Tokyo's museums have announced their 2026 exhibition schedules, featuring a diverse lineup of international and domestic shows. Highlights include 'YBA & Beyond: British Art in the 90s from the Tate Collection' at the National Art Center, a major retrospective of Hajime Sorayama at the Creative Museum Tokyo, and a solo exhibition of Lithuanian artist M. K. Čiurlionis, alongside shows by Picasso, Ron Mueck, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Minami Tada.
The article presents a curated selection of upcoming art exhibitions across major global cities in 2026, highlighting key shows in Paris, New York, and Tokyo. In Paris, notable exhibitions include a Georges de la Tour show at the Musée Jacquemand-André, a Renoir retrospective at the Musée d'Orsay, and a Henri Rousseau exhibition at the Musée de l'Orangerie. New York features solo shows of Egon Schiele at the Neue Galerie, Thomas Gainsborough at the Frick Collection, and Paul Klee at the Jewish Museum, while Tokyo focuses on women artists from the 1950s and 60s at the National Museum of Modern Art and a centennial exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.
The final episode of The Week in Art podcast for 2025 reviews the year's biggest stories and exhibitions. Host Ben Luke is joined by The Art Newspaper's contemporary art correspondent Louisa Buck, art market editor Kabir Jhala, and Americas editor-in-chief Ben Sutton to discuss topics ranging from the Los Angeles wildfires in January and President Trump's cultural policies to the crisis at the Louvre, the National Gallery in London's expansion plans and their impact on its relationship with Tate, and the art market's shift toward the Middle East for fairs and auctions. The guests also select their top exhibitions and works of the year, featuring artists such as Kerry James Marshall, Helen Chadwick, Coco Fusco, Jack Whitten, Henri Matisse, and Hamad Butt.
The Lee Kun-hee Collection touring exhibition, featuring over 330 masterpieces including seven National Treasures, has drawn 3.5 million visitors across South Korea and is now traveling internationally to Washington, Chicago, and London. The exhibition, organized by the National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), showcases Korean art from the Three Kingdoms period to the present, and has been widely covered by outlets like The Washington Post, CNN, and Forbes.
The Bo Bartlett Center in Columbus, Georgia, is hosting the exhibition "We Are the Drum and the Scribe: Black Art In America Collection" from January 20 to May 16. The show features over 40 works from the private collection of Najee & Seteria Dorsey and Black Art In America (BAIA), including pieces by Kerry James Marshall, Wadsworth Jarrell, David Driskell, and contemporary artists like Dr Fahamu Pecou and Alfred Conteh. A public reception is scheduled for February 19th.
The Henry Moore Institute in Leeds has opened "Beyond the Visual," the first major UK exhibition of sculpture centered on blind and partially blind artists and curators. Co-curated by Ken Wilder, Aaron McPeake, and Clare O'Dowd, the show features works by 16 international artists including Henry Moore, Barry Flanagan, Lenka Clayton, Emilie Louise Gossiaux, David Johnson, and others. The exhibition prioritizes touch, sound, and sensory engagement, with all objects available to handle, textured flooring mats, high-contrast signage, and audio descriptions. It includes new commissions such as David Johnson's "Nuggets of Embodiment" (2024-25), made of 10,000 stone-plaster Digestive biscuits with Braille text.
New York City's autumn art scene features a diverse array of exhibitions across major museums. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Man Ray: When Objects Dream" showcases 60 rayographs alongside 100 paintings and prints, exploring the artist's camera-less photography technique. The Brooklyn Museum presents "Monet and Venice," placing 19 of Monet's Venetian paintings in dialogue with works by John Singer Sargent and others, while also hosting "Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200," a retrospective on the institution's two-century history. The New York Historical Society offers "The Gay Harlem Renaissance," highlighting queer Black artists and writers of the Harlem Renaissance, and "The New York Sari," examining South Asian women's fashion influence since the Gilded Age.
