top artists december list

Artnet News published its quarterly list of the most exhibited living artists in U.S. museums for December 2025, compiled by tracking temporary exhibitions across hundreds of institutions. The list ranks artists based on the number and type of shows they appear in, prioritizing career retrospectives, dedicated exhibitions, and biennial appearances. Among the top artists featured are Marie Watt, whose touring print exhibition "Storywork" and numerous group show appearances earned her a high ranking, and Jeffrey Gibson, known for his installation at MASS MoCA. The article notes that Watt also won the $250,000 Heinz Award in September 2025.

museum artist ranking june 2025

Artnet News published its quarterly museum artist ranking for June 2025, analyzing temporary exhibitions at over 250 U.S. museums to identify which living artists received the most institutional attention. The list includes over 4,500 names, with Indigenous contemporary artists dominating the top ranks: Cara Romero and Sky Hopinka remain highly visible, joined by Jeffrey Gibson and Andrea Carlson. Cindy Sherman appears in at least 10 group shows nationwide, while Alex Katz continues as a rare painter favored by museums at age 97. The ranking prioritizes career retrospectives, dedicated exhibitions, and special commissions over group show appearances.

dyani white hawk gallery representation alexander gray

Dyani White Hawk, a prominent Native American artist known for her beaded abstract works, has joined Alexander Gray Associates in New York while maintaining her long-standing representation with Bockley Gallery in Minneapolis. White Hawk, who gained widespread recognition at the 2022 Whitney Biennial, creates paintings that incorporate beadwork and emphasize the contributions of Native women to abstraction. Her recent achievements include a MacArthur "genius" fellowship in 2023, a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2024, and a site-specific ceramic mosaic installation titled "Nourish" currently on view at the Whitney Museum.

Edgar Calel wins 2026 Sam Gilliam Award

Edgar Calel, a Maya Kaqchikel artist from Chi Xot, Guatemala, has been awarded the 2026 Sam Gilliam Award, as announced by the Dia Art Foundation and the Sam Gilliam Foundation. The prize includes $75,000 and a public programme at a Dia Foundation location this autumn. Calel’s multidisciplinary practice—spanning drawing, sculpture, installation, and performance—centers on ancestral knowledge, Indigenous experience, and the legacies of colonialism. He was selected by a jury of curators and foundation leaders, including Jessica Morgan, director of the Dia Art Foundation.

anonymous was a woman 2025 grant winners

Anonymous Was a Woman, a grant-making organization supporting woman-identifying artists, has announced 15 recipients of its $50,000 grants for 2025. The winners include Candida Alvarez, Park McArthur, Lola Flash, Kunié Sugiura, and Sonya Kelliher-Combs, among others. Founder Susan Unterberg, who initially remained anonymous, revealed herself in 2018 and named the organization after a Virginia Woolf quotation. The grants are primarily for artists over 40, and the organization has recently expanded to fund environmentally minded projects.

Native Arts Artists-in-Residence Gallery Talks

On August 1, 2026, the Denver Art Museum will host gallery talks featuring its 2026 Native Arts Artists-in-Residence: CooXooEii Black, Adrian Stevens, Sean Snyder, and Benjamin West. The artists will celebrate new installations in the Indigenous Arts of North America galleries, specifically reimagining the Home/Land section, which honors the Native Nations whose ancestral homelands include Denver and the surrounding Colorado region. The event coincides with the 150th anniversary of Colorado statehood and runs from 2-4 pm, with the artists present to discuss their work.

The 9 Exhibitions to See in April 2026

The global art calendar for April 2026 features a diverse array of exhibitions ranging from indigenous-led material studies in Los Angeles to a historical deep-dive in Prague. Key highlights include 'Several Eternities in a Day' at the Hammer Museum, which explores 'living materials' through Brown and Indigenous perspectives, and a major 40-year retrospective of Veronica Ryan’s tactile sculptures at London’s Whitechapel Gallery. Additionally, Prague’s National Gallery revisits the controversial 1969 São Paulo Biennial through the work of Jiří Kolář, examining the intersection of art and political censorship.

Kent Monkman: History is Painted by the Victors Member Preview

The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is hosting a member preview on April 19, 2025, for "Kent Monkman: History is Painted by the Victors," the U.S. debut exhibition of the artist. Featuring 41 monumental works, the show reimagines Western art history through an Indigenous lens, addressing colonial injustice, generational trauma, and Two-Spirit and queer visibility, with pieces from the DAM's collection and loans from other institutions.

