Expo Chicago has named its 2026 exhibitors.
Featuring more than 130 galleries—local to Chicago, domestic, and international—2026 Expo Chicago returns to Navy Pier’s Festival Hall this April under new direction from Kate Sierzputowski. With a scaled-back approach, Sierzputowski and curator Essence Harden intend to focus the fair experience around accessible engagement with art and curatorial context. This will be supported by expanded programming—including a partnership with the forthcoming Obama Presidential Center, who will introduce two sections: Embodiment and Evolution, the latter featuring select archival materials drawn from the Center’s art commissions.
Matthieu Blazy delivered a dreamy Chanel couture debut.
Matthieu Blazy’s debut Chanel couture collection embraced ethereality through sheer silhouettes and embroidered plumage all set atop a fairy-tale garden runway in the Grand Palais. The spectacle blended fantasy with craftsmanship, reinterpreting classic house codes like the Chanel suit in diaphanous, modern forms. A star-studded front row and a poetic finale—closed by model Bhavitha Mandava in a couture bridal look—underscored the collection’s story-driven appeal and strong early reception.
The Barbican announces a late-night dance party series.
To celebrate global club music culture, The Barbican will host a late-night dance party series aptly titled Anyone Can Dance. Opening night, February 20, will be curated by the U.K.-based creative collective Eastern Margins, who champion alternative East and South East Asian club culture through various music genres—including J-pop, hyperpop, techno, and grime. This nocturnal programming, which will encompass five Fridays throughout the year, follows the success of two sold-out parties at The Barbican in 2025.
Nifty Gateway will shutter in February.
Nifty Gateway, one of the earliest and most influential NFT marketplaces, announced that it will shut down operations on February 23. It has already entered a withdrawal-only mode for users to remove their assets. The platform, founded in 2018 and later acquired by crypto exchange Gemini, was a pioneer in curated digital art drops and user-friendly onboarding but could not sustain activity as NFT trading volumes collapsed. Its closure underscores the broader downturn and consolidation in the NFT market, marking the end of a high-profile chapter in blockchain-based art trading
This year’s Winter Olympic cauldrons take inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci.
Organizers of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics unveiled the design for two Olympic cauldrons—one for Milan’s Arco della Pace and another for Cortina d’Ampezzo’s Piazza Dibona—which will be lit simultaneously on February 6. This is the first time in Olympic history this will happen in two separate host cities. The cauldron designs draw inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci’s geometric “knot” motifs, symbolizing harmony between nature and human ingenuity. They were created in partnership with Fincantieri and designer Marco Balich.
Today’s attractive distractions:
Noma’s $1,500 L.A. residency is already sold out.
One Lego enthusiast built a functional typewriter.
Moooi expands into tranquil ceramic surfaces and a trio of bird motifs.
Casio’s classic AQ-230 watch gets a Paisley upgrade from Liberty.
