January 2026 • What I’m Seeing

Avante Arte is delighted to announce their debut collaboration with Marina Abramović – a new limited edition print. I have a couple of really wonderful prints from Avanti Arte and highly recommend their editions if one piques your interest.

 Maria/Marina is a black and white photograph of Marina holding a picture of opera legend Maria Callas aligned with her own profile, honouring the singer who has inspired much of her work, including her ambitious project The 7 Deaths of Maria Callas, staged by the English National Opera.

Each edition is signed by the artist, individually numbered and finished with a matte varnish seal.

Opens on 10 February at 17:00 UK time, for 48 hours only.These are the questions I'm asking myself as I launch this monthly report, a distillation of what's capturing my attention, inspiring my practice, and shaping the work I'm creating both in the studio and for my clients. You might consider this your insider perspective on the ideas, influences, and observations that are driving my design thinking right now.

I really want to share this story and work with people. When you see it, you immediately have a reaction. I have a reaction. I feel that this is something I want to have on my wall forever.
Marina Abramović

NYC Shows I Won't Miss

Dan Flavin at David Zwirner: Site-specific installations that haven't been on view since the 1970s—a rare opportunity to experience Flavin's pioneering light work in its original context.

The Winter Show at The Park Avenue Armory (January 23–February 1): The gold standard for discovering museum-quality antiques, fine art, and design across centuries and continents.

Helen Frankenthaler: A Grand Sweep at MoMA (through February 8): An absolute must-see. Frankenthaler's mastery of color and her revolutionary soak-stain technique never fail to remind me why painting still matters.

Caravaggio's Boy with a Basket of Fruit at The Morgan Library: On loan from Rome's Galleria Borghese—a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see this luminous work up close in New York.

Slow Wave Sleep: OB and Gregor Hildebrandt at Perrotin New York (January 16–February 18): Two artists exploring memory, materiality, and the traces we leave behind.

Kathy Butterly at James Cohan Gallery: Brilliant ceramics that blur the line between vessel and sculpture—intimate, intricate, utterly compelling.

Night Swimming at The Broadway Gallery: A thoughtfully curated group show worth your attention.

Roberto Burle Marx at Andrew Kreps Gallery: The legendary Brazilian landscape architect's paintings and works on paper reveal another dimension of his visionary practice.

Dona Nelson: The Individualism of Dona Nelson at Canada (January 8–February 14): Nelson's double-sided paintings are fearless, physical, and endlessly inventive.

Neil Welliver at Alexandre Gallery (UES): A master of landscape painting whose work deserves far more recognition than it receives.

Larry Bell at Madison Square Park (presented by Hauser & Wirth): Bell's glass sculptures transform with the light—don't miss experiencing them outdoors in this iconic setting.

Bonus: If you're out for coffee and need a gift (or a sweet vessel), Ginori 1735 and Sant Ambroeus just debuted their porcelain chocolate box collaboration. Too charming to pass up.

Palm Beach Design Days
January 27-30, 2026

West Palm Beach, Florida

Palm Beach Design Days: What’s Worth Your Attention

If  you’re in South Florida this season, Palm Beach Design Days is back and this year’s program feels more substantial than ever. What started as a relatively modest gathering has evolved into something genuinely interesting: a four-day immersion into design thinking that goes beyond the usual industry platitudes. The conversations span antiques and textiles, craftsmanship and business strategy with speakers who actually have something to say.

Benjamin Moore, The Colony Hotel, Glazer Hall and The Norton Museum of Art are sponsoring, which tells you something about the caliber of the event. More importantly, proceeds benefit The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach, an organization doing critical work protecting the architectural heritage that makes this place worth caring about in the first place. 

Beyond the panels, there’s the usual circuit of networking events, book signings, curated pop-ups and cocktail parties across Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. Some will be forgettable. A few will be exceptional. The key is knowing which conversations are worth your time. I am looking forward to the show my dear friend and artist, Nick Mele is doing with 

If you’re serious about design, this is one of the few events where you’ll find peers in and around the event that make it worthwhile.

The South of France Moment

You may have heard the buzz of energy building around the Côte d’Azure right now, the kind you feel before something feels undeniable. 

Cannes Film Festival seems to glow more glamorous with each passing year. The Monaco Grand Prix conkntues its ascent as the ultimate convergence of luxury and spectacle. Loro Piana is drawing inspiration from Fondation Maeght and Colombe d’Or in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, chasing artistry and beauty in ways that feel both timeless and suddenly urgent. And of course, White Lotus Season 4 is filming at Château de La Messardière in Saint-Tropez, a 19th century château turned hotel that embodies every thing compelling about the region. 

My prediction: we’re about to see a wave of art and design deeply influenced by the South of France. Not the clichéd version, striped linens and lavender fields (yes, I am often guilty of both), but the sophisticated, sun-drenched aesthetic that comes from understanding what makes that light, that landscape, that particular quality of living so compelling.

I’ve spent enough summers in Saint-Tropez, Nice and Monaco to recognize when a place is about to reclaim its position in the cultural imagination. This isn’t trend-chasing. It’s pattern recognition and we’re watching it unfold in real time.

The question is not whether the Côte d’Azur will influence design this year, it’s whether you’ll recognizes the distinction between surface-level references and work that genuinely captures what makes the region so magnetic. I think there is a difference and that it matters. 

 And if you happen to be in St. Moritz don’t miss Carsten Höller’s pink mirrored carousel spinning with gentle allure on the ice rink of the Kulm Hotel.

Let's Talk Art

Here's what I genuinely believe: the best conversations about art don't happen in galleries during opening receptions or at crowded fairs. They happen over coffee, in living rooms, in those quiet moments when someone asks the question they've been holding back because they weren't sure it was "smart" enough.

That's the community I'm building with KRSTN Editions, a place where these conversations can happen naturally, without pretense or gatekeeping.

Whether you want to understand why a particular artist's work resonates with you, discuss how to integrate a piece into your home, or simply explore what you're drawn to and why, I'm here for it. These aren't transactional conversations. They're the kind of exchanges that deepen your relationship with art itself.

If any of the shows I've mentioned intrigue you, if you're curious about the South of France influence I'm predicting, if you're thinking about Palm Beach Design Days or wondering about my studio practice or up coming shows, reach out. Let's talk about it.

I love this work because it's never just about the art. It's about what the art makes possible: the conversations, the connections, the moments of recognition when someone sees something that changes how they think about their space, their life, their legacy.

That's what I'm here to facilitate. Not as an authority figure dispensing expertise from on high, but as someone who's spent years developing an eye and wants to share what I see with people who care as deeply as I do.

So consider this an open invitation. Whether you're already collecting or just beginning to think about it, whether you're in New York for the season or planning a trip to the South of France, whether you need guidance or just want to share what you're excited about, I want to hear from you.

This is how community gets built: one genuine conversation at a time.