There is an electrifying energy in the American art world. Major museums across the country are not just showcasing their legendary permanent collections, they are hosting temporary exhibitions that redefine art history, launch global conversations, and offer a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see masterpieces gathered from around the world.
Whether you are an ancient history buff, a devotee of the Impressionists, or a fan of cutting-edge contemporary artists, the United States is currently a cultural treasure chest. This simple, comprehensive guide highlights the must-see art exhibitions that are currently or soon to be on view. These are the shows worth planning a trip around.
The New York Powerhouses: Global Voices and Modern Giants
New York City remains the undisputed capital of the US art scene, and its major museums are hosting shows that are both historically deep and startlingly modern.
1. Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers
- Where: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
The Guggenheim Museum is a work of art in itself, and it has dedicated its iconic spiraling rotunda to a major mid-career survey of American conceptual artist Rashid Johnson. This exhibition, titled A Poem for Deep Thinkers, is a monumental presentation of nearly 90 works. Johnson’s practice is deeply concerned with themes of Black identity, history, and mysticism, often using materials like shea butter, black soap, and branded wood to create layered, expressive textures.
The centerpiece of the show is expected to be Sanguine, a site-specific installation that takes over the museum’s top ramp, featuring an embedded piano for musical performances. Viewing this work as you ascend the ramp—a meditative journey through Johnson’s powerful visual language—is an immersive experience that transforms the very architecture of the Guggenheim. This is a crucial exhibition for understanding a major voice in contemporary American art and his dialogue with Black intellectual and cultural history.
2. Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900
- Where: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), New York
While The Met is famous for its encyclopedic collection, it regularly mounts deep-dive exhibitions that illuminate specific, under-examined areas of history. Recasting the Past is one such show. It explores the enduring significance of ancient Chinese ritual bronze vessels and how they were studied, reinterpreted, and reproduced by later artists from the Song to the Qing dynasties.
This exhibition moves beyond the mere display of rare objects. It tells a story about cultural continuity—how a reverence for history drove artistic innovation across millennia. Visitors will see how collectors and scholars in imperial China viewed, copied, and even invented new forms of archaic bronzes. For anyone interested in the history of collecting, archaeology, or the profound influence of the past on the present, this scholarly yet visually rich show is a must-see. It offers a rare glimpse into the intellectual life of historical Chinese elites and their dedication to preserving their cultural heritage through art.
3. Ruth Asawa: A Retrospective
- Where: Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York
Ruth Asawa (1926–2013) has finally received the recognition she deserves as a major figure in 20th-century American sculpture. This retrospective, which is traveling to MoMA after debuting on the West Coast, is the first major national and international exhibition of her incomparable body of work. Asawa is best known for her iconic hanging, looped-wire sculptures, which blend drawing, weaving, and sculpture into ethereal, translucent forms.
The simplicity of her material—ordinary wire—contrasts beautifully with the complexity and organic fluidity of the final pieces, which play with light, shadow, and movement. The MoMA exhibition is a vital opportunity to appreciate an artist whose life and work spanned the intersection of art, craft, and civic engagement. Her work, which was deeply influenced by her time in an internment camp during World War II, speaks powerfully to themes of perseverance, beauty, and the infinite possibilities of simple forms.
The Midwestern Renaissance: Chicago and Beyond
The Midwest holds its own with exhibitions that focus on European masters and global perspectives, often providing the first US view of world-class collections.
4. Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection
- Where: The Art Institute of Chicago (AIC)
In a true cultural coup, the Art Institute of Chicago is hosting the North American debut of the Torlonia Collection, featuring 58 rarely-seen ancient Roman sculptures. The Torlonia Collection is the most extensive private collection of Roman marble sculpture in Italy, a treasure trove that has been largely inaccessible to the public for decades.
The exhibition features masterpieces of imperial and funerary sculpture, including colossal gods, goddesses, and imposing emperors. Nearly half the pieces have been newly conserved and cleaned for this tour, revealing details and artistry unseen for generations. For scholars and lovers of classical antiquity, this is a monumental event. To see this collection outside of Rome is a rare opportunity to connect directly with the power and drama of the Roman world, right in the heart of Chicago.
