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.

art elizabeth peyton david zwirner interview

Elizabeth Peyton's New York solo debut with David Zwirner, titled "Elizabeth Peyton: mountains in my heart (the death of Sarpedon)," opened at the gallery's West 19th Street space. The exhibition features Peyton's small-scale figurative paintings, including a new work inspired by the death of Sarpedon from the Iliad, rendered after a 19th-century painting by Henri-Léopold Lévy. Peyton, who has been an artist-in-residence at the Louvre since 2023, continues her practice of drawing from pop culture, historical figures, and personal acquaintances, with subjects ranging from musician Cameron Winter to philosopher Simone Weil.

Wes Anderson Brings Joseph Cornell’s Studio to Life

Filmmaker Wes Anderson and Gagosian curator Jasper Sharp have recreated Joseph Cornell's basement studio from his home on Utopia Parkway in Queens, New York, at Gagosian Gallery's Paris location. The exhibition, titled "The House on Utopia Parkway: Joseph Cornell's Studio Re-Created by Wes Anderson," features over 300 original objects collected by Cornell, alongside his iconic shadow boxes and collages. It runs through March 14 and is free to the public, displayed behind the gallery's storefront windows.

carlos agredano fume los angeles nomadic art division 1234746165

Artist Carlos Agredano, who grew up near the 105 Freeway in Lynwood, California, has created a traveling sculpture titled "FUME" (2025) that uses air quality sensors mounted on his 1992 Toyota Pickup to measure pollution from vehicle exhaust and ambient air. The work was exhibited at the Los Angeles Nomadic Art Division (LAND) and is part of Agredano's broader practice examining how the LA freeway system has harmed working-class communities of color through toxic drift and destructive urban planning. His research draws on sources including Eric Avila's book "Folklore of the Freeway" and studies from UCLA's Center for Occupational & Environmental Health.

‘Arms and legs are very expressive, especially with bruises’: the absurdist photography of Yorgos Lanthimos

Director Yorgos Lanthimos has opened a photography exhibition at the Onassis Stegi in Athens, showcasing personal images taken in Greece over recent years. The show includes a central, temple-like installation housing his newer, non-film-related work, alongside earlier photographic series connected to his movies 'Poor Things' and 'Kinds of Kindness'.

Member Previews: Willem de Kooning Drawing (Thurs)

The Art Institute of Chicago is offering members exclusive preview access to "Willem de Kooning Drawing" from June 11–13, 2025, before it opens to the public. This is the first exhibition to comprehensively examine de Kooning's drawing practice, featuring works from across his career—from his earliest drawings to late calligraphic paintings—and marks the museum's first solo presentation of the artist since 1969.

Ambiguity Reigns in Olaf Hajek’s Mysterious Illustrations

Berlin-based illustrator Olaf Hajek creates dense, uncanny compositions that blend nature, culture, and magic, drawing inspiration from Surrealist icons like Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo. His work emphasizes ambiguity, using superimposed florals and figures, dramatic scale shifts, and a tension between decay and renewal to develop a universal visual language from diverse cultural influences.

adrien brody art exhibition eden gallery

Two-time Academy Award winner Adrien Brody has opened a solo art exhibition titled “Made in America” at Eden gallery on Madison Avenue, running through June 28. The show features collages, paintings, and a gum wall installation that reflect on Brody’s New York youth, with themes of fast food, gun violence, and industrial decay. Brody discusses his inspirations, including Jean-Michel Basquiat and Hieronymus Bosch, and describes his artistic process as akin to acting—distilling human behavior into a personality.

Tanoa Sasraku: ‘I don’t see that the work needs to live forever’

The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London has opened "Morale Patch," an exhibition of new work by Plymouth-born multimedia artist Tanoa Sasraku. The show centers on "Watchlist," a commission featuring a collection of branded trinkets from oil companies, and "Subdued Morale Patch," a series of experimental works on paper created using a novel printing technique with water and ultraviolet light. Sasraku's work explores raw materials, particularly crude oil, as a vehicle to examine themes of national identity and conflict, drawing on her collection of military ephemera and corporate oil-industry mementos.

