Maze, Frieze, Arco

From the alpine luster of Gstaad, to the speed of Frieze LA, and ending with the Spanish charm of Arco, we’ve pulled out the moments that felt most relevant for the weeks ahead.

To wrap things up, three artist spotlights followed by exhibitions we wouldn’t miss in New York and Florida.

This edition is built for being “on the ground”: where to spend time, and the small decisions that keep a trip enjoyable and a collection growing.

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Maze, Gstaad

19 February – 22 February 2026

Festival-Zelt, Sportzentrum, Gstaad, Switzerland

Nestled in the snowy Swiss Alps, Maze Art Gstaad is a boutique winter art fair that feels like a cultural rendez-vous in one of Europe’s most elegant mountain towns. For its third edition, the Festival-Zelt in the heart of Gstaad becomes a focused, intimate setting where a curated mix of leading international galleries, contemporary art and collectible design come together.

Josef Albers

Homage to the Square, 1961

| White Cube | Booth D02

Sara Flores

Untitled (Ani Bero 2), 2023

| White Cube | Booth D02

Hiroshi Sugimoto

Opticks 637, 2024 | Lisson Gallery | Booth E3

Exhibitions:

• Picasso: Painter & Model Reflections | Tarmak 22

• Irving Penn | Gagosian Gallery

• Joel Mesler & Nir Hod: Mountains and Flowers | Patricia Low Contemporary

• Still Life, Living Form | Almine Rech

Where To Dine:

• Restaurant Sonnenhof: Chalet-style dining room with a panoramic terrace and a Mediterranean leaning menu. Best for a lunch with a great view.

• La Fromagerie at the Gstaad Palace: Gstaad’s cult fondue room, set in the palace’s former bunker. Excellent winter mood.

• Hotel Olden: The kind of place that feels embedded in Gstaad. Unhurried service, an easy choice for lunch or dinner.

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Collector’s Checklist ✅

Alongside the travel notes, we’re also sharing a short fair-season checklist: what to ask when something catches your eye, what to request before you commit, and the small details that separate a great impulse from a great acquisition.

A few questions to keep close:

• What is the work’s full exhibition history and provenance chain?

• What is the edition context (if applicable): total edition, APs, TPs, and placement within the edition?

• What is the condition narrative: what has been done, when, by whom, and what, if needed, could be recommended next?

• What is the artist’s current market temperature: primary demand vs secondary value?

• What is the practical reality: lead times, crating, shipping route, insurance values, import fees and installation requirements?

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Frieze, Los Angeles

26 February - 1 March, 2026

Santa Monica Airport

Frieze Los Angeles is special for many reasons. The February light, the palm trees, the ease of being outdoors… it softens the pace of a major fair in the best way.

Beyond the booths, it’s the sense of community that defines LA. Studio visits with local artists, collectors opening their homes, and outdoor dinners hosted by galleries we all know and love. Conversations stretching long past sunset, there’s opportunity here to connect and to engage with work + art world friends in a way that feels less overwhelming than other winter fairs.

Solange Pessoa

Untitled, from Botânicas series, 2018

| Mendes Wood | Booth A05

Jordan Ann Craig

Sharp Tongue; Shoulda Coulda Wouda Didn’t, 2025 | Hales Gallery | Booth B17

The Exhibitions:

• Keep Movin’ - Wolfgang Tillmans, Regen Projects

• Na Boca Do Sol - Paulo Nimer Pjota, Francois Gheblay

• Naming Colors - Ellsworth Kelly, Matthew Marks Gallery

Where To Dine:

• Uchi, West Hollywood: Modern Japanese cooking, excellent sushi, but the cooked dishes are where it really excels.

• Giorgio Baldi, Pacific Palisades: Un-showy, impeccably consistent Italian; still the right answer after all these years.

• Tower Bar, West Hollywood: Old-school, low light, excellent martinis.

• El Compadre, Hollywood: A lively classic with character, plus a little theatre courtesy of their fiery margaritas.

