Designboom's May 2026 Global Exhibition Radar Highlights Major Shows from New York to Venice
Designboom's exhibition radar for May 2026 showcases significant events across the globe. Notable highlights include Iris van Herpen's North American debut at the Brooklyn Museum from May 16 to December 6, NIGO's inaugural retrospective outside Japan at the Design Museum in London running from May 1 to October 4, and a flatware exhibition at the Denver Art Museum from April 17 to May 17. The New York Botanical Garden's Flower Power, which delves into floral symbolism, will be on view from May 23 to October 18. Additionally, Gagosian will inaugurate its Madison Avenue location featuring Marcel Duchamp readymades from April 25 to June 27, while Perrotin will showcase Nick Doyle's AI installation from April 24 to May 30. Cecilia Vicuña's first solo exhibition in Italy will take place at Castello di Rivoli from April 29 to September 20. MoMA PS1 will celebrate its 50th anniversary with Greater New York 2026 from April 16 to August 19. Other exhibitions include Leandro Erlich in Venice, Ron Mueck in Tokyo, and Marina Abramović in Venice.
Key facts
- Iris van Herpen's 'Sculpting the Senses' opens at Brooklyn Museum May 16, 2026, featuring over 140 couture works.
- NIGO's first museum retrospective outside Japan, 'From Japan with Love,' at Design Museum London from May 1 to Oct 4, 2026.
- Denver Art Museum's 'Knife Fork Spoon' surveys 150 flatware sets from 1900 to 2026, including 3D-printed pieces.
- Gagosian inaugurates 980 Madison Avenue with Marcel Duchamp readymades, coinciding with MoMA retrospective.
- Nick Doyle's 'Collective Hallucinations' at Perrotin includes AI oracle 'Ava' interacting with visitors.
- Cecilia Vicuña's first Italian museum solo show at Castello di Rivoli features a quipu installation addressing glacier loss.
- Marina Abramović's 'Transforming Energy' at Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia is the institution's first large-scale show for a living woman artist.
- Fondazione Prada's 'Helter Skelter' is the first dialogue between Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince.
Entities
Artists
- Iris van Herpen
- NIGO
- Marcel Duchamp
- Nick Doyle
- Cecilia Vicuña
- Leandro Erlich
- Nicola Turner
- Ron Mueck
- Sophie Calle
- Marina Abramović
- Arthur Jafa
- Richard Prince
- Zaha Hadid
- Katharina Grosse
- John Giorno
- Andy Warhol
- Shigeo Fukuda
- Reba Maybury
- Jasmine Gregory
- Sven Gex
- Hamishi Farah
- SoiL Thornton
- Zhana Ivanova
- Amanda van Hesteren
- Ulay
- Titian
- Carlo Scarpa
- Frank Gehry
- Hans Ulrich Obrist
- Gautier Deblonde
- Philip Beesley
- David Uzochukwu
- Arturo Schwarz
- Dung Ngo
- Shai Baitel
- Marcello Dantas
Institutions
- Brooklyn Museum
- Design Museum London
- Denver Art Museum
- New York Botanical Garden
- Gagosian
- Perrotin
- Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea
- MoMA PS1
- Negozio Olivetti
- Galleria Continua
- FAI – Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano
- Yorkshire Sculpture Park
- Annely Juda Fine Art
- Mori Art Museum
- Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain
- Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
- Stedelijk Museum
- Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia
- Fondazione Prada
- LUMA Arles
- White Cube
- M+
- Giorno Poetry Systems Archive
- Museum of Modern Art
- 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art Kanazawa
- National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul
- Zaha Hadid Foundation
- designboom
Locations
- New York
- USA
- London
- UK
- Colorado
- Tokyo
- Japan
- Turin
- Italy
- Venice
- West Bretton
- Wakefield
- Humlebæk
- Denmark
- Amsterdam
- The Netherlands
- Arles
- France
- Hong Kong
- Paris
- Seoul
- Korea
- Rivoli
- Torino