It’s a new year and that means a new crop of art books awaits us. Whether you prefer criticism, catalogs or conversations – or the rare art-themed novel that delivers – we’ve got you covered. We are pleased to alternate between a book on the activist art of lament by Sarah Ahmed and a republished monograph on the iconic art activist Corita Kent. And we can’t wait to read a fascinating critical look at those tubes of color for a long time Hyperallergic contributor Eileen G’Sell. Whatever else is in store for 2026, a year of good reading lies ahead. —Natalie Haddad, reviews editor
The Lost World: The Art of Minnie Evansedited by Katherine Jentleson | Delmonico Books, January 6
The late Minnie Evans became one of the first black artists to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum in 1975, but The lost world at the High Museum in Atlanta marks her first major exhibition in decades. If you can’t attend the show, this catalog offers an illuminating glimpse into the countless drawings Evans created by combining her spiritual visions with everyday experiences in the American South and inspiration from the lush Airlie Gardens, where she worked for more than 25 years. —Lakshmi Rivera Amin
Painters, Ports and Profits: Artists and the East India Company, 1750–1850edited by Laurel O. Peterson and Holly Shaffer | Yale Center for British Art, January 6
The East India Company helped formulate our modern conception of the corporation as a militarized plundering machine par excellence. Because it functions as a state within a state, its history offers some poignant reminders for our current moment, as tech giants and oligarchs increasingly wield government power and are above the law. Most of the artists in this book did not work directly on behalf of the company, but, as curator Holly Shafer explains, “worked for corporate-oriented markets, specific company clients, and other buyers.” The results are paintings and drawings of plants, animals, landscapes, seascapes, means of transport, agriculture and regional customs. Most are pleasant to look at, but mainly appeal to the tastes of the citizen of the class who ordered them. This publication makes me wonder if all the art produced these days for the tech titans and their fellow billionaires won’t resemble this unadventurous pablum. —Hrag Vartanian
Once it is now: the art of Corita Kentedited by Ian Berry and Michael Duncan | Delmonico Books, February 3
Famous for her pop colors and positive messages that adorn her art, Sister Corita Kent is rightly celebrated as a joyful presence in the arts. However, her practice extended far beyond bold slogans, aesthetic or conceptual. Originally published in 2013 and recently reissued, Someday is now guides readers through Kent’s visual innovation and political activism. The rich illustrations include writings by the artist and interviews with former students and employees. As this research makes clear, she remains iconic for a reason. —Natalie Haddad
Lipstick: Object Lessons by Eileen G’Sell | Bloomsbury Academic, February 5
An art critic’s take on a 5,000-year-old makeup tool? Sign me up. Only Eileen G’Sell, for a long time Hyperallergic contributor, could make the past, present and future of lipstick blend together so seamlessly, much like a well-executed lip combo. As a Kulfie First Sari girl, I can’t wait to delve into her interview-based research into the ways people of all genders use lipstick in personal, subversive and creative ways. —Lakshmi Rivera Amin
The Absent Stone: Mexican Heritage and the Aftershocks of State Theft by Sandra Rozental | Duke University Press, February 17
In 1965, the Mexican government forcibly moved the ‘Piedra de los Tecomates’, known as the largest stone monument in the Americas, from the town of Coatlinchan to the then-new National Museum of Anthropology. When residents of the city protested the relocation of the piece, thought to depict the Aztec rain god Tláloc, the Mexican state deployed the military to move forward with its removal. Scholar Sandra Rozental’s book examines the incident and its resonance in the Coatlinchan community to this day, touching on questions of cultural heritage and collective memory. —Valentina di Liscia
The Atlas of World Embroidery: A Global Exploration of Heritage and Styles by Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood | Princeton University Press, February 17
Few things are as beloved in families as embroideries, because they are almost always made by women who have had little opportunity to leave precious traces of their lives and handiwork. This book takes readers around the world to discover the sample languages that shape transmission patterns passed down through countless generations. It’s a sight to behold and proves that abstraction has long been an integral part of world heritage and wasn’t just something someone discovered in the 19th or 20th century. —Hrag Vartanian
No!: The art+activism of complaining by Sara Ahmed | Feminist Press, April 7