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Coming up: Arco, Madrid

4 March – 8 March 2026

IFEMA Exhibition Centre, Madrid

Arco Madrid brings together a highly considered mix of international galleries and strong curatorial programming. Presentations feel well thought out with a balance of historical depth and an important emerging perspective that rewards thoughtful collecting.

Madrid itself amplifies the week. Major museums, foundations, and private collections activate in tandem, and the dialogue extends naturally into gallery gatherings and collector events across the city.

Must-Sees:

Museums

Juan Muñoz: Art Stories | Museo Nacional del Prado

Alberto Greco: Long live living art | Reina Sofia

Liria Palace - Which exhibits a notable classic collection of art (bookings required)

Galleries

Galeria Elvira Gonzalez

Travesia Cuatro

Ehrhardt Florez Gallery

Galeria Max Estrella

Where To Dine:

• Lana: Grill-led menu. Refined, energetic, and best for a proper dinner plan.

• Restaurante Sacha: Intimate dining experience, the kind of place locals keep for themselves.

• El Paragaus: Refined Spanish dishes in a crisp setting. Ideal for a long lunch or an effortless but elegant evening.

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Artist Spotlights

Jack Penny

Emil Sands

Dennis Miranda

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What’s Happening in New York:

Hilder Palafox: De Tierra Y Susurros | Sean Kelly Gallery | 9 January 2026 - 21 February 2026 | 475 Tenth Ave at 36th Street

Jasper Johns: Between the Clock and the Bed | Gagosian | 22 January 2026 - 14 March 2026 | 980 Madison Avenue

Jean Royere: Connecting the Past to the Present | Royere Gallery | Ongoing | 315 Spring Street

What’s Happening in Florida:

The Norton Museum | Art and Life in Rembrandts time | 25th October 2025 - 29th March 2026 | 1450 South Dixie Hwy, West Palm Beach

The Marguiles Collection at the Warehouse | Pop Art: Johns, Lichtenstein, Warhol, Wesselmann, Rosenquist, Chamberlain, Segal Miami | 12 Nov 2025 - 04 Apr 2026 | 591 NW 27th St, Miami

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From the Collection Desk

If you’re travelling for fairs and exhibitions, we’re always happy to share how we’d pace the week, what’s worth prioritising, and the small decisions that make the difference between “busy” and “well spent”. If you want a second set of eyes on an itinerary, a hit list, or advice on a work you’re considering, just email us and we’ll weigh in.

A review of standout works, fairs, and exhibitions this month.

A quick round-up of what’s worth bookmarking right now: a first look at Art Basel Qatar, a Mexico City Art Week hit list, and an LA Art Week guide (Frieze, Felix, plus a few February exhibitions we’d make sure to see).

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Art Basel Qatar Highlights

3 February - 7 February, 2026

Doha, Qatar

The inaugural edition of ABQ is thoughtfully scaled, making it easy to move through and spend time wherever you may decide…

We’ve highlighted a few booths that feel strong, solo presentations that offer space to one artist at a time allowing the work to breathe and the narrative to be evident.

For collectors, this kind of focus is important. It allows for leisurely but deliberate browsing, better conversations, and more confident, informed decisions.

George Baselitz | Mansalva - unbehindert | White Cube | Booth M116

A forceful, dark-grounds work with Baselitz’s signature friction between figuration and abstraction, made more abrasive and luminous through its surface treatment.

Nadia Ayari | Selma Feriani | Booth M203

Ayari’s paintings are saturated, crisp, and slightly uncanny: spiky jasmine-like blooms floating in hot colour fields, built up with thick, textural paint surface

Olga de Amaral | Lisson | Booth M315

Lisson is bringing a solo presentation of Olga de Amaral, centred on major textile works that read like luminous abstractions between weaving and sculpture.

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Zona Maco Highlights

4 February - 8 February, 2026

Mexico City

Zona Maco returns to Mexico City and continues to be one of the most exciting moments to engage with the Latin American art scene. The fair has a lot going on, but when you slow it down, there’s real energy and plenty of room for discovery. We’ve chosen a few booths and exhibitions that stood out.

To us, Zona Maco is about being open minded: following curiosity, having good conversations, and occasionally finding something new and unexpected that really interests you.

