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Spanning old masters to contemporary icons, contemporary greats alongside a renowned Latin American film-maker, art museums and institutions across the United States have some dazzling shows on the horizon for 2026.

Roy Lichtenstein

Announced all the way back during 2023, and currently merely a mostly empty page on a major museum's online schedule, this expansive survey of a pioneering figures of the Pop Art era comes with significant anticipation. The museum plans to utilize its decades-old holdings of nearly 500 works from Lichtenstein, in addition to, one would imagine, dozens loans from collections around the world. TBD 2026.

Drawn to Venice and Monet and Venice

San Francisco sister institutions, the Legion of Honor and deYoung, will be centering Venice through two linked exhibitions: the former museum presents a celebration of the city as an engine of high art throughout the centuries, while the other zooms in on what impressionist Claude Monet thought of the enchanting city of canals. Monet himself was daunted by the prospect of painting Venice – a subject that had captivated the world’s most esteemed artists for hundreds of years – but he eventually rose to the task, creating some 37 canvases, including the masterpiece *The Grand Canal*. Winter through Summer and Spring into Summer.

Alejandro G Iñárritu's *Sueño Perro*: A Cinematic Resurrection

Marking the 25th anniversary of his groundbreaking debut film, *Amores Perros*, filmmaker Alejandro G Iñárritu revisits more than 1m ft of film that never made it of the released movie, creating an art installation that doubles as a homage to celluloid. Reportedly the director dug deep into the vaults to create what he described as “a rebirth, not merely a tribute” of one of his most beloved films. It's possible the installation will instil some of the hope that runs through Iñárritu’s film despite the pain he also chronicles. Late Winter through Summer.

Carol Bove

The Guggenheim will give the mixed media sculptor artist a comprehensive retrospective, starting with her early works and moving through to a fresh collection of works made from scrap metal and steel tubing. Inspired by “the 1960s” and minimalism, Bove often takes her components directly from the urban landscape, creating intriguing and unusual constructions that have been displayed in prestigious venues. With major shows in Museum of Modern Art and the Palais de Tokyo, her thirty years of work are ripe for a thorough survey. Early Spring to Summer.

Matisse’s Jazz: Rhythms in Color

Anyone familiar with a certain publication *The Body Keeps the Score* will be familiar with French master Henri Matisse’s cut-out *Icarus* – this is in fact one of 20 paper compositions that he paired with text and bound into a book titled *Jazz* in 1947. This spring, a Midwestern museum will display all 20 of Matisse’s cut-paper maquettes – the first such showing since the museum obtained the works in 1948 – as well as some 50 of Matisse’s other works. These creations represented a prolific final chapter for Matisse. 7 March-1 June.

Raphael: Master of the Renaissance

Italian master painter and architect Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino is ranked with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo as the renowned masters of Renaissance Italy – but he has rarely been honored with a large-scale exhibition on US soil. A premier East Coast institution seeks to change that with this landmark show. Raphael is well-known for iconic works like his *Sistine Madonna* and *The School of Athens*. Featuring works from all across Europe and more than 200 works in all, this is poised as a blockbuster show. 29 March–28 June.

Shu Lea Cheang's *Lover Love*: An Interactive Vision

NYC’s queer art museum presents a significant and immersive video installation by transmedia artist and film-maker Shu Lea Cheang, a prominent voice in new media art. As with most of her work, Cheang in this piece explores the daily struggles of transgender existence. The installation promises to be a very engaging piece, with audience members invited to interact with the four moveable screens that display the central film. Spring 2026 through early 2027.

Leilah Babirye

The Institute of Contemporary Art Boston will feature new work from this artist, who was compelled to leave her home country of Uganda after being outed as a lesbian in 2015. Babirye is known for deconstructing unconventional materials to make intricate, queer-themed assemblages. The show highlights recent pieces based on the concept of same-sex marriage. This continues her longstanding practice of employing found items as a symbolic act of resistance. 27 August–18 January 2027.

Taking Back Our Space

Building on the pioneering work of German feminist photographer Marianne Wex, who analyzed how genders are socialized to inhabit space differently, this show investigates how body language shapes unconscious interaction. Wex’s research spanned art as old as ancient sculptures. In this presentation, Wex’s findings are displayed and put into conversation with the work of modern Black, queer, and feminist artists. 20 September–Spring 2027.

And more …

In February, the Seattle Art Museum celebrates the evocative shadow-based work of an emerging artist. Starting 5 March, an art gallery is featuring the work of rising artist an innovative creator. In the summer months, an Arkansas museum revisits iconic pop artist Keith Haring through a show of his sculptural works. Come fall, a Michigan museum presents a collection of Georgia O’Keefe’s architectural studies. Simultaneously, the Phoenix Art Museum exhibits the colorful work of South Korean painter Kim Chong Hak.