In 2026, Munich asserts itself as a major European art destination, bridging historic avant-garde movements with contemporary experimentation. Highlights include a major reappraisal of Der Blaue Reiter at the Lenbachhaus, Roni Horn’s iconic photographic series You Are the Weather at Museum Brandhorst, Cyprien Gaillard’s immersive exhibition Water Music at Haus der Kunst, and the citywide festival VARIOUS OTHERS. Together, these exhibitions present landmark artworks, socially engaged themes, and innovative exhibition formats. Here is our overview of Munich’s most important art exhibitions and artworks in 2026:

Lenbachhaus, Munich – Over and Beyond the World. Der Blaue Reiter

(from March 10, 2026, Munich)

The Lenbachhaus holds the world’s most significant collection of works by Der Blaue Reiter. This exhibition reframes the movement as an international network that understood art as a transformative social force.

More than 150 artworks by Franz Marc, Wassily Kandinsky, Gabriele Münter, Marianne von Werefkin, and their contemporaries are on view. Alongside canonical masterpieces, recent acquisitions offer fresh perspectives on one of the most influential avant-garde movements of the early 20th century.

👉 https://www.lenbachhaus.de/en/

Museum Brandhorst, Munich – Roni Horn: You Are the Weather

(November 5, 2024 – April 26, 2026, Munich)

With You Are the Weather, Museum Brandhorst presents one of Roni Horn’s (1955) most renowned artworks. The series comprises 100 photographic portraits taken in Icelandic hot springs, exploring perception, intimacy, and the power dynamics of looking.

Subtle shifts in facial expression, light, and reflection link emotional states to natural conditions, positioning the work as a key artwork in contemporary photography and conceptual art.

👉 https://www.museum-brandhorst.de/en/

Kunsthalle Munich – HAIR – POWER – DESIRE

(March 20 – October 4, 2026, Munich)

Hair is never merely decorative—it is political, cultural, and deeply personal. This exhibition traces its symbolic power across 3,000 years of art and cultural history.

Approximately 200 artworks and historical objects, ranging from antiquity to the present, reveal how hair has functioned as a marker of identity, control, rebellion, and seduction.

👉 https://www.kunsthalle-muc.de/en/

Haus der Kunst, Munich – Cyprien Gaillard: Water Music

(October 17, 2025 – March 22, 2026, Munich)

In Water Music, Cyprien Gaillard (1980) approaches water as an elemental force shaping landscapes, cities, and collective memory. Film, sculpture, installation, and archival materials converge in a dense, immersive exhibition environment.

At its core is the stereoscopic film Retinal Rivalry, which transforms urban surfaces and Munich’s cityscape into a sculptural moving image, redefining the film itself as an artwork.

👉 https://www.hausderkunst.de/en/

Museum Villa Stuck, Munich – UTOPIA. Chicks on Speed & Collaborators

(October 18, 2025 – March 1, 2026, Munich)

UTOPIA surveys nearly three decades of artistic practice by the collective Chicks on Speed. The exhibition brings together music, performances, films, sculptures, and installations that merge feminist, technological, and social perspectives.

Both retrospective and forward-looking, the show frames collective artistic production as a living, evolving artwork and a proposal for future cultural models.

👉 https://www.villastuck.de/en/

Citywide, Munich – VARIOUS OTHERS 2026

(May 14–24, 2026, Munich)

VARIOUS OTHERS marks the beginning of Munich’s art season and has become a fixed date on the international art calendar. The festival connects galleries, institutions, and artist-run spaces with international partners across the city.

More than 30 venues present exhibitions, artworks, and performative formats, positioning Munich as a dynamic hub for contemporary art and artistic exchange.

👉 https://variousothers.com/

2026 promises to be a standout year for art in Munich, with exceptional exhibitions and significant artworks across institutions and citywide platforms. To ensure artworks travel safely between museums, galleries, and collections, Moviiu provides reliable art logistics solutions—protecting artworks in transit and enabling seamless coordination so all involved can focus fully on the presentation and experience of art.

Photo credits

Ausstellungsansicht, Roni Horn, You Are the Weather, 1994-96 © Roni Horn, Foto: Dirk Tacke, Museum Brandhorst, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, München

Cyprien Gaillard. Wassermusik. Ausstellunsgansicht Haus der Kunst, 2025