James Casebere | Courtyard with Orange Wall, 2017 | Sean Kelly Gallery | Booth C110

David Hockney | Glass Vase, Jug and Wheat, 2020 | Pace Gallery | Booth C119

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Museums to visit:

• Museo Jumex

• Museo Nacional de Antropología

• Museo de Arte Moderno

Exhibitions to see in CDMX:

• Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Jardín inconcluso | Museo de Arte Moderno

• Casa Luis Barragán | Alternative Art Spaces

• Leonora Carrington | Galería OMR

• Vanessa Raw: Monsters Paradise: The Becoming of Her Divine Beast | Galería Georgina

  
  

Restaurants to dine at:

• Contramar for a be-seen seafood lunch

• Rosetta - an easy, relaxed dinner

• Pujol for a fun night out and the full CDMX experience

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LA Art Week: Frieze + Felix

Frieze LA

26 Feb–1 Mar 2026

Santa Monica Airport

Frieze Los Angeles remains a key West Coast fair, bringing together leading international galleries while staying closely connected to the city’s collectors, institutions, and broader cultural landscape.

Felix

25 Feb–1 Mar 2026

Hollywood Roosevelt

Felix Art Fair offers a more intimate Los Angeles based fair, presenting focused gallery programs while fostering direct engagement between artists, galleries, and collectors.

Other LA Exhibitions in February that we wouldn’t miss:

• Lauren Quin: Eyelets of Alkaline | Pace Gallery

• Veronica Fernandez | Anat Ebgi

• Alma Berrow | Megan Mulrooney Gallery

• Material Curiosity by Design: Evelyn & Jerome Ackerman | Craft Contemporary

• Robert Therrien: This is a Story | The Broad

• Wolfgang Tillmans | Regen Projects

• Collecting Impressionism | LACMA

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New York: What’s On

Whitney: High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100 (through early March 2026)

MoMA: Wifredo Lam, When I Don’t Sleep, I Dream (through April 2026)

Public Art Fund: On the Flip Side (from 4 Feb 2026)

David Zwirner: Dan Flavin, Grids (through 21 Feb)

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From the Collection Desk

This moment in the calendar always feels active in the best way. This year, even more so with the inaugural opening of Art Basel Qatar + the 24th edition of Zona Maco, we’re seeing an encouraging mix of focus and curiosity across the art world. Thoughtfully scaled fairs, strong solo presentations, and a keen interest in spending time with work rather than rushing past it all feel like healthy signals.

What’s exciting right now is the opportunity for discovery, particularly in regions and programs that will surprise us if we slow down… People are asking better questions, taking more time, and engaging with artists and galleries in a way that feels engaging, thoughtful, and exciting. As we look ahead to Frieze Los Angeles and a strong run of museum and gallery exhibitions this season, the programming feels strong. The market is still selective, but it’s definitely engaged.

While February may be the shortest month of the year, we’re very much looking forward to all of the excitement it’s already creating.

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If You Need Assistance…

If you’re planning to be on the ground, we’re always happy to share how we’d approach it, what’s worth seeing, where to spend time, how to navigate fairs and exhibitions, and even where to eat or linger between it all.

If you’d like more detail on any of the events mentioned here, or want a second set of eyes on plans or tickets, just send us an email. We’re always glad to help.

A Considered Start To The Year

Welcome to the first edition of the KRC Monthly Brief.

Each month, we share a focused view on the moments, markets, and movements shaping private collections and the art world globally. 

This is not a news digest. It is a strategic lens on what matters and why.

As the year opens, the early fair calendar offers valuable signals on collector behaviour, established appetite, and pricing tone for the months ahead.

KR Contemporary approaches the year with a focus on thoughtful placement, long-term value 

and the care of collections as living archives.

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Upcoming Art Events

Art Basel Qatar

3 February - 7 February, 2026

Doha, Qatar

Art Basel Qatar is the newest edition of the Art Basel franchise, marking the fair’s first presence in the Middle East. Taking place in Doha, it is conceived as a more curated and spatially distributed fair, unfolding across multiple venues rather than a single convention hall. 

