Autumn in art: exhibitions to see

As autumn gets under way, museums, foundations and cultural institutions turn to a packed programme of exhibitions, festivals and projects that look beyond the boundaries of individual disciplines. Art and design intersect with fashion, architecture, technology and material culture, while cities once again become places for exchange and experimentation. From Venice to New York, seven cities offer a glimpse of a season in which art and design take centre stage.  

Venice — Ca’ Pesaro Jenny Saville a Ca’ Pesaro Until 22 November 2026 During the Biennale Arte, Venice offers an opportunity to bring the contemporary scene into dialogue with its extraordinary painting tradition. At Ca’ Pesaro, Jenny Saville brings together more than 30 paintings and works on paper, spanning her career from the early 1990s to the present day. The British artist’s monumental canvases engage with the great masters of the past and the Venetian School, while a previously unseen cycle created especially for the exhibition brings her relationship with the city into sharper focus. The exhibition coincides with the 61st International Art Exhibition, which runs until 22 November, making Ca’ Pesaro one of the places where contemporary art and Venice’s artistic heritage meet.  

Como — Lake Como Design Festival Confine 12–20 September 2026 From 12 to 20 September, Lake Como Design Festival returns for its eighth edition, exploring the theme of Confine – boundary. The festival brings together exhibitions, installations and talks that question traditional definitions of design and explore its points of contact with art, architecture and contemporary culture. This year, the programme extends beyond Como to Lecco for the first time, broadening the festival’s dialogue with the cultural landscape of the area.  

Milan — Palazzo Reale Dalí and Fashion 24 September 2026 – 31 January 2027 At Palazzo Reale, Salvador Dalí takes centre stage in an exhibition exploring the relationship between art and fashion. More than 200 works and archival materials – including paintings, drawings, photographs, garments, jewellery, films and objects – reveal the influence of the Catalan artist’s Surrealist imagination on fashion and visual culture. From his collaborations with Elsa Schiaparelli to his work for magazines and his exploration of the body and clothing, the exhibition highlights a less familiar side of Dalí’s practice, where art, fashion, photography and design converge.  

Rome — Palazzo Bonaparte Kandinsky 15 September 2026 – 14 February 2027 At Palazzo Bonaparte, a major exhibition devoted to Wassily Kandinsky traces the career of one of the leading figures in 20th-century abstract art. More than 70 works chart his journey from his early figurative paintings to the gradual dissolution of form through colour, geometry and movement. Paintings, photographs, documents and personal objects add a broader dimension to Kandinsky’s artistic research, exploring the connections between art, music and perception.  

London — Tate Modern Frida: The Making of an Icon Until 3 January 2027 At Tate Modern, a major exhibition devoted to Frida Kahlo examines the construction of the Mexican artist’s public image through photographs, self-portraits, documents and personal objects. Alongside the Kahlo exhibition, Tate also presents Julio Le Parc: Light. Colour. Action.

London — Tate Modern Julio Le Parc: Light. Colour. Action Until 3 May 2027 Seven decades of work come together in an immersive environment where light, colour, movement and reflective surfaces transform the gallery space and draw the viewer into the experience. The two artists take very different approaches, yet both challenge the way we experience an artwork: through the body and identity in Kahlo’s case, and through light and movement in Le Parc’s.

Weil am Rhein — Vitra Schaudepot, Vitra Design Museum Verner Panton: Form, Colour, Space Until 9 May 2027 At the Vitra Schaudepot, the centenary of Verner Panton’s birth provides an opportunity to revisit the work of one of the most visionary designers of the post-war period. The exhibition spans the full breadth of the Danish designer’s practice, from the iconic Panton Chair, Cone Chair and Flowerpot lamp to textiles and lesser-known furniture and architectural projects. At the heart of the exhibition is a walk-in reconstruction of the celebrated Fantasy Landscape from 1970, bringing the immersive quality of Panton’s work to life through organic forms, saturated colour and environments conceived as total experiences. It is a reminder of how design can move beyond the object to become space, atmosphere and landscape.  

New York — Museum of Arts and Design Nike: Form Follows Motion 12 September 2026 – 7 March 2027 At the Museum of Arts and Design, Nike: Form Follows Motion explores the history of Nike’s design and its ability to turn sport into a testing ground for innovation. Prototypes, design studies, models and iconic products trace five decades of research, from early experiments in footwear to more recent technologies. The exhibition examines the relationship between the body, performance, materials and design, showing how an object created for sport can become part of contemporary visual culture.