We don’t know about you, but we’re craving new art and culture events after a long winter. But what are the best new exhibits and shows in the world of art museums and foundations? Here’s our edit of the must-see new art exhibits and culture events of Spring 2023, including museum shows in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, London, Paris and more.
what are the must-see new exhibits in arts and culture in Spring 2023?
Spring has sprung. And along with April showers and May flowers, we’re also welcoming a fresh new slate of museum exhibits to the top art institutions around the world. Spring has always been a potent time for the art world, and this year is no exception; we can’t wait to spend some rainy days inside our favorite museums, letting our imaginations run wild.
What are the 10 new must-see exhibits in arts and culture to visit this Spring 2023 in New York, Los Angeles, London and more?
Here are ten of the art exhibits we’re most excited for this season. Some are closing soon, some are opening soon, and all of them will make a memorable part of your spring plans. No matter where in the world you find yourself this month, there’s something magnificent for you to see.
The 10 new must-see exhibits in arts and culture to catch in Spring 2023
1. Africa Fashion
Run, don’t walk to London’s Victoria & Albert Museum to catch the final few weeks of the “Africa Fashion” exhibit. Closing on April 16th, this exhibit is a celebration of the continent’s spectacular fashion scene, with highlights from numerous countries over the last fifty years. You can expect music, textiles, and photographs – as well as designs by Thebe Magugu, Naima Bennis, Kofi Ansah, and so many others; this is a must-see for all fashion fans.
2. kLuYang Vibratory Field
Should you happen to find yourself in Basel, Switzerland anytime between now and May 21st, you must stop by Kunsthalle to experience “LuYang Vibratory Field.” In 2021, the video artist was called “one of the most innovative and imaginative artists coming out of China right now,” by the New York Times, and this is one of the largest exhibitions of her work to date. The installations transform each room of the museum into an alternate universe, asking the viewer to consider questions of life, death, and the human condition.
3. Vermeer
Though the Rijkmuseum’s “Vermeer” exhibit is “definitively sold out,” it’s still worth having on your radar. Why? Because this is the largest exhibition of the Dutch painter’s work in history, and it reunites his best-known works with ones that have never before been seen by the public. And if you missed out on tickets to see “The Girl with the Pearl Earring” in person, you can check out an online rendition of the exhibit until June 4th. The virtual walkthrough includes special narration by Stephen Fry, and is definitely worth your time.
The 10 new must-see exhibits in arts and culture to visit this Spring 2023 in New York, Los Angeles, London and more.
4. Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined
You have until June 4th to make your way to the Lower East Side of Manhattan and check out this major exhibit at the New Museum. Born in 1972 in Nairobi, Kenya, Wangechi Mutu has spent the last several decades creating an oeuvre of work that includes, paintings, collages, sculptures, videos, and hybrid forms. This exhibition will include over one hundred of her pieces, and will intertwine her recent sculptures with her years spent studying the legacy of colonialism and the African diaspora. Her work is fantastical and transportive, and this is certainly the must-see exhibit in New York this season.
5. Salvador Dalí: The Image Disappears
In the first-ever exhibit dedicated to Dalí at the Art Institute of Chicago, a collection of paintings, photographs, documents, drawings, and objects are brought together to illuminate the contradictory truths at the center of the Surrealist artist and his work. This is a chance to dig deeper into the mind of the ever-elusive Dalí. More than thirty distinct pieces are on display, until June 12th.
6. Coded: Art Enters the Computer Age, 1952-1982
At a time when many of us are thinking (and in some cases, worrying) about AI and its possible impact on the art world, LACMA features an exhibit that is all about the computer’s influence over the visual arts. Until July 2nd, visitors can begin to understand the way the advent of technology changed art between 1952 and 1982. Now that computers are such an integral part of our daily lives, it is important to step back and imagine a time when that was not the case.
7. Hokusai: Inspirations and Influence
“Making Waves Across Centuries” is the subtitle for this new exhibition at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. One of the most significant artists in history, Katsushika Hokusai lived from 1760 to 1849, and his most famous image – “Great Wave” – is still an iconic piece of artwork today. This new exhibit explores Hokusai’s legacy, looking at hundreds of his creations alongside those of his predecessors and his successors. Open now through July 16th.
8. The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century
From April 5th until July 16th, the Baltimore Museum of Art explores the global phenomenon of hip hop. Timed perfectly with the 50th anniversary of its birth, this exhibit uses ninety pieces of art and fashion to explore the past two decades of the genre, as well as its influence on the world around it. You can expect to see sculptures, installations, photographs, paintings, and so much more, all working to celebrate the relationship between hip hop and visual art.
9. Georgia O’Keeffe: To See Takes Time
Opening on April 9th at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, an exhibition of work by Georgia O’Keeffe. Though O’Keeffe was best known for her flower paintings, she also produced work in a variety of other mediums, and until August 12th, viewers can see these correlating pieces in conversation with one another. One of the gifts of this exhibit will be the opportunity to see the same subject depicted by O’Keeffe numerous times – and to see the ways it changes and does not change from canvas to canvas.
10. Basquiat x Warhol: Painting Four Hands
Hosted by Paris’s Louis Vuitton Foundation as a follow-up to their 2018 exhibit “Jean-Michel Basquiat,” this must-see new art exhibit continues the exploration of the icon’s work – and this time, focuses on his relationship with artist Andy Warhol. The two legends created more than a hundred fifty pieces together, and this is the most significant exhibit ever dedicated to their artistic partnership. In addition to their collaborative pieces, the exhibit will include solo works by both artists, as well as pieces by their fellow contemporaries – with the goal of helping the viewer to better understand both artists and the times they lived in.
must-see new culture events and art exhibits in Spring 2023
That’s our edit of the must-see new art exhibits and culture events of Spring 2023, including museum shows in New York, LA, Chicago, London, Paris and more. Ready for an art immersion this spring?