The article presents a curated guide to ten essential artworks in Dresden, Germany, highlighting the city's recovery from World War II devastation to reclaim its status as a Kunststadt (city of art). It focuses on masterpieces housed in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD), including Raphael's *Sistine Madonna* (1512/13) at the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Caspar David Friedrich's *The Great Enclosure* (1832) at the Albertinum, and a tiny cherry pit with 185 carved heads from the Grünes Gewölbe. The piece traces Dresden's golden age under rulers Augustus the Strong and Frederick Augustus II, whose acquisitions built one of Europe's most celebrated art collections.
The article is a first-person reflection by Jesuit artist Nick Leeper on the 2024 Biennale d'Art Contemporain Sacré in Menton, France. Leeper describes entering the Grand Hôtel des Ambassadeurs expecting a traditional sacred art show but finding instead a mix of abstract sculptures, Venetian glassworks, and works by Man Ray, alongside more conventional religious pieces. The biennale, founded in 2019 by Liana Marabini, features 180 artists from 29 countries exploring the theme of "forgiveness," including major names like Damien Hirst, Yayoi Kusama, and Gerhard Richter, as well as artists from religious orders. Leeper recounts how visitors at the opening asked what makes such diverse works sacred.
The Portland Art Museum (PAM) is opening a new 24,000-square-foot glass structure called the Mark Rothko Pavilion on November 20, 2025. The $111 million expansion, funded almost entirely by private donations, connects the museum's two existing buildings—the original travertine building designed by Pietro Belluschi and a former Masonic temple—above ground for the first time. The pavilion is named after the artist Mark Rothko, who had his first museum exhibition at PAM in 1932 under his birth name Marcus Rothkowitz. The project was designed by Chicago firm Vinci Hamp Architects and Portland's Hennebery Eddy.
Peter Doig's exhibition 'House of Music' at Serpentine South in London centers on the relationship between visual art and sound, featuring paintings like 'Maracas' (2002-08) and 'Music of the Future' (2002-07) alongside a restored Western Electric/Bell Labs sound system from the late 1920s. The show includes a series of live Sunday events called 'Sound Service,' where Doig, Ed Ruscha, Arthur Jafa, and others play records, transforming the gallery into an immersive audio-visual experience.
This podcast episode from The Art Newspaper covers three major art stories. Ben Luke tours Kerry James Marshall's retrospective 'The Histories' at the Royal Academy of Arts in London—the largest European survey of the US artist's work—with curator Mark Godfrey, and visits a related exhibition of Marshall's graphic novel 'Rythm Mastr' at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill. The National Gallery in London announces a £400m expansion called Project Domani, the largest transformation in its 200-year history, with £375m already raised, and a shift in its collecting boundary beyond 1900. Finally, Tate Modern's centenary exhibition 'Theatre Picasso' centers on Pablo Picasso's 'The Three Dancers' (1925), discussed with co-curator Natalia Sidlina and designer Enrique Fuenteblanca.
The Portland Art Museum announced a $13.5 million gift from the late Arlene Schnitzer and the Schnitzer family, the largest individual donation in the museum's 132-year history. The endowment names the museum's director position, currently held by Brian Ferriso, as the Arlene & Harold Schnitzer Director. The Schnitzers, known as Portland's 'First Family of the Arts,' have supported the museum for nearly half a century through acquisitions, exhibitions, capital campaigns, and the creation of the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center for Northwest Art and the Schnitzer Sculpture Court. The gift is part of the museum's Connection Campaign, which will culminate in a transformed campus opening November 20.
In 1968, Vermeer's painting *Young Woman Seated at a Virginal* (1670-72) was vandalized at the National Gallery in London. An unidentified attacker used a sharp instrument, likely a razor blade, to cut around the woman's head, attempting to remove it entirely. The damage was discovered hours later by a visitor, and the painting was swiftly restored; previously unreleased photographs of the attack have now been supplied to The Art Newspaper. The vandal was never caught, and their motivation remains unknown.
