Magzoid Magazine - Luxury Magazine in the Creative Space | January 2026 |

January 2026

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Editor’s note

January 2026

EDITORIAL

Art That Matters

Editor in Chief:

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December 2025

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October 2025




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““The secret to a rich life is to have more beginnings than endings.”

— Dave Weinbaum

Step into “New Beginnings: The Future of Design,” the January 2026 edition of

Magzoid Magazine, where we open the year by exploring how fresh ideas,

evolving technologies, and renewed creative intent are reshaping the global

design landscape. This issue marks a moment of reflection and reinvention,

spotlighting how designers, brands, and visionaries are redefining luxury, function, and

meaning in a rapidly transforming world.

As we usher in a new chapter, this edition turns its focus to the forces driving design

forward—sustainability, innovation, and human-centric thinking. From architecture and

interiors to fashion, product design, and mobility, New Beginnings celebrates a shift

toward thoughtful creation. We explore how materials, processes, and aesthetics are

evolving to meet the demands of a future that values responsibility as much as beauty,

and purpose as much as performance.

Throughout the issue, we highlight projects and practices that challenge convention

while setting new benchmarks for excellence. Whether it’s adaptive architecture

responding to changing urban needs, fashion embracing circular design principles, or

technology-enhanced craftsmanship redefining luxury, each story reflects a bold step

into what lies ahead. These features reveal how creativity thrives when experimentation

meets intention, and when tradition is reimagined through a future-facing lens.

More than a forecast, the January 2026 edition is an invitation—to rethink, to reset,

and to reimagine. New Beginnings: The Future of Design captures a collective momentum

among creators who are shaping tomorrow with optimism, intelligence, and vision.

As the year unfolds, we invite you to join us in celebrating ideas that inspire progress

and designs that resonate beyond the moment. Here’s to a year defined by innovation,

clarity, and the courage to begin again.

Editor in Chief

Saleha Khanam

WHAT’S

14

ABOUT TIME

Three Decades on the Wrist

26

THREADS

Quiet Disruption: MM6 Maison

Margiela Pre-Fall 2026

Redefines the Everyday

34

INTERIROR

Peace Through Design: Stefon

Diggs Launches Si Vis Pacem

Furniture

08

THE 5 UPCOMING ART MO-

MENTS IN UAE

5 Upcoming Architecture

Projects Reshaping The Uae In

2026

22 30

GET THE BAG

Circular Craft: DHL and

SUBJECT Transform Logistics

Uniforms into Artisan Bags

EDITORIAL

Cloud Dancer: Cloud Dancer

16

DESIGN

Beyon Horizon: Mercedes-

Maybach’s Ocean Club

Redefines Floating Luxury

28

THREADS

Refined Utility: NEEDLES

Reimagines Workwear for Fall/

Winter 2025

38

THE 5 UPCOMING ART MO-

MENTS IN UAE

The art calendar is stacked.

From February museum

openings through November’s

international fair season, 2026

presents five unmissable

moments that will define the

year’s cultural landscape.

INSIDE

www.magzoid.com January 2026

7

THE 5 UPCOMING ART MOMENTS IN UAE

5 UPCOMING

ARCHITECTURE

PROJECTS RESHAPING

THE UAE IN 2026

HERE ARE FIVE UPCOMING PROJECTS DEFINING THE UAE’S

BUILT ENVIRONMENT IN 2026—AND SIGNALING WHAT’S

POSSIBLE WHEN DESIGN TAKES CONTEXT SERIOUSLY.

GUGGENHEIM ABU DHABI

SAADIYAT ISLAND | FRANK GEHRY | OPENING SPRING/SUMMER 2026

Nearly two decades of anticipation culminate in 2026. Frank

Gehry’s Guggenheim Abu Dhabi opens as the largest in

the Guggenheim network globally—30,000 square meters

of gallery, public space, and architectural presence. This

matters because Guggenheim isn’t just museum; it’s cultural institution

defining entire districts. When it opens, Saadiyat transforms

from construction site into genuine cultural destination.

The Design Intelligence

Gehry’s formal language—sculptural curves, cantilevered volumes,

geometric play—gets translated into Gulf context. The building features

clustered conical forms reinterpreting traditional wind towers.

Light enters through carefully calculated apertures preventing direct

solar gain while maintaining visual connection to landscape. This

isn’t literal heritage translation; it’s learning from vernacular principles

and expressing them through contemporary geometry.