Why this WA artist has gained so much acclaim

Joe Feddersen, a 71-year-old artist and member of the Colville Confederated Tribes, has gained widespread acclaim for his prints, paintings, weavings, glass sculptures, ceramics, photography, and digital imagery. His work draws on the Plateau pictorial style and ancient petroglyphs, blending traditional Indigenous motifs with contemporary icons like chain-link fences and high-voltage towers. A traveling retrospective, a new book titled "Earth, Water, Sky," and a 2024 Governor's Arts & Heritage Award mark a particularly busy period, culminating in the exhibition "Past/Present" at studio e gallery in Seattle. Feddersen also addresses painful history, such as the 2021 discovery of unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, through works covered with skull outlines.

What makes love political, Wynnie Mynerva?

Was macht Liebe politisch, Wynnie Mynerva?

Peruvian artist Wynnie Mynerva discusses her exhibition "Volveré y seré millones" at the Société gallery in Berlin, timed to coincide with Gallery Weekend. The artist explores Andean cosmologies, specifically the concept of 'Ayni' or collective reciprocity, as a counter-narrative to Western, capitalist structures of romantic love and individualism. Her work draws from her personal experience as a migrant in Europe and her observations of Berlin’s queer scene, questioning how care and survival function within modern political frameworks.

Of This Earth: Transforming Culture and Country Through First Nations Ceramics

The National Gallery of Australia presents 'Of This Earth: Transforming Culture and Country Through First Nations Ceramics,' an exhibition featuring over thirty works by twenty-eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, including Thancoupie, Billy Bain, Nicole Foreshew, and Janet Fieldhouse. The show highlights diverse ceramic techniques and narratives drawn from the National Collection, emphasizing cultural continuity and contemporary expression.

Celebrating Indigenous Vitality: MORE COLORS THAN THE EYE CAN SEE

The Portland Art Museum and SITE Santa Fe have launched "MORE COLORS THAN THE EYE CAN SEE," a national educational initiative based on Jeffrey Gibson’s historic solo exhibition for the U.S. Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale. Developed in collaboration with the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and a cohort of ten educators, the project introduces 14 interdisciplinary K-12 lesson plans. These resources integrate Indigenous contemporary art into subjects ranging from mathematics to social studies, utilizing Gibson’s vibrant aesthetic to explore themes of identity, representation, and creative sovereignty.

‘There’s a bead connection to every place’: Wendy Red Star on exploring the real and symbolic currency of beads

Artist Wendy Red Star has launched a site-specific solo exhibition titled 'One Blue Bead' at Sargent’s Daughters in Tribeca, exploring the historical and symbolic weight of trade beads. The exhibition transforms the gallery into a simulated trading floor featuring monumental glass beads, over 100 watercolors, and Hudson’s Bay point blankets. The project originated from the artist's residencies at the Pilchuck School of Glass and the Tacoma Museum of Glass, where she researched the global circulation of glass beads from Europe to Africa and the Americas.

Petala Ironcloud

Petala Ironcloud, a contemporary artist known for her multimedia works exploring Indigenous identity and environmental themes, has been announced as the subject of a major solo exhibition at a prominent museum. The show, scheduled to open next year, will feature a new series of sculptures and installations that draw on her Native American heritage and address issues of land rights and cultural preservation.

LATIN AMERICA IN THE SPOTLIGHT THREE EXHIBITIONS AT NOTTINGHAM CONTEMPORARY

Nottingham Contemporary has announced a major 2026 exhibition program dedicated to three influential Latin American artists: Chico da Silva, Julia Isídrez, and Francisco Tún. This ambitious schedule includes the first European institutional solo show for the late Brazilian Indigenous artist Chico da Silva, a co-production with MALBA for Paraguayan ceramicist Julia Isídrez, and a retrospective for the enigmatic Guatemalan painter Francisco Tún.

antonio pichilla quiacain elizabeth xi bauer

Artist Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín, born in 1982 and based in San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala, presents his solo exhibition “Umbilical Cord” at Elizabeth Xi Bauer gallery in London. The show, on view through August 2, 2025, features new and recent works that explore Maya visual culture, Indigenous craft traditions, and the knot as both a formal element and a metaphor for connection, life, and time. A 3:22-minute video from 2021 shows the artist in a forest with traditional weaving materials, while the exhibition also marks the gallery’s announcement of representing the artist.

