the exhibitions highlighting the 2026 cultural calendar

Following a series of major institutional shows, Wolfgang Tillmans will return to LA’s Regen Projects for his 9th solo exhibition since 1955. With a well-oiled roster of contemporary artists on show, Tillmans’s feature will be as aesthetic as it is thought-provoking, featuring photographs taken at a metalworking factory in Remscheid, fresh video projections, to the centre-stage industrial rope installation.  

15 January to 1 March

Within the Tate’s coveted 2026 lineup – spanning the phenomenon of Frida Khalo, the portraiture of James McNeill Whistler, and the star-studded, Edward Enninful-curated exhibition, The 90s – is the Tracey Emin show. She turns to the English capital with a retrospective tracing back the 40 years of her experimental, raw, and unapologetically passionate practice. Expect mixed media paintings, textiles, sculpture, and installations.   

27 February to 31 August  

New York’s art season kicks off with a portraiture-only showcase of English artist Thomas Gainsborough. The focus is sharpened on the textiles, the glamour, and the clothing, as The Frick unveils a series of Gainsborough’s most fashionable eighteenth-century oils. Time your visit with MoMA’s major Ruth Asawa retrospective, spotlighting the sculptor’s iconic abstract wire forms.  

12 February to 11 May  

The Renaissance backdrop of the Palazzo Strozzi becomes a contrast to the mashup of Mark Rothko's colour-block canvases. Satellite shows will take place at the neighbouring Museo di San Marco and in the Michelangelo-designed Biblioteca MediceaLaurenziana, where his abstract works present a cool counter to the spiritual frescoes.  

14 March to 23 August  

Working in sculpture, painting, and printmaking, Kim Yun Shin’s work spans a seven-decade career, with a stint at the 2024 Venice Biennale. The retrospective at the Hoam Museum of Art in Yongin City, just 40 kilometres from Seoul, is the first of its kind to trace her history from North to South Korea, Paris to Argentina. The exhibition precedes a wave of exciting, local happenings; there’s a satellite opening of the Parisian gallery, Centre Pompidou Hanwha Seoul, and in September, The Gwangju Biennale and Frieze Seoul will take to the stage. 

17 March to 28 June 

With the Centre Pompidou closed for renovations for the foreseeable future, its Brancusi blockbuster packs up for Berlin. The Neue Nationalgalerie, a glassbox-designed gallery dedicated to twentieth-century works, will transform into a beacon of bronzed sculptures. It becomes the first museum space in Germany to host an exhibition dedicated to Constantin Brancusi, complete with sculptures, photographs, drawings, and the rare partial reconstruction of the artist’s Paris studio.  

20 March to 9 August 

The Louis Vuitton Foundation will play tribute to American sculptor, Alexander Calder, come April. Covering the vast, 3000m2 exhibition space within the Frank Gehry-designed building, expect works by his closest friends (Henri Cartier-Bresson and Agnès Varda, to name but a few) to be scattered throughout Calder’s impressive metal-sheet sculptures. All to be revisited through the angle of “rêver” or “to dream”.  

15 April to 16 August  

The 61st edition of La Biennale di Venezia swoops over the city with a dizzying number of pavilions, installations, and street-side pop-ups. The art world descends as the exhibition agenda mounts. This year’s In Minor Keys will be no exception. The extensive lineup is yet to be revealed, although Marina Abromović’s exhibition, Transforming Energy, sets the bar high. As the first living female artist to host a solo exhibition at the Galleria dell’ Academia, Abromović’s performance masterpieces will be presented against a collection of Renaissance works that have arced Venetian history. Following a series of solo exhibitions across the globe, it’s certain to be an Abromović spectacular.  

6 May to 19 October  

Of all the places to wrap up a day in Amsterdam, Het Stedelijk nabs the golden ticket. With the loveliest museum shop and one of the best museum cafés in the city. Helmed by the team of the canteen and food design studio, Oficina. FONDA is their more relaxed counterpart. There’s sweet treats, Korean-style egg omelettes spiced up with chilli oil, and hearty grilled cheese. Time your visit with the last leg of Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition that has hopped from the Museum Ludwig in Cologne to the Fondation Beyler in Switzerland, before ending up in the Dutch capital.  

12 September to 17 January 2027