Christie's will auction the collection of Danish collector Ole Faarup during its October 2025 Marquee Week, featuring around 140 lots with an overall estimate of £16–22 million. Highlights include major works by Peter Doig, Chris Ofili, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, alongside Danish and international artists. Proceeds from the sale will benefit The Ole Faarup Art Foundation, which supports emerging artists and cultural institutions.
The Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) has opened "David Hockney: Perspective Should Be Reversed," billed as the largest-ever retrospective of the British artist's prints. Featuring some 170 works across two floors, the exhibition spans six decades of Hockney's career, from early Xerox experiments to recent iPad drawings. The show is drawn from the collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer, a prominent Portland-based collector and philanthropist, and his Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation. It opened on May 31 and is organized into five thematic sections including "Portraits of Self and Others" and "Tradition and Innovation."
Time Out has published a list of the 44 best art museums in the U.S., ranking institutions like the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) at the top. The article highlights each museum's collection highlights, architectural features, and visitor tips, with prices and recommendations for immersive experiences.
The Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris has opened "David Hockney 25," a major retrospective billed as focusing on the past quarter-century of the British artist's work but actually spanning his entire career, from a 1955 portrait of his father to recent Yorkshire landscapes. The exhibition, curated by Norman Rosenthal and supported by the foundation's substantial budget, features loans from institutions worldwide and private collections, including the striking "Berlin: A Souvenir" (1962). It is the largest Hockney show ever staged, filling the Frank Gehry-designed museum with iconic swimming pool scenes, double portraits, vibrant landscapes, and densely hung salon-style galleries of family and friends.
Albright College, a liberal arts institution in Reading, Pennsylvania, is selling its entire art collection of mostly works on paper to address a $20 million budget shortfall. The online-only sale, held on July 16 at Pook & Pook auction house, includes 524 lots featuring works by artists such as Karel Appel, Romare Bearden, Jasper Johns, Jacob Lawrence, and Bridget Riley. College administrators, including vice-president James Gaddy, describe the collection as "not core to our mission" and estimate the consigned pieces are worth $200,000, while the cost of maintaining the gallery and collection exceeds $500,000 annually. The sale is part of broader cost-cutting measures that have already included laying off 53 employees and selling non-contiguous properties.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is nearing completion of its new Brutalist building designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, known as the David Geffen Galleries. Museum members will get a sneak peek at the empty interior spaces starting July 3, though the fully finished project with art installed won't open until April 2026. The poured-in-place concrete structure spans 347,500 square feet, including 110,000 square feet of exhibition space across 90 galleries, elevated 30 feet above ground on seven massive piers crossing Wilshire Boulevard. The article offers a critical preview of the building's aesthetics, noting the overwhelming monotony of concrete across floors, walls, and ceilings, while acknowledging some appealing views and powerful visual impact.
Art Basel has announced the launch of Art Basel Qatar, a new international art fair set to debut in Doha. The fair will be held under the patronage of Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, chairperson of Qatar Museums, and is expected to bring together leading galleries from around the world. The announcement marks a significant expansion of the Art Basel brand into the Middle East, following its existing fairs in Basel, Miami Beach, Hong Kong, and Paris.
The University of California, Irvine (UCI) has entered talks to take over the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA), a move announced last week. The discussions come shortly after OCMA director Heidi Zuckerman revealed she will leave when her contract expires in December. If an agreement is reached, the proposal will go to the University of California Board of Regents this autumn. The potential merger follows OCMA's reopening in a new $94 million building in 2022 and the upcoming edition of its California art biennial.
The Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery in London has reopened after a three-year refurbishment, inaugurated by King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The wing now serves as the main entrance, featuring large windows that flood the foyer with natural light, a high-tech screen showcasing masterpieces, and a rehang of the collection that groups early Renaissance and early Christian art together in rooms 51-66. Notable highlights include Sir Richard Long's 'Mud Sun', Paula Rego's 'Crivelli's Garden', a new unsigned Netherlandish altarpiece, and the temporary display of the Coronation portraits of the King and Queen until June 5th.