Artists at work: A peek behind the canvas

The Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach has opened a small exhibition titled "Artists at Work," curated by first-time curator Sarah Bass, a curatorial research associate at the museum. The show features paintings, photographs, and sculptures that focus on the creative process rather than finished works, including pieces by Charles Griffin Farr, Hiram Williams, Ben Benn, Bay Williams, Robert Bailey, and William Zorach. Highlights include a self-portrait by Farr, Williams's seemingly incomplete "Big Studio Table," and Zorach's terra-cotta sketch for "Youth" displayed alongside the final marble sculpture. Photographs of artists like Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, and Fernand Léger in their studios further emphasize the theme of the artist at work.

London show highlights how drawing was at the heart of Lucian Freud’s practice

The National Portrait Gallery in London has opened a major exhibition dedicated to Lucian Freud's works on paper, featuring 170 drawings, etchings, and paintings. The show, drawing heavily from the Lucian Freud Archive acquired by the gallery after the artist's death, includes 48 sketchbooks, unfinished works, and childhood drawings, alongside 12 new acquisitions from the estate.

‘A love letter to drawing’

Harvard Art Museums has opened a fall exhibition titled “Sketch, Shade, Smudge: Drawing from Gray to Black,” featuring around 120 works from the 19th to 21st centuries by artists including Pablo Picasso, John Singer Sargent, Edgar Degas, Piet Mondrian, and Georges Seurat. The show focuses on drawings in chalk, charcoal, graphite, and crayon, curated by conservator Penley Knipe and curator Miriam Stewart, who spent over a year selecting rarely seen pieces from the museum’s collection. Highlights include a fragile Degas charcoal drawing, “After the Bath, Woman Drying Herself,” which underwent conservation treatment, and a display of materials such as a box of vine charcoal owned by Sargent. The exhibition also features videos of the curators experimenting with historical techniques, like erasing with bread, and includes a hands-on drawing area styled after a 19th-century academic studio.

Edvard Munch, Reprinted: A Study in Process at Harvard Art Museums

The Harvard Art Museums have opened a new exhibition titled "Edvard Munch, Reprinted: A Study in Process," which delves into the Norwegian artist's experimental printmaking techniques. The show examines Munch's repeated reworking of his own compositions, revealing how he used printmaking as a dynamic, evolving process rather than a means of simple reproduction. It features multiple states of iconic prints such as "The Scream" and "Madonna," alongside preparatory drawings and rare proofs that trace his creative decisions over decades.

‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way’: Georg Baselitz incorporates his wheelchair into his art

Georg Baselitz, the 87-year-old German painter, has incorporated his wheelchair into his artistic process for a new series of 22 large-format paintings, 14 ink-on-paper drawings, and his first sculpture in over a decade. The works, made by spreading canvases on the floor and using the wheelchair's tracks to create swirling parallel lines, are on view at Thaddaeus Ropac in Pantin, Paris, in an exhibition titled 'Ein Bein von Manet aus Paris' (until 26 July). The show continues Baselitz's long exploration of the human figure, particularly his wife Elke, while introducing a novel technique that turns his mobility aid into a mark-making tool.

Pro Arts Jersey City presents A Margin of Influence: Artists and the books that inform them

Pro Arts Jersey City presents "A Margin of Influence: Artists and the books that inform them" at ART150 Gallery from May 8-31, 2026. Curated by Raymond E. Mingst and Arthur Bruso, the group exhibition features ten artists—including Agnieszka Wszolkowska, Alvin Quiñones, Brad Terhune, Dorie Dahlberg, Elliot Appel, Hank Yaghooti, Josephine Barreiro, Laura Lou Levy, Nanette Reynolds Beachner, and Peter Delman—who explore how books shape their creative practice. The show runs weekends with an opening reception on May 8.

Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens

The Brooklyn Museum is presenting "Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens," an exhibition dedicated to the renowned Malian photographer Seydou Keïta. The show highlights his iconic studio portraits from the 1940s through the 1960s, emphasizing the tactile and material qualities of his photographic prints.

Before You Now: Jessica Wimbley

The Vincent Price Art Museum is hosting 'Before You Now: Capturing the Self in Portraiture,' an exhibition drawn from LACMA's collection that explores self-portraiture through over 50 contemporary American artists working in photography, prints, drawings, video, and installation. The show includes a video series featuring artists like Jessica Wimbley, who discusses her work 'Cabinet Portrait: Wife Portrait' (2022), a large-scale reimagining of a 19th-century cabinet card bridal portrait that centers Blackness in American material culture by depicting herself in a non-traditional black wedding dress. The exhibition runs through August 30, 2025, with a related collage workshop led by Kalli Arte Collective on August 23.

TCNJ exhibit ‘What Images’ explores the art-making process in a world of digital saturation

The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Art Gallery has opened a new exhibition titled 'What Images,' curated by faculty member and artist John O'Connor. The show features works by nine contemporary artists—including John O'Connor, John Baldessari, and Penelope Umbrico—that examine the nature of image creation and consumption in an era of overwhelming digital proliferation.

Annalee Davis at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale. Landscape as mourning, archive and resistance in the Barbados Pavilion

Annalee Davis alla Biennale Arte di Venezia 2026. Il paesaggio come lutto, archivio e resistenza nel Padiglione Barbados

Annalee Davis, an artist from Barbados, will represent her country at the 2026 Venice Biennale with an installation titled "Let this be my Cathedral" within the exhibition "In Minor Keys." The work addresses ecological grief, colonial memory, and the possibility of care without erasing conflict, using suspended plants and organic materials to create a threshold where loss, vulnerability, and wonder remain in tension. Davis discusses the influence of curator Koyo Kouoh, whose vision shaped the Biennale, and the importance of research as an integral part of her artistic process.

Jennie Jieun Lee Transforms Community-Sourced Kilns into Sculptural Installations

Artist Jennie Jieun Lee has unveiled a series of new sculptural installations that utilize community-sourced kilns as their primary medium. By repurposing these industrial tools into expressive, ceramic-based works, Lee explores the intersection of domestic labor, communal history, and the physical transformation of clay.

EXPANDED METAMORPHOSIS To Open At Art House Gallery In Jersey City

Art House Productions is set to debut "EXPANDED METAMORPHOSIS: CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES TO PROCESS," a group exhibition curated by Andrea McKenna at the Art House Gallery in Jersey City. Running from April 4 to April 26, 2026, the show features ten artists—including Jan Huling, Valerie Huhn, and Dan Payton—who utilize industrial, organic, and repurposed materials to explore themes of transformation and experimentation.

Story by Lee Lewis - Latest Exhibtion at Swan Hill Studios

Shrewsbury-based artist Lee Lewis has opened a solo exhibition titled 'Story' at Swan Hill Studio, featuring a collection of paintings and personal objects that explore themes of memory and personal narrative. The exhibition, which has been extended until February 28, 2026, focuses on her recent concentration on painting and draws heavily on her Welsh roots and observations of everyday life.

SLU art exhibition lets students connect personally with art

The SLU Contemporary Art Gallery opened its exhibition “To Make and Be Received: Analyzing the Artistic Process” on October 2, curated by Thomas Walton. The show features works by seven artists—Diana Appaix-Castro, Jessica Lynne Brown, Brooke Cassady, Danielle Fauth, Ben Hamburger, Keir Johnston, and Eric Whitaker—and runs through November 5. Unlike traditional exhibitions, visitors are asked to view the artwork without any prior context, then respond to reflective questions before listening to recorded artist interviews. An artist talk is scheduled for October 30, and the gallery’s next exhibition, “Fall 2025 Senior Exhibition,” opens November 20.