5. Raqib Shaw: Paradise Lost
- Where: The Art Institute of Chicago (AIC)
The AIC turns to the contemporary with a major exhibition by Raqib Shaw. Born in Calcutta and raised in Kashmir, Shaw’s highly detailed and exquisitely crafted paintings draw heavily on the lush landscapes and memories of his early life, fractured by political upheaval.
Shaw’s works are recognizable by their jewel-encrusted surfaces, created by meticulously applying enamel and metallic paints with porcupine quills, which give them a shimmering, almost celestial quality. His influences are wildly eclectic, ranging from Mughal and Persian miniatures to Renaissance altarpieces, all woven into a unique visual language that explores beauty, violence, and the loss of paradise. The scale and detail of these works demand close attention and offer a mesmerizing journey into a fantastical, yet deeply personal, world.
West Coast Wonders and Southern Spectacles
The energy on the West Coast and in the South is undeniable, hosting powerful exhibitions that challenge conventions and champion diverse voices.
6. How to Be a Guerrilla Girl
- Where: Getty Research Institute (GRI), Los Angeles
Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the Guerrilla Girls, the anonymous feminist-activist collective known as “the conscience of the art world,” this exhibition offers a fascinating look into their process. The Guerrilla Girls, who wear gorilla masks in public and use pseudonyms of deceased female artists, have been tirelessly fighting for equity for women and artists of color in museums and galleries since 1985.
Drawing heavily on the Guerrilla Girls’ extensive archive, the show will display their iconic, bold, advertising-style graphics and posters, revealing the data, protest actions, and humor that underpin their political interventions. This is not just an art show; it’s a masterclass in activism and culture jamming. Visitors will gain a behind-the-scenes look at how a small group revolutionized the conversation around representation in the art world, proving that art can be a powerful force for social change.
7. Amy Sherald: American Sublime
- Where: High Museum of Art, Atlanta (Touring Exhibition)
Amy Sherald is one of the most celebrated contemporary American portraitists, known for her striking, dignified, and beautifully composed portraits of Black Americans. Her distinctive style—rendering her subjects in grayscale against vibrant, often monochromatic backgrounds—removes the narrative of skin color, forcing the viewer to engage purely with the personhood and individuality of the sitter.
American Sublime is a mid-career retrospective, the largest exhibition of her work to date. It will feature a broad range of paintings, including many of her most iconic images, showcasing her mastery of composition and her commitment to creating a counter-narrative for Black life in America—one that is both majestic and quietly powerful. As a Georgia native, the Atlanta leg of this national tour is particularly significant, offering a homecoming for one of the South’s most important contemporary artists.
8. Diffuse Control by Beeple
- Where: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Bringing the digital age into the physical museum, LACMA presents a major installation by Beeple (Mike Winkelmann), one of the most prominent figures in the digital and NFT art space. Diffuse Control is an image-generating sculpture that invites visitors to collaborate with artificial intelligence. The work explores the rapidly evolving relationship between human creativity and AI technology.
This show is a crucial moment for museums grappling with new media. It allows visitors to experience digital art in an interactive, large-scale format, demonstrating how technology is transforming artistic practice and challenging traditional notions of authorship and ownership. It’s an exhibition that speaks directly to the future of art and the role of the museum in the 21st century.
Conclusion: The Unmissable Journey
The landscape of US art exhibitions is rich, diverse, and exceptionally high-quality. From the ancient Roman power of the Torlonia Collection in Chicago and the serene Modernism of the Ruth Asawa retrospective at MoMA, to the political edge of the Guerrilla Girls at the Getty and the contemporary majesty of Rashid Johnson at the Guggenheim, these shows offer a complete panorama of human creative endeavor.
To follow the museum circuit during this period is to undertake an intellectual and visual journey across time and culture—seeing how ancient history is rediscovered, how abstract forms can express deep emotion, and how contemporary artists are using new technologies and new narratives to shape our collective future. These institutions are hosting cultural landmarks that capture the current zeitgeist and challenge visitors to see the world, and art history itself, with fresh eyes. Whether you dedicate a weekend to a single city or plan a cross-country art pilgrimage, these must-see shows promise deep inspiration and unforgettable encounters with world-class artistry. Do not miss this remarkable moment in American art.
