Museum & Exhibition Guide — March 27, 2026

Now Open: Must-See Exhibitions

Raphael and the Renaissance of Divine Beauty — The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

• Dates: Currently on view (opened recently)
• What to Expect: This long-awaited blockbuster presents Raphael's paintings in a broader "social and historical context," moving beyond the artist's idealized Madonnas to examine motherhood, childhood mortality, and the religious and cultural forces that shaped his work. Critics are calling it a humanizing portrait of "a lapsed god of painting." The show places Raphael's celebrated Madonnas alongside less-familiar works that reveal the full complexity of his vision.
• Artist(s): Raphael

New Humans: Memories of the Future — The New Museum, New York

• Dates: Currently on view (reopened March 2026)
• What to Expect: The New Museum has reopened in a dramatically expanded OMA-designed building — now with twice its previous square footage — and the inaugural exhibition is every bit as ambitious as the architecture. Curated by Massimiliano Gioni, New Humans: Memories of the Future draws a symmetry between the present moment and the 1920s, suggesting that looking to the past can reassure us about navigating today's uncertainties. Cultured Magazine calls it "even better" than the building, worth every minute of the two-year wait.
• Artist(s): Various artists, curated by Massimiliano Gioni

London Art Exhibitions — Various Venues, London

• Dates: April 2026 season now opening
• What to Expect: London's galleries are ushering in a strong April season. Artlyst's comprehensive guide highlights new openings and must-see shows across the city, with exhibitions spanning multiple venues including major institutions. The guide emphasizes both newly opening shows and last-chance opportunities before certain exhibitions close.
• Artist(s): Various

1 sources

artlyst.com

artlyst.com

Spring 2026 NYC Art Exhibitions — Multiple Venues, New York

• Dates: Spring 2026 (ongoing)
• What to Expect: Timeout New York highlights 10 exhibitions generating the most excitement this spring, including the Raphael show at the Met, Marcel Duchamp at MoMA, and an unexpected crowd-pleaser — the Lombardi Trophy at the Museum of Natural History. The list reflects a season that ranges from canonical art history to pop culture spectacle, giving New York audiences an unusually diverse set of options.
• Artist(s): Various, including Marcel Duchamp

2 sources

timeout.com

timeout.com

timeout.com

timeout.com

Opening Soon

New Museum Expansion — Permanent | New York

The newly reopened New Museum building — designed by OMA (Rem Koolhaas's firm) — represents one of the most significant institutional expansions in recent New York cultural history. The building now features twice the exhibition space of the previous structure. While the inaugural show New Humans is already open (see above), the museum's expanded footprint is expected to enable a robust programming slate throughout 2026 that would have been impossible in the previous facility. Watch for upcoming exhibitions announced in the coming weeks.

Marcel Duchamp Exhibition — MoMA, New York

Details are still emerging, but Timeout New York's spring preview lists a Duchamp show at the Museum of Modern Art among the most anticipated openings of the season. Duchamp's influence on conceptual art and the entire trajectory of 20th-century art-making makes any substantial MoMA presentation a major event. Stay tuned for opening dates and further details.

Global Spotlight

The New Museum's Comeback: Architecture, Ambition, and New Humans

The reopening of the New Museum in New York this month is the institutional story of the season. After a two-year closure for construction, the downtown Manhattan institution has unveiled an OMA-designed expansion that doubles its footprint — a transformation that places it firmly among the most significant contemporary art museums in the world. But the building, impressive as it is, may be overshadowed by its inaugural exhibition.

New Humans: Memories of the Future, curated by the New Museum's artistic director Massimiliano Gioni, is a sprawling, intellectually adventurous show that draws a historical parallel between the present moment — with all its technological disruption and social anxiety — and the 1920s, a decade similarly defined by upheaval and radical reimagining of what it meant to be human. Gioni has said the exhibition aims to establish that "looking to the past can also reassure us" when facing an uncertain future. The result, according to Cultured Magazine, is "an epic exhibition" that justifies the long wait. The Art Newspaper noted the expansion's significance even before the opening, calling it a landmark moment for the New York art world. The combination of a world-class new building and a curatorially bold inaugural exhibition makes this one of the most complete institutional statements in recent memory.

Art World News

Met's Raphael Show Draws Critical Praise | The Metropolitan Museum of Art's major Raphael retrospective has received glowing notices since opening, with The New York Times praising it for "humanizing a lapsed god of painting" and The Art Newspaper highlighting its ambition to move beyond the familiar idealized images to something more contextually rich. The show's willingness to frame Raphael's Madonnas within the social realities of Renaissance motherhood and childhood mortality has struck critics as genuinely revelatory — not just a celebration of beauty, but a serious historical inquiry.

New Museum Reopens with Doubled Space After Two-Year Closure | The New Museum's OMA-designed expansion is now open to the public, marking the end of a two-year construction period that has fundamentally transformed the institution. The expanded building gives the museum the capacity to mount far larger and more complex exhibitions than previously possible, and positions it as a major player in the global contemporary art landscape. The Art Newspaper called it "the new New Museum" and noted that the cavernous former galleries have been "stripped back and ready to host monumental projects."

London Prepares for a Strong April Exhibition Season | Artlyst's comprehensive April 2026 guide for London — published this week — signals a robust season ahead for the British capital's galleries and museums. The guide covers new openings as well as last-chance shows, reflecting continued institutional vitality across the city's major venues. London remains one of the world's most active exhibition markets, and the spring season is traditionally among its strongest.

Reader Action Items

• Book now for Raphael at the Met (New York): This is shaping up to be the blockbuster of the spring season in New York — secure timed entry tickets soon before crowds build further. [Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC]

• Visit the New Museum's expanded space (New York): The newly reopened building with its OMA-designed interior is itself worth seeing, and New Humans: Memories of the Future is receiving exceptional reviews as a curatorial achievement. [New Museum, Lower East Side, NYC]

• Plan your April London itinerary now: Artlyst's new April guide highlights multiple upcoming openings across London venues — use it to prioritize before the month's schedule fills up. [Various venues, London]

• Watch for Marcel Duchamp at MoMA (New York): This anticipated spring opening at the Museum of Modern Art is listed among the season's most exciting prospects — check MoMA's website for confirmed opening dates and advance ticket availability. [MoMA, Midtown Manhattan, NYC]