Polygon Gallery exhibition features 'one of the most important artists working in Canada'

The Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver has launched "Photolithics," a major exhibition by Secwépemc and Scottish-settler artist Tania Willard. The show features a decade of Willard’s work, including monumental recreations of historical postcards on sandpaper and photographs viewed through ulexite crystals. The exhibition utilizes innovative installation techniques, such as a traditional kekuli structure, to recontextualize archival imagery and explore the intersection of geological time and Indigenous history.

May First Friday: 8 shows to see this month around Missoula

Missoula artist Julia LaTray presents a solo exhibition titled "Animal Pleasures" at Bob's Your Uncle gallery in May, featuring paintings of animals on glitchy, digitized backgrounds alongside lighting and other works. The gallery is only open to the public on dedicated nights, so the exhibition is paired with performances, comedy, and readings on May 1, 8, 15, and 29. Separately, Hanis Coos artist Sara Siestreem brings her major exhibition "Acts of Love, Refusal and Resistance" to the Missoula Art Museum, filling the museum's main galleries with large-scale mixed-media paintings and sculpture, including handmade baskets and ceramic molded versions with gilded flourishes. The museum hosts a First Friday reception on May 1 and a "Coffee and Conversation" with the artist on May 2.

Art, ancestors and the land: summer season opens at Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV) opens its summer season with three contemporary exhibitions centered on Indigenous perspectives, identity, and land. The anchor show is Meryl McMaster's "Bloodline," opening June 18, featuring large-scale photographs, sculptural elements, and immersive video that trace her mixed Plains Cree, Métis, Dutch, and British heritage through the lives of her grandmothers from the Red Pheasant Cree Nation. Alongside it, "Lekwungen: Place to Smoke Herring" by Brianna Bear and Eli Hirtle presents a film installation on Songhees Nation language and land stewardship, while "Architectures of Protection," curated by Dr. Toby Lawrence, features works by Dana Claxton, Jessica Karuhanga, Emilio Rojas, Beth Stuart, and France Trépanier exploring care and resistance.

Jeremy Frey: The Generational Impact of a New Artistic Path

Indigenous weaver Jeremy Frey, a 2025 MacArthur Fellowship recipient, will participate in an upcoming public conversation with Hyperallergic Editor-at-Large Hrag Vartanian. The discussion will explore Frey’s unique practice of Passamaquoddy basketry, which involves harvesting natural materials like black ash and sweetgrass to create intricate vessels and innovative relief prints that bridge the gap between traditional craft and contemporary sculpture.

Painted Up: This vibrant exhibition challenges colonial perceptions of Aboriginal art

Artist and cultural practitioner Dean Biŋkin Tyson presents "CREATE EXCHANGE: Painted Up," a dual-venue exhibition at Redland Art Gallery that showcases his multidisciplinary approach to Quandamooka and Gurang traditions. Moving beyond stereotypical "dot art," Tyson utilizes canvas, animal skins, and carved artifacts to translate his background as a dancer and songman into visual form. The exhibition features large-scale murals, traditional tools like boomerangs, and "shadow boxes"—a unique craft form developed in Aboriginal missions during the 1970s.

New exhibit honors groundbreaking Pueblo potter Jody Folwell

The New Mexico Museum of Art has launched "O’Powa O’Meng: The Art and Legacy of Jody Folwell," the first solo exhibition dedicated to an Indigenous woman in the institution's history. This career retrospective, organized in collaboration with the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Fralin Museum of Art, features over 30 works by the Santa Clara Pueblo potter. The display includes a newly debuted piece, "Buffalo Hunt," and highlights Folwell’s innovative use of relief techniques and narrative surfaces that address contemporary political and social issues.

Spring/summer 2026 program

The Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington has unveiled its spring/summer 2026 exhibition schedule, featuring a diverse lineup of solo and group presentations. Highlights include a major exhibition by Diné artist Eric-Paul Riege exploring Indigenous cosmology and institutional knowledge, a showcase of Helen Frankenthaler’s experimental printmaking alongside works by Analia Saban, and the annual University of Washington MFA and MDes thesis exhibition. The season also features "Day-to-Day: Rhythm, Routine, Resistance," a collection-based show examining the intersection of personal life and structural social forces.

