A Very 2026 Art Reading List
Also, the Smithsonian complies with Trump, the Asian Art Museum's baby rave, and an interview El Salvador's Venice Biennale artist.
Do you have a go-to shade of lipstick? Do you wear it at all? Why, or why not?
Inquiring minds — specifically, art critic Eileen G'Sell — want to know. Her forthcoming study on the way we use this millennia-old makeup product today is just one of the books related to art and visual culture we're excited to read this year. Ann Patchett's Whistler, coming this summer, begins with a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, while a new atlas of embroidery reflects the enduring power of an art form that is often dismissed or relegated to the sidelines of history. For my part, I can't wait to see what treasures are in store in a book about the new Frida Kahlo museum in Mexico City (apparently, postcards and a collection of dolls are among them). What are you reading in 2026?
—Lakshmi Rivera Amin, associate editor
15 Art Books We're Excited to Read in 2026
It's already shaping up to be a fantastic year in art books — a category we define expansively and creatively. Editor-in-Chief Hakim Bishara anticipates the Venice Biennale catalog, edited by critic Siddhartha Mitter, and how it might reflect the curatorial vision of the late Koyo Kouoh. Senior Editor Valentina Di Liscia has a book about Mexican state theft and cultural repatriation on her list, while Reviews Editor Natalie Haddad looks toward Sara Ahmed's next publication and Associate Editor Lisa Yin Zhang keeps an eye out for a new volume of conversations between Black curators, edited by Kellie Jones and Tumelo Mosaka. Place your pre-orders and library holds now, folks!
Kathy Butterly: High Vibration at James Cohan’s 48 Walker Street Gallery
For nearly four decades, Kathy Butterly has created ceramic sculptures with a powerful individuality that showcase her technical virtuosity and bold artistic vision, using clay and glaze to paint in three dimensions. Despite their intentionally small scale, her forms are dense with complexity, wit, and precision, each work constituting its own rich, immersive world.
News
- Fascism is here: The Smithsonian Institution has handed over information about its wall texts, curation, and exhibition schedule to the White House. (So much for Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch's tepid promises to protect the institution's autonomy back in September.)
- El Salvador is making its debut at the Venice Biennale this year, with J. Oscar Molina at the helm. The artist, himself a migrant, will present sculptures from his ongoing series Children of the World that grapple with displacement.
Community
Art Movements: Pineapples, Coconuts, and More Art Awards
Organizations including Creative Capital and United States Artists awarded millions of dollars to artists this week. Plus: a baby rave and more industry news this week.
Required Reading
The Schomburg Qur’an, Auudi Dorsey’s paintings of Black community at the beach, an unsolved Pollock theft, remembering Claudette Colvin, dollhouse furniture, and more must-reads from around the internet.
A View From the Easel
In this week's edition of artists sharing the spaces where they work, Washington Heights-based Argentinian artist Natacha Voliakovsky uses her body as a canvas for protest, while Brooklyn-based Traci Johnson transforms her studio into a cocoon of faux fur and yarn.
New York City Ballet Art Series Presents Thibaut Grevet
The French director and photographer’s work will be on view at three special performances in January and February.
Member Comment
"Punk Toad" on Ken Weine's "In 2026, Democracy Needs Museums":
In Memoriam
Remembering Beatriz González, Arnulf Rainer, and Franco Vaccari
This week, we honor a painter of Colombian national memory, a founder of Art Informel, and an Italian conceptual photographer. | Lisa Yin Zhang
From the Archive
Koyo Kouoh’s Final Lesson on Pan-African Solidarity
After the curator’s death in May, an artists’ gathering in Nairobi proved that transnational solidarity today must be built on a commitment to an interdependent future. | Rashida Bumbray
