New York art exhibit highlights Port Arthur's Robert Rauschenberg

The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York is hosting a major retrospective titled "Robert Rauschenberg: Spreading Viaducts," which places a significant focus on the artist's formative years in his hometown of Port Arthur, Texas. The exhibition explores how the industrial landscape and unique coastal environment of the Gulf Coast influenced Rauschenberg’s revolutionary approach to materials and his development of the "Combine" paintings.

Tate Modern opens largest ever exhibition of Tracey Emin's work

Tate Modern has launched the most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the work of British artist Tracey Emin. The show brings together a vast range of her pieces, spanning several decades of her provocative and confessional career.

Party Is Elsewhere: When Art, Absence and Space Collide

Sudarshan Shetty’s seminal 2005 kinetic installation, "Party Is Elsewhere," has been restaged within the decaying remains of an abandoned nightclub in Delhi. The exhibition eschews the traditional "white cube" gallery space, instead utilizing a raw environment of peeling plaster and sagging ceilings to mirror the work's original debut in a fire-damaged Mumbai gallery. The installation features a mechanical system that rhythmically hammers a table of wine glasses beneath a neon sign, creating a sensory experience centered on fragility and deferred presence.

Artists agonise over when a work is finished—but should we viewers care?

The article explores the perennial struggle artists face in determining when a work is complete, a process often fraught with the risk of overworking or 'wrecking' a piece. Drawing on insights from Howard Hodgkin and David Sylvester, it examines how artists like Degas, Matisse, and Cézanne navigated the boundary between a finished object and a work-in-progress, sometimes intentionally leaving canvases 'open' or 'fragmentarily complete' to preserve their emotional and visual immediacy.

10 Chicago art exhibitions we’re most excited about in spring 2026

Chicago’s major cultural institutions have unveiled a diverse lineup of exhibitions for the spring 2026 season, ranging from historical retrospectives to pop-culture crossovers. Highlights include the U.S. debut of the Pokémon Fossil Museum at the Field Museum, a rare display of Henri Matisse’s cut-paper maquettes at the Art Institute of Chicago, and an immersive recreation of Anne Frank’s Secret Annex at the Griffin Museum of Science & Industry. Other notable shows explore the intersection of contemporary art and Caribbean music genres at the MCA Chicago and a site-specific residency by Brendan Fernandes at the Driehaus Museum.

Maryland artist examines Matisse's legacy in upcoming Museum of Art exhibit

The Baltimore Museum of Art is set to host "Fratino and Matisse: To See This Light Again," a major exhibition pairing the works of Maryland-born artist Louis Fratino with those of Henri Matisse. The show features approximately 30 works by the French master alongside Fratino’s contemporary pieces, marking the MICA graduate's first significant institutional exhibition in the United States.

Blanton show reimagines American modernism through private collection of H-E-B chairman Charles Butt

The Blanton Museum of Art has unveiled a new exhibition featuring approximately 80 works of American modernism drawn from the private collection of H-E-B chairman Charles Butt. Curated by Carter Foster, the show eschews a "trophy collection" approach in favor of intimate, transitional works by canonical artists such as Edward Hopper, Alice Neel, and Alma Thomas. The exhibition is organized thematically, focusing on urban life, precisionism, and the evolution toward abstraction, presenting these works together in a single gallery for the first time.

On View Now at MAG: New Picasso Exhibition

The Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) in Rochester has launched a series of new installations, headlined by the exhibition "Picasso and the Progressive Proof: Linocuts from a Private Collection." This show provides an intimate look at Pablo Picasso’s late-career printmaking innovations, specifically focusing on the evolution of three major linocuts through their various proofs. Additionally, the museum has debuted Rashid Johnson’s 2019 film "The Hikers" and several new contemporary acquisitions, including works by Donald Moffett and Hugo McCloud, while its major Impressionism survey enters its final days.