The fair places an emphasis on thematic programming and regional representation, with a focus on artists and galleries connected to the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and the broader international landscape.

KRC Perspective

We’ve been watching the lead up to Art Basel Qatar with real curiosity. It feels early and still very much in the process of having its own identity. The smaller scale and more curated, multisite format suggest an intention to let the surroundings lead and we’re interested in the outcome of swaying away from the traditional fair model.

There’s clear cultural ambition behind the project, even as it remains uncertain how it will ultimately take shape for galleries, artists, and collectors. For us, that uncertainty is part of the appeal. It’s worth paying attention to, of course. We’re looking forward to see how Art Basel Qatar hopefully finds its footing.

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Zona Maco

2 February – 8 February, 2026 (Fair 4 February - 8 February)

Mexico City

Zona Maco is Latin America’s largest and most established contemporary art fair, held annually in Mexico City. The fair brings together an international mix of galleries alongside a strong regional presence, with presentations spanning modern and contemporary art, design, and photography. 

Positioned early in the calendar, Zona Maco functions as both a market anchor for the region and a point of exchange between Latin American artists, galleries, and the global art circuit.

KRC perspective

Zona Maco has always felt less like a tightly controlled fair and more like an extension of Mexico City itself. It’s energetic, social, and sometimes uneven but very alive. You move through strong presentations alongside more familiar material, and that contrast is part of the experience rather than a flaw.

What makes Zona Maco captivating is everything happening around it. Artists are present. Studios are open. Museums, private collections, and conversations are well beyond the fair floor. The city carries as much energy as the booths, and the fair works best when seen as one part of a much larger umbrella.

Zona Maco is about feeling where the energy is building, noticing how galleries are engaging locally, and paying attention to what feels authentic.

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Palm Beach Art Fair

29 January – 2 February, 2026

West Palm Beach, Florida

Art Palm Beach is a long-running winter fair in West Palm Beach that brings together a broad mix of modern and contemporary galleries, with a strong emphasis on accessibility and the regional collecting base. The fair tends to favor familiar material and established names, offering breadth rather than tightly curated presentations, which can make it feel more survey-like than directional.

For collectors already spending the season in Palm Beach, it functions less as a discovery driven destination (Like Independent or Untitled) and more as a low expectation early year art fair a moment to reconnect with galleries, take the temperature of the market, and ease into the rhythm of the year ahead.

KRC perspective

The return of Art Palm Beach signals the start of the winter art season in South Florida. While it isn’t a destination fair, it continues to function as a familiar, low-pressure moment for collectors already in Palm Beach to visit familiar galleries and their presentations, plus view the broader circuit of galleries typically displaying secondary works with an emphasis on editions/prints.

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Featured Artists

Ramon Enrich

Ramon Enrich studied Fine Arts at the University of Barcelona, following which he was awarded numerous scholarships to study abroad. A great admirer of Donald Judd, he moved to Marfa, Texas in 1988 where Judd lived and worked, spending time at the Judd Foundation and the Chinati Foundation. He travelled to Los Angeles where he met Ed Ruscha and worked with David Hockney before settling in New York and assisting in Julian Schnabel's studio for a short time. 

He has exhibited worldwide for almost 25 years and now lives and works in Igualada, Spain. His works are held in public and private collections worldwide, most notably the private collections of David Hockney, Norman Foster and Donald Juda.

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From The Collection Desk

In 2025 , we noticed a shift in the entirety of art world, less questions about what’s “next,” and more about longevity and what is here to stay. Collectors are spending more time with the works they already live with, and galleries are using this moment to be more deliberate in how they present artists and ideas.

For us, 2026 feels less about being apart of the hype, chasing the pulse and more about refining collections, strengthening relationships, and making decisions that feel considered rather than last minute and compelling.

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If You Need Assistance...

If you’re planning to be on the ground, we’re always happy to share how we’d approach it, what’s worth seeing, where to spend time, how to navigate fairs and exhibitions, and even where to eat or linger between it all. 

If you’d like more detail on any of the events mentioned here, or want a second set of eyes on plans or tickets, just send us an email. We’re always glad to help.