🔗 Share this article Unmissable American Gallery Shows Coming in 2026 From Renaissance masters and pop artists, contemporary greats alongside a major Mexican film-maker, art museums and institutions across the US are preparing some dazzling exhibitions coming up in 2026. The Pop Art of Roy Lichtenstein Announced several years ago during 2023, now merely a placeholder listing at a major museum's online schedule, this expansive survey of a central creators of the Pop Art era carries some pretty heavy expectations. The museum will be drawing on its long-held holdings of close to 500 pieces from Lichtenstein, in addition to, one would imagine, dozens loans from institutions globally. TBD 2026. Venetian Visions: From Old Masters to Monet Bay Area sister institutions, one prestigious venue and another, will be centering the Floating City through two interconnected exhibitions: one location presents a celebration of the city as an engine of artistic inspiration for hundreds of years, while the other will focus on what the Impressionist Claude Monet thought of the enchanting city of canals. The artist was daunted by the prospect of depicting Venice – a subject that had inspired the most revered artists for centuries – yet he ultimately met the challenge, producing some 37 paintings, among them the renowned work *The Grand Canal*. Winter through Summer and Spring into Summer. Alejandro G Iñárritu's *Sueño Perro*: A Cinematic Resurrection An image from this film installation. Credit: Artist's Archive Marking the 25th anniversary of his groundbreaking debut film, *Amores Perros*, filmmaker Alejandro G Iñárritu revisits more than a million feet of footage that never made it of the released movie, crafting an art installation that doubles as a love letter to celluloid. Reportedly Iñárritu dug deep into the vaults to create what he called “not a tribute, but a resurrection” 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 simultaneously documents. 22 February-26 July. The Sculptural World of Carol Bove The Guggenheim is dedicating the multidisciplinary sculptor creator a comprehensive retrospective, starting with her initial pieces and progressing all the way up to a new series of works fashioned from scrap metal and industrial materials. Drawing from “the 1960s” and Minimalist art, Bove often sources her materials directly from the city environment, producing fascinating and strange constructions that have appeared in some of the country’s most notable venues. With major shows at Museum of Modern Art and a Parisian institution, Bove’s thirty years of creation are ripe for a in-depth survey. Early Spring to Summer. Matisse’s Jazz: Rhythms in Color The artist - *Horse, Rider, and Clown* from *Jazz*, 1947. Image Source: Museum Collection Those who know the book *The Body Keeps the Score* may recognize French master Henri Matisse’s cut-out *Icarus* – this is actually one of 20 paper compositions that he paired with text and published as a volume titled *Jazz* in 1947. This spring, a Midwestern museum will display the complete set of Matisse’s preparatory models – the first such showing since the museum obtained the works in 1948 – plus around 50 of Matisse’s other works. The cut paper works represented a late stage flowering for Matisse. 7 March-1 June. Raphael: Sublime Poetry The great painter and architect Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino is ranked with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo as the celebrated masters of the Italian Renaissance – but he has rarely received a major show on US soil. New York’s Metropolitan Museum aims to rectify that with this landmark show. Raphael is well-known for iconic works like his *Sistine Madonna* and *The School of Athens*. Featuring works from throughout Europe and more than 200 works in all, this is poised as a blockbuster show. Late March through June. Shu Lea Cheang's *Lover Love*: An Interactive Vision *SadeX tableaux* by Shu Lea Cheang. Photo: Example Photographer NYC’s Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art will host a significant and immersive film-based work by transmedia artist and director Shu Lea Cheang, a major figure in new media art. In keeping with much of her work, Cheang in this piece investigates the daily struggles of transgender existence. Lover Love promises to be a very engaging experience, with visitors encouraged to play around with the multiple movable screens that show the central film. Spring 2026 through early 2027. Leilah Babirye A Boston contemporary art center will feature new work from this artist, who was compelled to leave her native Uganda when her identity was revealed as a lesbian in 2015. Babirye is recognized for deconstructing unconventional materials to make elaborate, LGBTQ+-themed sculptures. The show showcases recent pieces based on the concept of same-sex marriage. It extends her longstanding practice of using reclaimed materials as a symbolic act of resistance. 27 August–18 January 2027. Taking Back Our Space Panel from Marianne Wex's seminal work. Courtesy: Example Museum Building on the foundational research of west German feminist photographer Marianne Wex, who analyzed how genders are socialized to inhabit space differently, this exhibition examines how non-verbal communication influences unspoken interaction. Wex’s studies spanned art dating back to 2000 BC. Here, Wex’s explorations are displayed and put into conversation with the work of contemporary Black, queer, and feminist artists. Fall 2026 into 2027. And more … Early in the year, a Pacific Northwest institution celebrates the haunting silhouette art of Samantha Yun Wall. Starting 5 March, a prominent gallery is highlighting the work of up and coming Black artist Kwamé Azure Gomez. During the summer, an Arkansas museum reexamines 80s graffiti artist Keith Haring through a show of his three-dimensional works. Come fall, a Michigan museum presents a collection of the artist's architecture paintings. And also in September, the Phoenix Art Museum displays the colorful work of South Korean painter Kim Chong Hak.