18 Must-See Exhibitions for a European Art Road Trip This Summer

A comprehensive guide lists 18 major exhibitions across Europe for summer 2026, featuring artists such as Cecilia Vicuña, Danh Vo, Yayoi Kusama, Mark Rothko, Ruth Asawa, Simon Fujiwara, Niki Kanagini, Alexander Calder, Helen Frankenthaler, Marina Abramović, Mrinalini Mukherjee, Pierre Huyghe, Ewa Juszkiewicz, Nari Ward, Lucian Freud, Beatriz González, and Ana Mendieta. Venues include the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Museum Ludwig Cologne, Palazzo Strozzi Florence, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Mudam Luxembourg, EMΣΤ Athens, Fondation Louis Vuitton Paris, Kunstmuseum Basel, LUMA Arles, Gallerie dell'Accademia Venice, Hepworth Wakefield, Fondation Beyeler Basel, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza Madrid, DESTE Foundation Project Space Slaughterhouse Hydra, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Astrup Fearnley Museet Oslo, and Tate Modern London. The exhibitions span from February 2026 to January 2027, with many coinciding with Art Basel and the Venice Biennale. Highlights include Vicuña's first Irish solo show, Kusama's 50th-anniversary survey at Museum Ludwig, Rothko's Florence-focused exhibition curated by his son, Asawa's posthumous retrospective, Fujiwara's largest show to date, Calder's centenary celebration, Frankenthaler's first Swiss solo show, Abramović's 80th-birthday exhibition at the Accademia, and Mendieta's first UK survey in over a decade.