Walk the interior galleries and you’ll understand Gehry’s spatial

choreography. Promenades don’t follow linear museum logic. They

cluster, overlap, surprise. The experience feels more souk than institution—deliberately

disorienting, deliberately rich.

Why Visit

This is Frank Gehry at an institutional apex—global icon architect

working at genuine scale with unlimited budget and intellectual freedom.

The building is simultaneously sculptural object and functional

museum. It’s rare to experience both simultaneously. Visit opening

month (likely March/April 2026) for curator talks, artist programming,

and energy around inaugural exhibitions.

Pro Tip

Book sunset visit. Watch how the building’s titanium-clad surfaces

shift from white-hot midday to amber evening. Gehry designed

the facade to activate chromatically as light temperature changes.

Photography during golden hour reveals the building’s true design

intent.

The UAE’s architectural narrative is shifting. For decades, the story was singular: build higher, faster, bolder. Dubai’s skyline became a record

book—tallest this, fastest that, most expensive everything. It was architecture as ambition.

2026 marks inflection. The projects opening this year aren’t just tall; they’re intelligent. They engage climate, culture, and public space with

rigor. They ask why we build, not just how high. This is what happens when architectural ambition matures.

8 January 2026 www.magzoid.com

www.magzoid.com

January 2026

9


ZAYED NATIONAL MUSEUM

SAADIYAT ISLAND | FOSTER + PARTNERS | COMPLETION 2026

ALJADA CENTRAL HUB

SHARJAH | ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS | OPENING THROUGHOUT 2026

Norman Foster’s Zayed National Museum argues something

profound: tradition and technology don’t conflict—they

collaborate. The building houses the UAE’s founding story

while demonstrating environmental innovation. It’s dual thesis:

cultural repository and technical showcase.

The Engineering Poetry

Five dramatic steel “wings” rise from the earth like falcon feathers

taking flight. But this isn’t pure symbolism. Each wing functions as

thermal chimney, passively pulling cool air through the building’s

interior. The result: mechanical cooling loads reduce by approximately

40% compared to conventional museum design.

This represents what happens when form emerges from environmental

analysis rather than aesthetic predetermination. Foster’s

team used computational fluid dynamics to model airflow, solar

gain, thermal mass, and seasonal variation. The wings’ precise geometry

exists because the physics demanded it.

ry: how architecture can honor cultural specificity while achieving

technical excellence.

Stand beneath the central atrium and look upward. The wings

frame sky in patterns recalling traditional courtyard architecture’s

relationship to light and air movement. You’re experiencing something

genuinely rare: monument that works both symbolically and

mechanically.

Why It Matters

Zayed National Museum positions Abu Dhabi as a city understanding

that serious architecture requires serious engineering. It’s no

accident both Guggenheim and Zayed National Museum are completing

simultaneously—they represent different expressions of the

same principle: institutional architecture thinking deeply about context.

Pro Tip

Allocate minimum three hours. The permanent collection demands

time; rushing diminishes impact. Visit mid-morning when natural

light animates the interior without overwhelming thermal intensity.

Bring wide-angle camera for interior photography—the spatial sequences

photograph beautifully.

Historically, Sharjah emphasized cultural heritage—museums,

traditional architecture, historical preservation. Aljada

Central Hub represents deliberate strategy shift: Sharjah

claiming contemporary architectural ambition without

abandoning cultural seriousness.

ZHA’s design refuses discrete “buildings.” Instead, structures

emerge from ground as continuous landscape—retail, dining, entertainment,

public space integrated into unified composition. This

is urban park designed by architects thinking like landscape urbanists,

not real estate developers.

The Design Logic

ZHA’s fluid formal language addresses fundamental problem: how

do you create genuine public space in Gulf climate where outdoor

conditions are often hostile? The answer: environmental engineering

disguised as design.

Using computational fluid dynamics, ZHA modeled shade patterns

throughout calendar year. Every canopy position, every water

feature, every planted zone exists based on thermal performance

data. The architecture doesn’t impose form on site; it emerges from

site conditions.

What You’ll Experience

Walk Aljada Central Hub during early evening (5-7 PM) when families

gather and activation peaks. You’ll see design working—not as

What You’ll Experience

Interior galleries trace the Emirates’ journey from ancient Arabian

Gulf trade routes through Bedouin heritage to oil-era transformation

to contemporary nationhood. But the building itself tells parallel stoobject,

but as enabling infrastructure for public life. Notice where

people sit, where children play, how movement flows. The design is

successful to the degree it disappears, becoming transparent infrastructure

for human activity.

