Aurèlia Muñoz, Juan Uslé and Felix Gonzalez-Torres, stars of the new season at the MNCARS

The Museo Reina Sofía's new season will be defined by the implementation of Manuel Segade's new management program, which will materialize in February with the renewed presentation of the most contemporary collections, as well as the launch of public programs and new lines of research and study. On May 26, 2026, the museum will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the inauguration of the Sabatini Building as the Reina Sofía Art Center, and this program will be dedicated to commemorating this important anniversary.

The Museo Reina Sofía's upcoming exhibition season reaffirms its commitment to the plurality of modern and contemporary art, while placing special emphasis on highlighting the contributions of women artists in the Spanish context. Highlights include a highly anticipated anthology dedicated to Maruja Mallo, a key figure of the Generation of '27, along with a recognition of the work of Aurèlia Muñoz, one of the most significant textile designers of the 20th century in Catalonia.

Painting once again takes center stage with a new retrospective of Juan Uslé, two decades after his last major exhibition at the museum. Meanwhile, Espacio 1 opens a new era with the addition of exhibition cinema, inaugurated by Galician filmmaker Oliver Laxe.

• JUAN USLÉ. The Little Human Element. 1998–1999. Uslé-Civera Collection. © Juan Uslé, VEGAP, Madrid, 2025

The Latin American presence will be represented by two significant proposals: Peruvian artist Andrea Canepa's intervention on the canvas of the Palacio de Cristal, and a retrospective dedicated to Alberto Greco, a key figure in the emergence of performance art in the 1960s, who spent his final years in Spain.

The Palacio de Velázquez will reopen its doors after a renovation, with an exhibition by Madrid-born Fernando Sánchez Castillo. The season closes with one of the most anticipated highlights: a major retrospective dedicated to Felix Gonzalez-Torres, a Cuban-American artist whose work, deeply connected to the aesthetics that emerged during the AIDS crisis, has become an essential reference point for contemporary art.

February will mark the beginning of a new presentation of the Museo Reina Sofía's collections, which will offer a reinterpretation of the last fifty years of artistic creation from a Spanish perspective. More than two hundred artists will comprise this new exhibition narrative, which will be accompanied by a renewed focus on the visitor experience, with particular attention to the reception and comfort of the public.

• Alberto Greco, How Great You Are!, 1961. Photograph by Sameer Makarius. Reina National Art Center Museum.

In March, a unique series will begin, which will run for the coming years under the title History Doesn't Repeat Itself, But It Rhymes . This proposal will seek to establish dialogues between Picasso's Guernica and key works from other geographical and temporal contexts. The series will open with the African Guernica , a powerful piece created in the 1960s by Dumile Feni, a central figure of African modernism, as a denunciation of the apartheid regime in South Africa.

During the presentation of the new season at the MNCARS, Segade highlighted that the Malaga-born artist's iconic Guernica will be displayed alongside a work by South African artist Dumile Feni, titled African Guernica , as part of the series History Doesn't Repeat Itself, But It Rhymes . This contemporary piece, created in 1967, emerged in the context of apartheid and denounces police violence against the Black population.

Maruja Mallo marks the start of the season at MNCARS

Curated by Patricia Molins, the exhibition Maruja Mallo. Máscara y compás (Mask and Compass) will inaugurate a new exhibition cycle at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Maruja Mallo (Viveiro, 1902 – Madrid, 1995) has established herself as one of the most prominent figures of the Generation of '27 and the principal representative of a group of artists who, for the first time, captured a feminine worldview from an innovative perspective: that of the modern woman.

Organized by the Museo Reina Sofía in conjunction with the Botín Foundation, the exhibition chronologically traces the artist's career and includes approximately 90 works, including paintings, drawings, writings, and documents, as well as videos that illustrate her life, her ideas, and the notable influence she exerted on her contemporaries during the 1930s.

Juan Uslé and Oliver Laxe: the following

Twenty years after Open Rooms , the first exhibition dedicated to Juan Uslé (Hazas de Cesto, 1954) by the Museo Reina Sofía, the artist is now presenting a comprehensive retrospective that explores his career spanning more than forty years, curated by Ángel Calvo Ulloa. The exhibition will highlight the fluid, time-consuming nature that Uslé has historically imprinted on his series of works.

Oliver Laxe is a Spanish-French film director, screenwriter, and actor, recognized for his work in independent and arthouse cinema. Born in France in 1982, he moved to Galicia in his youth, where he has spent most of his career. His style is characterized by a poetic and reflective approach, addressing themes such as nature, identity, and spirituality.

Andrea Canepa, Alberto Greco and Aurèlia Múñoz, the names of 2026

Andrea Canepa (Lima, 1980) will carry out an artistic intervention in 2026 on the canvas covering the Crystal Palace in Retiro Park, coinciding with the restoration work currently underway.

The exhibition dedicated to Alberto Greco (Buenos Aires, 1931 – Barcelona, 1965), curated by Chema González, explores the artist's diverse and transgressive practices. The exhibition traces his evolution from his early works linked to Informalism and Expressionist drawing to his artistic actions, known as "living art," which are based on everyday experience, the expansion of artistic space, and the questioning of traditional ideas about the work and authorship.

• AURELIA MUÑOZ. Beige Eagle, 1977. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Committee on Architecture and Design Funds, 2018.

Titled Entes , a reference to one of the key concepts in Aurèlia Muñoz's work, the exhibition offers an in-depth analysis of five decades of her artistic career. Organized by the Museo Reina Sofía and MACBA, Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona—which will be open to the public from November 2026—the exhibition presents a comprehensive overview of the artist's creative legacy.

Before the arrival of summer, Felix Gonzalez-Torres will be the center of attention with the exhibition Sweet Revenge , on view from May 27 to October 12, curated by Alejandro Cesarco and Nancy Spector. The exhibition explores the work of Cuban artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres (Guáimaro, 1957 – Miami, 1996), who died due to complications related to AIDS. The exhibition revisits some of his most emblematic pieces and installations, which have exerted a decisive influence on several generations of artists both in Spain and internationally.