Mexico City’s Zona Maco art fair continues to draw strong international interest in its 24th year, with enthusiastic attendance from international collectors, curators, and museum groups. As the centerpiece of Mexico City Art Week, the fair featured more than 220 galleries this year, drawn from about 26 countries. Its balance of boisterous energy and art-world curiosity has propelled growth over the last few years.
The Winter Olympics opening ceremony was an advertisement for the past.
The Milan–Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony positioned itself not only as a showcase for global competition, but also as a deliberate celebration of history and tradition. This marked a shift from recent ceremonies, which have leaned heavily on cutting-edge technology and spectacle, resembling tech keynotes, music festivals, or digital screensavers. In contrast to the LED-driven futurism of Paris, Beijing, and Tokyo, Milan–Cortina’s approach used the Olympic stage to advertise the past rather than the next reinvention of the wheel.
Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata, on display in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A near-identical painting is in the Royal Museums of Turin. Photograph: Alamy…
At Art Basel Qatar, more than half the artists were from the Global South.
Art Basel Qatar opened its inaugural edition in Doha, bringing global contemporary art to the region’s cultural capital. Spread across Msheireb and Doha’s Design District, the fair featured a wide range of artworks and installations from artists around the world, with curatorial choices that emphasize representation from the Global South. The event has been hailed by local artists and visitors as a groundbreaking moment that helps position Qatar—and the broader region—as an important hub in the art world.
A.I. analysis casts doubt on two Van Eyck paintings.
Artificial intelligence analysis by Swiss firm Art Recognition has cast doubt on the attribution of two small Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata paintings—one at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the other at the Royal Museums of Turin—suggesting there is a high probability (91 percent and 86 percent respectively) that they were not painted by Jan van Eyck himself. These findings support scholarly theories that the works may instead be studio pieces produced by assistants in Van Eyck’s workshop. The controversial results highlight challenges in attributing one of the rarest oeuvres of early Netherlandish painting and are prompting debate among experts about authorship and the potential for a lost original.
50+ art spaces will participate in Downtown Art Winter Night.
More than 50 lower Manhattan art spaces will remain open until 8pm on Friday, February 20 for the largest Downtown Winter Art Night to date. Participants range from Canal Projects and Nino Mier Gallery to R & Company, the Swiss Institute, David Zwirner, and the New York Earth Room. The event’s dedicated Google map has every participant populated.
Courtesy of Thom Browne…
Today’s attractive distractions:
Thom Browne debuted his first-ever sneaker collaboration.
Athletes turned the Super Bowl tunnel walk into a runway.
And, of course, there were some good, bad, and boring ads.
MIT Media Lab’s Anemoia Device uses A.I. to transform photos into fragrances.
