A Spring Journey Through the Season’s Standout Exhibitions
From London to Venice, and from Denmark to Boston, discover spring exhibitions featuring artists whose works are in the UBS Art Collection.
Spring brings with it a new rhythm across the art world: long-awaited openings, fresh perspectives and the chance to encounter familiar artists in new ways. This season, a number of major exhibitions highlight artists represented in the UBS Art Collection, creating a journey that begins in London and unfolds across Europe and the US.
Catherine Opie at The National Portrait Gallery, London
Until 31 May 2026
In London, begin in Trafalgar Square with Catherine Opie: To Be Seen at the National Portrait Gallery. The first major UK museum exhibition of Opie’s work brings together three decades of photography that explore who is seen, how they are seen and what portraiture can hold. Moving between queer communities, family, power and self-representation, the exhibition feels both intimate and expansive.
Yin Xiuzhen at The Hayward Gallery, London
Until 3 May 2026
From there, cross the river to the Hayward Gallery for Yin Xiuzhen: Heart to Heart, the artist’s first major UK survey. Drawing on more than 30 years of work, the exhibition includes immersive installations, sculpture and new commissions shaped from second-hand clothing, domestic materials and everyday objects. Yin has a singular ability to turn the overlooked into an emotionally charged experience, building spaces where memory, movement and global exchange meet with quiet force.
Tracey Emin at Tate Modern, London
Until 31 August 2026
Then continue along the Thames to Tate Modern for Tracey Emin: A Second Life, a landmark exhibition spanning 40 years of her practice. Emin’s work still lands with striking immediacy, whether in painting, neon, textiles, sculpture or film, and this major survey encompasses iconic works with ones never shown before. It is a powerful reminder of her ability to transform autobiography into broader themes, tracing love, trauma, resilience and the enduring intensity of lived experience.
Lorna Simpson at Palazzo Grassi, Venice
Until 22 November 2026
Meanwhile, in Venice, don’t miss Lorna Simpson’s exhibition at Punta della Dogana, Palazzo Grassi, which marks the most significant presentation of the artist’s work in Europe in more than a decade. It focuses on her painting practice, while also bringing together collage, sculpture, installation and film. With a renewed selection developed in partnership with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and new works made specifically for the Venetian setting, the show promises a rich and atmospheric encounter with one of the most compelling artists working today.
Spring brings with it a new rhythm across the art world: long-awaited openings, fresh perspectives and the chance to encounter familiar artists in new ways. This season, a number of major exhibitions highlight artists represented in the UBS Art Collection, creating a journey that begins in London and unfolds across Europe and the US.
Jean-Michel Basquiat at Louisiana Museum of Art, Humlebaek
Until 17 May 2026
Further north, Basquiat - Headstrong at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebaek, Denmark, offers one of the season’s standout surprises. Focusing on works on paper devoted to the motif of the head, the exhibition reveals a lesser-known group of drawings from the early 1980s that Basquiat largely kept to himself. Devoid of some of the text and symbols that define his better-known works, these drawings feel urgent and deeply revealing.
Derrick Adams at ICA, Boston
Until 7 September 2026
Across the Atlantic, Derrick Adams: View Master at ICA Boston brings the journey to an energetic close. This first mid-career survey of the New York-based artist spans two decades of painting, collage, sculpture, video and public projects, all animated by Adams’s distinct visual language and his celebration of contemporary Black life. There is clarity and joy in the work, but also precision — everyday moments become vivid, layered images of leisure, freedom and self-possession that stay with you long after leaving the museum.
Together, these exhibitions map out a spring season defined by range, depth and international perspective, highlighting the remarkable breadth of artists represented in the UBS Art Collection and offering every reason to make art part of the journey.