Free art party to launch winter exhibits at Surrey Art Gallery

Surrey Art Gallery in British Columbia will host a free art party on January 17, 2026, to launch its winter exhibition season. The event features the group exhibition "remember the earth, remember the sky," inspired by a Joy Harjo poem and focused on ancestral connections through land, air, and memory, with works by early-career artists and pieces from the gallery's permanent collection by Salish artists. Also opening are solo shows by Zachery Cameron Longboy ("HOST") and Atheana Picha, along with the exhibition "What Bodies Know" reflecting on lived experiences in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. The evening includes artist talks, a piñata breaking, and hands-on artmaking workshops.

Bowen artist behind 'Above the Flood, Watching for the Light'

Bowen Island artist Corey Bulpitt presents his new series "Above the Flood, Watching for the Light" at the Hearth Gallery Community Centre, on view until July 28. The six-painting series follows his earlier "Daalkaatlii Diaries" works, which depicted the great flood of Haida territories and are now held in collections including Paris’ Musée du Quai Branly–Jacques Chirac and Gallery Jones in Vancouver. This new body of work shifts from historical catastrophe to speculative imagination, drawing on Haida cosmology while embracing invention and exploring unseen energies, microscopic spaces, and ephemeral light.

Six Nations, Six Languages of Resilience, at Ucross Art Gallery

The Ucross Art Gallery has launched "Resilience," a group exhibition showcasing the work of the 2025 Ucross Fellowship for Native American Artists recipients. Curated by Marwin Begaye, the show features a diverse array of disciplines including sculpture by Gina Herrera, literature by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, mixed-media by Wade Patton, and performance art by Sarah Ortegon HighWalking. The collection explores the intersection of cultural identity, heritage, and the enduring strength of Indigenous communities across the United States.

New Henry Art Gallery Exhibition ‘ojo|-|ólǫ́’ invites conversation about Indigenous knowledge preservation

Diné artist Eric-Paul Riege has launched his largest exhibition to date, titled “ojo|-|ólǫ́,” at the Henry Art Gallery. The show features large-scale soft sculptures, wearable art, and multimedia installations that reinterpret traditional Navajo symbols like the weaving comb and the hogan. Central to the exhibition is Riege’s rejection of traditional museum barriers; he encourages visitors to touch the tactile, plush works to honor the many hands involved in the production of his materials.

LOG: PANAMA. CULTURE AND POLITICS IN THE FRAMEWORK OF A REGIONAL MEETING DRIVEN BY CAF

BITÁCORA: PANAMÁ. CULTURA Y POLÍTICA EN EL MARCO DE UN ENCUENTRO REGIONAL IMPULSADO POR CAF

Artishock Revista covered the CAF Festival 'Voces por nuestra región: Cultura que mueve el mundo,' held in Panama in January 2026. The event, organized by CAF – Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina y el Caribe, aimed to reposition Latin American and Caribbean culture as a strategic axis for sustainable development. It featured panels, sectoral forums, and co-creation spaces designed to activate alliances and strengthen regional networks for artists and cultural projects.

Order of Canada Artist Tom Wilson Tehohàhake Joins Toronto’s Nicholas Metivier Gallery

The Nicholas Metivier Gallery in Toronto has officially announced the representation of Tom Wilson Tehohàhake, a multidisciplinary artist, musician, and Order of Canada appointee. Wilson’s latest paintings are set to make their debut with the gallery at the upcoming Dallas Art Fair in April 2026. His work is characterized by vibrant, intricate patterns that incorporate elements of Mohawk beadwork and excerpts from his own literary writings.

Museum of Art Fort Collins brings visibility to Indigenous contemporary art

The Museum of Art Fort Collins has opened “Indigenous Voices: A Contemporary Art Exhibition,” curated by artist Gregg Deal of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. The show features diverse Indigenous artists using distinct visual techniques—from acrylic painting to beadwork and animal hide—to address political, cultural, and social topics. Among the participants is Gregg Deal’s child, Sage Deal, an art history student at the University of Colorado, Denver, and Skye Little Cloud, a Pratt Institute student who founded Little Cloud Studio in 2024. The exhibition runs until January 4, 2026.