The Met to Present a Major Exhibition Dedicated to the Careers of Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced a major exhibition titled "Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous," scheduled to run from October 2026 to January 2027. This landmark show will trace the parallel careers of Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock, marking the first significant New York presentation for either artist in over two decades. The exhibition aims to examine their distinct yet interconnected practices as artistic peers and life partners, featuring galleries that both juxtapose their works and present them independently to highlight their individual evolutions in abstraction.

Comment | Time for a rethink: women artists were never meant to merely be canon fodder

Comment | Time for a rethink: women artists were never meant to merely be canon fodder

The art world is increasingly moving beyond simply adding women to the existing art historical canon, a practice long criticized by feminist historians like Griselda Pollock. Instead of merely 'expanding' the canon, new institutional approaches aim to 'difference' it by using the work of women to fundamentally re-evaluate and subvert established narratives. This shift suggests that the inclusion of previously marginalized artists should change how we perceive the masters they are often compared to.

Guest column | At the nation’s galleries, celebrations of selfhood, joy and renewal

Major American art institutions are undergoing a significant shift in perspective, prioritizing themes of diversity, selfhood, and renewal in their programming. This evolution is evidenced by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s total re-evaluation of its permanent collection display in anticipation of its new building, alongside a wave of exhibitions featuring contemporary voices like Derrick Adams and Nick Cave, and retrospectives for historical figures such as Edmonia Lewis and Isamu Noguchi.

New biography offers well-crafted story of Louise Bourgeois’s rich life

Marie-Laure Bernadac’s new biography, 'Knife-Woman: The Life of Louise Bourgeois', provides a comprehensive look at the French-American artist’s prolific career and traumatic upbringing. The book explores how Bourgeois transformed childhood wounds—specifically her father’s infidelity and psychological cruelty—into a radical body of work spanning sculpture, installation, and textiles. From her early encouragement by Fernand Léger to her late-career fame with the 'Maman' spider sculptures, the biography traces her evolution from a painter to a boundary-defying sculptor who utilized materials ranging from latex to marble.

Mandeville Art Gallery Presents Faith Ringgold: Full Circle – The Teachings and Her Legacy

The Mandeville Art Gallery at UC San Diego is presenting the exhibition "Faith Ringgold: Full Circle – The Teachings and Her Legacy," curated by Mashonda Tifrere. The show, which opens on February 28, 2026, features 19 works spanning from 1976 to 2023, tracing the artist's evolution as a multidisciplinary storyteller and her influential tenure as a professor at the university.

Denver Art Museum presents Knife Fork Spoon: Everyday Tools, Extraordinary Design in May 2026

The Denver Art Museum will open an exhibition titled 'Knife Fork Spoon: Everyday Tools, Extraordinary Design' in May 2026. The show explores the history, artistry, and innovation of flatware, featuring over 200 objects from the 19th century to the present, including newly commissioned works by contemporary designers and architects.

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.

The World of Pablo Picasso, Revolutionary Genius of Modern Art

Pablo Picasso, the Spanish artist who died over 50 years ago, remains one of the most influential and commercially successful figures in modern art. His works, spanning painting, sculpture, and ceramics, continue to break auction records, with his 1955 painting 'Les Femmes d'Alger (Version 'O')' selling for $179.4 million in 2015.

Read the Room: Dallas Museum of Art’s “International Surrealism” Misses the Mark

The Dallas Museum of Art's exhibition "International Surrealism" is critiqued as a missed opportunity during the centennial of the surrealist movement. The author argues that while the show presents a broad survey of mixed-media works from around the world, divided into six thematic subgroups, it lacks the political urgency and revolutionary context that defined surrealism's origins in 1925. The exhibition, initially curated by Matthew Gale from the Tate Modern collection and presented locally by Sue Canterbury, is described as whimsical and decorous, reducing the movement's subversive power to quirky categories and gift-shop fodder.