Raise your hand if you can remember the last time complaints were in good standing, especially complaints from women. Sara Ahmed’s sequel to The Feminist Killjoy Handbook (2023) not only celebrates complaints; it reimagines them as a form of resistance and recognition. Ahmed, a former professor at Goldsmiths College, University of London and an influential figure for artists and curators, shares her own stories and research into the sometimes devastating aftermath when complaints go unheeded. She also opens her pages to other voices telling their own stories. Ahmed’s book is an illuminating reminder: sometimes the squeaky wheel doesn’t get grease until it’s too late. —Natalie Haddad
Transcription: a novel by Ben Lerner | Farrar, Straus and Giroux, April 7
From an existential spiral in front of a painting in the Prado to an after-hours encounter with a stainless steel sculpture by Donald Judd, Ben Lerner’s novels contain some of the best art criticism I’ve encountered. His analysis is embodied but self-aware, erudite but sincere. That’s why I’m looking forward to it Transcriptionabout a non-interview with a ‘giant in art’. I wouldn’t trust many writers to make such a “plot” worth my time, but I do trust him. —Lisa Yin Zhang
Casa Kahlo: Frida Kahlo’s home and shrine by Mara Romeo Kahlo, Mara de Anda Romeo and Frida Hentschel Romeo | Rizzoli Electa, April 7
As anyone who has visited Casa Azul in Mexico City knows, Frida Kahlo infused her spirit into the architecture and life of every place she called home. That includes the recently opened Casa Kahlo, just a few blocks away. Three of the artist’s great-nephews will introduce the museum to this intimate compendium of photographs, letters, garments, postcards and early works of art that populate the house that Kahlo used as a second studio and classroom – and where her family still lives. —Lakshmi Rivera Amin
Marcel Duchampedited by Matthew Affron, Michelle Kuo and Ann Temkin | Museum of Modern Art, April 14
The answer to the age-old question “What is art?” changed forever when Marcel Duchamp turned a urinal upside down in 1917 and presented it as a work of art. This image-rich book accompanies the first North American retrospective of the king of the readymade in 50 years, which opens in April at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. I can’t wait for both the exhibition and the book. —Hakim Bishara
Whistler: a novel by Ann Patchett | Harper, June 2
I still can’t say for sure what kind of novelist Ann Patchett is. After reading it, I thought she was an opera lover Call Canto (2001), but her description of the hallucinogenic effects of a malaria drug in State of wonder (2011) suggested a medical background. To put it most accurately, she is the rare type of writer who can make any premise feel completely lived-in. With the possible exception of EL KonigsburgI’m sure she’ll make The Met – true Whistler is set – comes to life more sparkling than anyone else. —Lisa Yin Zhang
Black Curators Matter: conversations about art and changeedited by Kellie Jones and Tumelo Mosaka | Getty Research Institute, July 14
Black curators matter examines the past 50 years of art, advocacy, and criticism through conversations between six major curators, including Lowery Stokes Sims, Deborah Willis, and Kellie Jones, and other artists. It’s a simple premise, but fitting, since history itself is polyvocal. I am not only interested in consensus, but also in friction. After all, 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding, and our sense of ourselves is completely adrift. We need such an anchor. —Lisa Yin Zhang
The Storyteller: The Life of John Berger by Tom Overton | Penguin Random House, September 1
There is no shortage of publications by and about the famous art historian John Berger. What makes Tom Overton’s upcoming book stand out is the wealth of information about Berger’s life, gathered through research and conversations between the two writers. As the press release notes, “Berger called himself a storyteller.” This addition to the Berger Library explores what that storytelling instinct brought to the fore through what is perhaps the most detailed account of his life and personality to date. —Natalie Haddad
Primary: After and with Alma Thomasby Alexis Pauline Gumbs | Yale University Press, September 29
Alexis Pauline Gumbs, who recently wrote an acclaimed biography of Audre Lorde, first gained a following for her meditations on the connections between black feminism and marine mammal life. She even collected these Instagram posts in the book Undrowned (2020). Her next publication can’t come soon enough: this fall, she turns her attention to the rhythmic paintings of Alma Thomas, focusing on the cultivation of the black community and the beloved artist’s creativity as a teacher in segregated Washington, DC. —Lakshmi Rivera Amin
The catalog for the 61st Venice International Biennale | Edizioni La Venice Biennale, 2026
Before her sudden death last year, Cameroonian curator Koyo Kouoh outlined a promising curatorial vision In minor keysthe international art exhibition of the Venice Biennale in 2026. It will be interesting to see how the artistic team tasked with realizing Kouoh’s plans will help “[render] revealing the possibilities that lie in the spaces between and beyond the portals.” —Hakim Bishara