A new exhibition titled 'Colour Shape Pattern' has opened at the Wolsey Art Gallery in Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich, featuring modern artworks by leading international artists. The show includes prints by David Hockney and René Magritte on loan from the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, alongside highlights from Ipswich’s own collection of modern and contemporary art. Artists and sculptors represented include Bridget Riley, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Josef Albers, Sonia Delaunay, Margaret Mellis, Graham Crowley, and Dale Devereux Barker. A new bird-inspired artwork by Suffolk artist Lily Hammond was created especially for the exhibition. The show is sponsored by Kerseys Solicitors LLP and runs until 22 February 2026.
The Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) has opened a new exhibition titled "David Hockney: Perspective Should Be Reversed," featuring over 160 works by the celebrated British artist David Hockney, spanning from 1954 to 2022. The prints on display come from the collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation. The exhibit runs from May 31 through November 2, with admission free for members and children under five, and $12 for adults. GRAM curator Jennifer Wcisel discussed the exhibition in a recent interview.
CBS News Sunday Morning anchor Jane Pauley previews major museum exhibitions opening in summer 2025. The article highlights Amy Sherald's mid-career survey "American Sublime" at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, featuring her iconic portrait of Michelle Obama and exploring her signature grisaille technique and confident Black subjects. Other featured shows include "Van Gogh: The Roulin Family Portraits" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; "Monet's Floating Worlds at Giverny" at the Portland Art Museum; "KAWS: FAMILY" at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville; and "Jeffrey Gibson: the space in which to place me" at The Broad in Los Angeles.
The Cleveland Museum of Art has opened "Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow," a major exhibition of works by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. The show, which originated at the Broad Museum in Los Angeles, features vibrant paintings, sculptures, and an immersive recreation of the Yumedono (Dream Temple) from Nara, Japan, built in collaboration with designers from the TV series "Shōgun." The exhibition traces Murakami's career from early characters like Mr. DOB to large-scale works addressing grief and trauma, including the 82-foot-long painting inspired by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
A major new exhibition, “The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869–1939,” has opened at Chicago’s Wrightwood 659, featuring over 300 queer artworks from 125 artists across 40 countries. Curated by Jonathan D. Katz and Johnny Willis, the show includes early photographs of drag, a painting of a late-1700s trans pioneer, and what is believed to be the first same-sex wedding depicted in art, alongside works by iconic figures like Gertrude Stein and James Baldwin. The exhibition, eight years in the making, draws loans from institutions such as the Tate and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as private collections, and runs through July 26.
Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) will make its vast, previously inaccessible art and artifact holdings public over the coming year, including publishing an online catalogue and offering research opportunities. To mark this shift, DCT is presenting Nicolas Poussin’s *Confirmation* at Louvre Abu Dhabi—a masterpiece that had been held in Britain for 240 years and was blocked from export by the UK government in 2022 when it failed to raise £19m to match the buyer’s offer, now presumed to be DCT. The painting goes on show alongside Poussin’s *Self-portrait* from the Musée du Louvre.
The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne has announced that its Yayoi Kusama survey exhibition, titled "Yayoi Kusama," sold 570,537 tickets, making it the most-visited ticketed art exhibition in Australian history. The show, which ran from 15 December 2024 to 21 April 2025, surpassed the NGV's own record of 462,262 tickets for "Van Gogh and the Seasons" in 2017. Featuring 200 artworks spanning nearly nine decades of the artist's career, including ten infinity rooms, the exhibition was the largest the NGV has ever dedicated to a single living artist. The NGV also acquired two major works from the show: "Dancing Pumpkin" (2020) and "Narcissus Garden" (1966/2024).