Exhibit With More Than 100 Masterworks Opens This Week at Birmingham Museum of Art

The Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA) opens "Monet to Matisse: French Moderns, 1850–1950" on January 30, featuring over 100 masterworks from iconic artists including Monet, Matisse, Cézanne, Cassatt, Degas, Renoir, and Pissarro. The traveling exhibition, curated by the Brooklyn Museum, has been significantly expanded by BMA with over 40 works from its own collection, making it a unique venue on the tour. The show runs through May 24 and coincides with the museum's 75th anniversary, with thematic sections on Landscape, Still Life, Portraits and Models, and The Nude.

San Diego Museum of Art celebrates 100 years with new exhibitions

The San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA) is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a series of special exhibitions and a public birthday party. The centennial exhibition "SDMA 100 Years" opens January 24, 2026, featuring photographs, memorabilia, and film footage of key moments in the museum's history. Other exhibitions include "Local Visions: Reimagining the Façade" (through July 26), "Cafes and Cabarets: The Spectacular Art of Toulouse-Lautrec" (April 4–September 20), and "Forging a Legacy: 15 Years of Landmark Acquisitions" (May 16–September 7). The museum will offer free admission and extended hours on February 28 for its birthday fest with live music, art-making, and cake tasting.

The road to ‘Fridamania’: how Frida Kahlo became a global phenomenon

A major exhibition titled "Frida: The Making of an Icon" opens at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, tracing how Frida Kahlo evolved from a little-known artist in Diego Rivera's shadow into a global phenomenon and brand. Curated by Mari Carmen Ramírez, the show examines Kahlo's posthumous rise to fame from the 1970s through influential biographies, Chicano and feminist reinterpretations, and her complex relationship with race, ethnicity, gender, and politics. It features 35 Kahlo works including "The Broken Column" (1944), alongside pieces by 80 artists influenced by her, and explores "Fridamania" through 200 objects. The exhibition will travel to Tate Modern in London this summer.

The Big Review | Jacques-Louis David at the Musée du Louvre, Paris ★★★★★

The Musée du Louvre in Paris has opened a major retrospective of Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), the greatest Neoclassical artist, marking his biggest survey in nearly four decades. The exhibition, mounted for the 200th anniversary of his death, comprises just over 100 works, including strategic loans from France and eight other countries, and complements the Louvre's own holdings. The show aims to redefine David beyond the Neoclassical label, presenting him instead as both a "realist" and an "idealist," and is compared to blockbusters like the Rijksmuseum's Vermeer show.

The best art exhibitions in Europe in 2026

A major exhibition tracing the evolution of the European art market from Greco-Roman antiquity to the 19th century is on view, featuring loans from institutions such as the Rubenshuis and the Princely Collections of Liechtenstein, including works by Titian, Rembrandt, Klimt, and Monet. Additionally, a show by Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos at PM23 presents her monumental, participatory fabric sculpture *Valkyrie Venus*, created with over 200 contributors from Lisbon and Rome. A dedicated Cézanne exhibition at Fondation Beyeler in Switzerland highlights the artist's posthumous reputation, with early collectors like Rudolf Staechelin and Oskar Reinhart. Other notable exhibitions across Europe include Brancusi in Berlin, Brassaï in Stockholm, Canaletto and Bellotto in Vienna, and Hammershøi in Madrid.

Banksy, Basquiat, Haring and more coming to Mobile Museum of Art

The Mobile Museum of Art in Alabama announced a major upcoming exhibition titled "Gateway from Graffiti to Gallery," opening September 1 and running for a year. The show will feature 28 works by five iconic street artists: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf, Banksy, and Kaws, including a room-sized installation by Scharf. The works, never before assembled together, are on loan from collectors and investors worldwide through a collaboration with Masterworks, a company that enables fractional investment in blue-chip art. The museum also revealed plans for a 2027 exhibition of 25 leading female artists from the post-World War II abstract expressionist movement.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art to Present First Museum Survey of Lorna Simpson’s Paintings

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will present "Lorna Simpson: Source Notes" from May 19 to November 2, 2025, the first museum survey dedicated entirely to the New York-based artist's painting practice. Featuring over 30 works, the exhibition traces Simpson's shift from conceptual photography to paintings that explore gender, race, identity, and history, including pieces from her 2015 Venice Biennale debut and her "Special Characters" series, alongside recent sculptures and collages. The show is funded by the Ford Foundation and supported by Jim and Irene Karp and John and Amy Griffin.

