Allan Gandhi, Luciana Maas, Flora Rebollo, Gokula Stoffel, and Erika Verzutti. The show is rooted in a shared studio building in São Paulo called 'Predinho,' where friendships and creative exchanges among the artists led to the exhibition. The title reflects diverse interpretations: from craning to see another's work to the stretched proportions of figures in paintings, and the expansion of perspective through community. Works by the six artists, including paintings, sculptures, and drawings, are installed in ways that create new associations, with Verzutti inserting her own pieces to open them to fresh readings.

First Indigenous Representative of Peru at the Venice Biennale, Sara Flores Opens the Doors of Her Studio in the Heart of the Amazon

Première représentante autochtone du Pérou à la Biennale de Venise, Sara Flores ouvre les portes de son atelier au cœur de l’Amazonie

Sara Flores, a 76-year-old artist from the Shipibo-Konibo Indigenous community in the Peruvian Amazon, has been selected as the first Indigenous artist to represent Peru at the Venice Biennale. In her open-air studio deep in the rainforest, she creates large-scale geometric compositions in the kené ("true drawing") tradition, using natural dyes from local plants. She is also co-founder of the Bakish Mai Multiversity, an educational institution dedicated to Indigenous knowledge and artist residencies, alongside Matteo Norzi, one of the two curators of the Peruvian pavilion. The article offers an intimate portrait of her life, her matriarchal family, and her creative process.

Has the world grown weary of art biennials? In search of an antidote, a Portuguese festival turns to anarchism

Anozero, a biennial art festival held in Coimbra's Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova, has opened a ghostly edition that uses installations—including Taryn Simon's sound piece of laments in multiple languages—to protest plans by the Portuguese government to redevelop the 17th-century convent into a hotel under its Revive programme. Festival co-founder Carlos Antunes threatens to cancel the biennial if the development proceeds, framing the event as a warning to the developer about the spirits that haunt the building.