Tuwaiq Sculpture 2026 presented by Riyadh Art

The seventh edition of Tuwaiq Sculpture will take place in Riyadh from January 12 to February 22, 2026. The annual public art symposium will bring 25 international artists to Tahlia Street to create large-scale sculptures on-site using local granite and reclaimed metals, with all finished works entering the permanent Riyadh Art collection for installation across the city.

Racine Art Museum exhibition brings children’s jewelry designs to life

The Racine Art Museum (RAM) opens a new exhibition, 'Designed by Me: Imagined Jewelry Realized,' on September 10, 2025, featuring jewelry pieces designed by local children ages 5 to 18 and crafted by Rasmussen Diamonds, a Racine-based jeweler celebrating its 125th anniversary. Winning designers Leo Philipp, Cali Jacobs, and Savannah Yanakowicz had their drawings transformed into fine jewelry by goldsmiths Laura Istvanek and Lizzie Spankowski, with the original drawings displayed alongside the finished pieces. The exhibition runs through October 4, after which the three winning pieces will be auctioned to benefit charities chosen by the young designers: Kindred Kitties, Wisconsin Humane Society, and Rescue Outreach.

Rising Lines at ReachOut Art Gallery Brings Together Emerging Artistic Voices

An exhibition titled 'Rising Lines' opens on 3rd May 2026 at ReachOut Art Gallery in Nashik, bringing together a curated group of emerging artists at different stages of their creative journeys. The show, on view until 14th June 2026, emphasizes evolving artistic processes, experimentation with form and material, and personal narratives, rather than presenting finished bodies of work. The gallery positions itself as a space dedicated to nurturing emerging talent in Nashik's growing contemporary art scene.

Danny Foley: Rising star of the Cork art world

Emerging artist Danny Foley has launched his solo exhibition, "Beyond Eye Sea," at the Lavit Gallery in Cork after winning the prestigious Cork Arts Society Student of the Year Award. The exhibition features an immersive installation comprising a stop-motion animation, paintings, and large-scale paper collages that explore themes of shapeshifting and fluid artistic processes. Foley, a graduate of the Crawford College of Art & Design, developed the work during a residency at the Backwater Artists Group, utilizing a technique of layering water-based materials to create evolving visual narratives.

Artists from Sandra Art4All Studio set to exhibit in Proud 2 Create Summer Show in Margate

The Sandra Art4All Art Studio, founded by Sandra Hampton in 2016, is presenting its sixth annual Proud 2 Create summer show at The Margate School, opening August 13. The exhibition features 12 local artists with learning impairments and disabilities, including Autism, Charge Syndrome, Hearing Impairment, and Cerebral Palsy, showcasing over 180 original artworks in various media such as drawings, paintings, and photographs. The artists range in age from 13 to 54, and the opening event runs from 4pm to 8pm with many artists in attendance.

αMプロジェクト2025‒2026「立ち止まり振り返る、そして前を向く vol.5 飯川雄大｜デコレータークラブ：すべて違う姿」 @ gallery αＭ

gallery αM in Tokyo is presenting the fifth edition of its αM Project 2025–2026 series, titled “Stop, Look Back, Face Forward. vol.5 Takehiro Iikawa: Decorator Crab－No Two Alike,” running from April 11 to June 13, 2026. The exhibition features works by artist Takehiro Iikawa, including pieces such as “Decorator Crab – Arrangement, Adjustment, Circulation” (2026) and “Decorator Crab – New Audience” (2026), with guest curator Aki Otsuki, a curator from the Ashiya City Museum of Art and History.

New Exhibition Opens At The Norwalk Art Space

The Norwalk Art Space has launched "The Artist's Path," a new exhibition featuring works created by resident artists Gabriela Esquivel, Devin Long, Ivonne Moran, and Jose Torres. Running through May 14, the show highlights the creative output developed during their year-long residency and will include an artists' talk on April 12.