Notable 9 in art + design in 2025: Compelling exhibitions, curatorial feats and public art highlights

ArtsATL editors selected nine standout stories from Atlanta's 2025 visual arts scene, highlighting the Beltline's transformation into one of America's largest outdoor art projects, Kim Chong Hak's exuberant American debut at the High Museum, and exhibitions such as 'Innervisions' at Clark Atlanta University Art Museum and Jessica Blinkhorn's 'Two Decades of Atrophy' at End Project Space. The roundup also covers Sergio Suárez's solo show at MOCA GA, reflecting the city's diverse and innovative artistic output.

Museum of the African Diaspora caps 20th anniversary celebration

The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a public celebration on December 13 and two exhibitions: “Continuum: MoAD Over Time” and “UNBOUND: Art, Blackness and the Universe.” Since opening in 2005, MoAD has been defined by Chester Higgins’s photomosaic “The Girl from Ghana,” which features over 3,000 stamp-sized images from contributors worldwide. Under executive director Linda Harrison (2013–2019) and current CEO Monetta White, the museum shifted from a focus on historical and anthropological narratives to centering contemporary Black artists, hiring its first full-time staff curator, Key Jo Lee, in 2023.

The Year in Review 2025

The Art Newspaper has published its annual 'Year in Review' for 2025, a roundup of the most significant stories, trends, and developments in the international art world over the past twelve months. The article serves as a comprehensive digest covering major exhibitions, market shifts, institutional changes, and key figures that shaped the visual arts landscape in 2025.

Two Exhibitions of Impressionist and Postimpressionist Art Coming to LACMA

Two winter exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) will highlight the institution's Impressionist and Postimpressionist holdings. Opening December 21, 2025, "Collecting Impressionism at LACMA" traces the evolution of the museum's collection through early donations of California and American Impressionist works, strategic acquisitions, and recent gifts including Claude Monet's *The Artist’s Garden, Vétheuil* (1881) and Vincent van Gogh's *Tarascon Stagecoach* (1888). A second exhibition, "Village Square: Gifts of Modern Art from the Pearlman Collection to the Brooklyn Museum, LACMA, and MoMA," opens February 22, 2026, featuring nearly 50 works by artists such as Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, and Édouard Manet from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Collection. After LACMA, the Pearlman works will travel to the Brooklyn Museum and later to the Museum of Modern Art.

On View: 'Nigerian Modernism' at Tate Modern Charts Artistic Revolution Against Backdrop of Political and Cultural Rebellion

Tate Modern in London has opened 'Nigerian Modernism,' a major exhibition tracing the modern art movement in Nigeria from the 1940s through the post-independence era. Spanning 50 years, the show features over 250 works by more than 50 artists, including Jimo Akolo, El Anatsui, Nike Davies-Okundaye, Uzo Egonu, Ibrahim El-Salahi, Ben Enwonwu, Ladi Kwali, Aina Onabolu, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Uche Okeke, and Obiora Udechukwu. Curated by Osei Bonsu and Bilal Akkouche, the exhibition draws from Tate’s holdings and public and private collections across Africa, the United States, and Europe, and runs from October 8, 2025 to May 10, 2026.

Luminary Exhibition Celebration: Matisse's Jazz—Rhythms in Color

The Art Institute of Chicago is hosting a special Luminary member event on April 28, 2026, celebrating the exhibition "Matisse's Jazz—Rhythms in Color." The event features curatorial remarks by Emily Ziemba, director of curatorial administration and research curator in Prints and Drawings, followed by exclusive after-hours access to the exhibition. This marks the first time the museum has displayed Matisse's complete Jazz portfolio since acquiring it in 1948, alongside more than 50 paintings, sculptures, and drawings that trace the artist's career-long exploration of color and line.