A year of unmissable exhibitions

Brasil, Brasil: The Birth of Modernism

In the first half of the 20th century, artists in Brazil forged a distinctive brand, combining their shared cultural heritage with mould-breaking ideas. Featuring many loans from private collections, Brasil, Brasil promises to be revelatory. Look out for Anita Malfatti and Tarsila do Amaral. At the Royal Academy of Arts, London Jan 28 to April 21

L’art dégénéré: le procès de l’art moderne sous le nazisme (Degenerate art: the trial of modern art under Nazism)

In Munich in 1937, the Nazis staged an exhibition condemning modern art. Van Gogh, Chagall, Picasso, Kandinsky and Klee were among the artists vilified then, and celebrated in this reminder of what damage the ignorant but powerful can inflict on creativity. At the Musée national Picasso-Paris, Paris, Feb 18 to May 15

Anselm Kiefer:
Sag mir wo die Blumen sind

The German artist’s latest site-specific installation, across two neighbouring institutions, takes its title from Pete Seeger’s protest song, Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, and references Kiefer’s admiration for Van Gogh, sunflowers being a key motif in both artists’ work. 

At the Van Gogh and Stedelijk Museums, Amsterdam, March 7 to June 9

Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur

Forty new works, including ceramics, tapestries, furniture and collage, are displayed alongside the Wallace Collection’s own artefacts, raising questions about craftsmanship, authenticity and digital technology. 

At the Wallace Collection, London, March 28 to October 26

Siena: The Rise of Painting 1300-1350

Once-in-a-lifetime show illustrating the influence on western art of Duccio, the Lorenzetti brothers and Simone Martini, who tapped into Siena’s many craft skills and broke new ground in composition. Followed from May 10 by the reopening of the Sainsbury Wing, the climax of the National Gallery’s 200th anniversary celebrations. Newly created rooms include those dedicated solely to Monet and to Titian. 

At the National Gallery, London, March 8 to June 22

Andy Goldsworthy: 50 Years

The sculptor who works with natural materials and the landscape itself is celebrated in a retrospective featuring new work and classics, among them the artist’s own silhouette in Rain Shadow and Red Tree. 

At the Royal Scottish Academy, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, July 26 to November 2

Angelico

The first exhibition in 70-plus years to examine the life, times and practices of the Dominican friar born Guido di Pietro, a founding father of the Italian Renaissance. Loans from important collections worldwide will show pieces, some reunited after centuries, by the beatified artist, alongside work by contemporaries and those he influenced, including Masaccio, Filippo Lippi, and Lorenzo Monaco. At the Palazzo Strozzi and Museo San Marco, Florence, September 26 to January 25 2026

Picasso: From the Studio

A landmark exhibition in collaboration with the Musée national Picasso-Paris considers the art of Pablo Picasso in relation to the places that he chose to live in, starting with his early years in Paris. Paintings, sculptures, ceramics, works on paper, photographs and archive film retrace his journey. At the National Gallery of Ireland, October 11 to February 22 2026

Turner and Constable

Born a year apart, the premier artists of their time came from contrasting backgrounds, and recorded landscape in contrasting ways, Turner an insatiable traveller across Europe, Constable uncomfortable far from his native East Anglia. Marking 250 years since Turner’s birth, Tate Britain brings together their work and stories. At Tate Britain, London, November 27 to April 12 2026