One of Austin's premiere arts institutions, the Blanton Museum of Art, has laid out its next year of exhibitions for Austinites to preview. Five exhibitions will open in 2026, and three will close.
The works on display range from "modern masters" to futuristic contemporary art. Topics include modern and contemporary styles, data-based art, public assistance for artists, and more.
Opening in 2026:
- Contemporary Project 16: Tammy Nguyen — The sixteenth edition of the Blanton Museum’s Contemporary Project, running from January 17 to September 6, features multidisciplinary artist Tammy Nguyen. Works include paintings, prints, and even a handmade book, all exploring "the intersections between geopolitics, ecology, and history" with an eye toward "the moral gray areas that permeate global history." Some items from the museum will be pulled into this exhibit to be recontextualized.
- American Modernism from the Charles Butt Collection: From Edward Hopper to Alma Thomas — This exhibition is the first dedicated to the collection of Charles Butt Collection (yes, the one of H-E-B fame). Visible from March 8 to August 2, the collection features works in paint and on paper by iconic artists including Edward Hopper, Ellsworth Kelly, Jacob Lawrence, Joan Mitchell, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Alma Thomas — from the late 19th century through the 1970s.
- Run the Code: Data-Driven Art Decoded by Thoma Foundation X Blanton Museum of Art — This tech-based exhibition uses algorithms and generative AI models to interpret data as "sensory works of art" from March 8 to August 2. Adding to the nuance of AI art conversations by devising their own interactive systems and custom software, artists include Refik Anadol, Daniel Canogar, Jenny Holzer, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, teamLab, Siebren Versteeg, Leo Villareal, and Marina Zurkow, and more.
- Art in Every Corner: The Works Progress Administration (1935–1943) — This exhibition from May 2 to September 27 gathers works from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), created in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to employ Americans during the Great Depression. Artists under WPA employment favored prints, and federally funded workshops advanced the medium in a 1930s boom.
- Haas Brothers: Uncanny Valley — Twin brothers Nikolai and Simon Haas, who were born in Austin, have made a career out of surreal and colorful sculptures inspired by nature and living things. The collection has local touches, since the brothers were inspired by their childhood here. The exhibition runs from September 26 to January 17.
The three exhibitions closing next year include the current Contemporary Project featuring Betsabeé Romero, who turned the gallery into a "21st-century Mesoamerican ritual ball court" (closing January 4); a collection of 150 years of Spanish art until the Baroque, including El Greco, Diego Velázquez, and (February 1); and a contemporary Latin American print exhibition (April 19).
The Blanton Museum is located at 200 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Admission is $15 with discounts for seniors, students, and more.