This is fundamentally different from typical Gulf development,

where public space is often afterthought. At Aljada, space comes

first; buildings serve space.

Why It Signals Something Important

Aljada represents Sharjah’s intellectual maturation. The emirate is

capable of contemporary architectural sophistication without pastiche

or cultural compromise. This opens possibilities for regional

cities globally—you don’t need to choose between heritage and

innovation.

Pro Tip

Visit across different times of day—morning, midday, evening—to

understand how the design responds to changing light and use

patterns. Compare to City Walk (Dubai) or The Beach (JBR). Notice

how ZHA prioritizes spatial continuity over retail frontage. That’s

philosophical difference between urban design thinking and commercial

master planning.


www.magzoid.com

January 2026

11


DUBAI URBAN TECH DISTRICT

AL JADDAF, DUBAI CREEK | MULTIPLE ARCHITECTS | PHASE 1 OPENING 2026

BURJ AZIZI

SHEIKH ZAYED ROAD, DUBAI | MULTIPLE ARCHITECTS | TOPPING OUT 2026

Dubai Urban Tech District isn’t single building—it’s entire district

designed as living laboratory for urban innovation. This

is Dubai asking: What does next-generation Gulf urbanism

look like? And answering: not Marina. Not Downtown.

Something else entirely.

The Vision

Multiple architects contribute pavilions, research facilities, tech campuses,

and educational buildings unified by shared environmental

standards: net-zero carbon targets, greywater recycling infrastructure,

integrated solar systems, smart mobility networks. Buildings

aren’t autonomous objects; they’re nodes in ecological system.

Phase 1 focuses on research, innovation, and educational programming.

Future phases will add residential and hospitality. The

masterplan treats the district as complete ecosystem where buildings,

infrastructure, landscape, and technology integrate.

The Innovation

Facades test materials rarely deployed at scale: phase-change

polymers that absorb/release thermal energy as temperatures fluctuate,

algae-based bioreactive panels that generate oxygen while

providing thermal mass, 3D-printed structural components reducing

material waste. Public spaces deploy sensor networks monitoring

air quality, pedestrian flow patterns, thermal comfort, energy

consumption in real-time. This isn’t aesthetic innovation—it’s func-

tional research. Every material choice, every system integration,

every design decision exists to answer specific questions about

sustainable urbanism in Gulf climate.

Why Visit

Dubai Urban Tech District positions itself as Middle East’s answer

to Barcelona’s 22@ or Berlin’s Adlershof—post-industrial zones reimagined

through innovation economy. The architecture communicates

this explicitly: contemporary, technical, forward-thinking. For

architects, urban designers, sustainability professionals, and anyone

interested in climate-responsive urbanism, this is essential visit.

Visitor Notes

Many buildings are research facilities with restricted access. Contact

district management for architecture tours (often available for

design professionals, students, and media). Weekday morning visits

yield better access and more informative interactions with building

operators and researchers.

Pro Tip

Visit both day and night. The district’s lighting design and nocturnal

programming reveal different architectural character. Pay attention

to how smart systems respond to occupancy and environmental

conditions. Notice material choices—every facade tells story about

thermal performance and environmental strategy.

Dubai hasn’t abandoned height. Burj Azizi, set to become the

world’s second-tallest building at over 700 meters, proves

that ambition persists. But unlike earlier supertalls optimizing

for icon status, Burj Azizi thinks about performance.

The Design

Mixed-use tower integrating luxury residences, five-star hotel, observation

decks, and high-end retail. But the distinguishing feature

is facade engineering. The external skin actively reduces solar gain

through parametric geometry, electrochromic glass, and intelligent

shading systems while maximizing unobstructed views—paradoxical

requirement solved through sophisticated design.

The tower won’t top out until late 2026 with full completion extending

into 2027. But 2026 is when you’ll see structural completion—the

moment the building’s form becomes fully legible against Dubai’s

skyline.

What It Signals

Burj Azizi demonstrates that Dubai’s architectural evolution doesn’t

mean abandoning height. It means making height intelligent. The

supertall of 2026 isn’t about breaking records; it’s about integrating

performance, comfort, and sustainability into ambitious form.

Why It Matters

Standing at Sheikh Zayed Road watching Burj Azizi reach com-

pletion, you’ll understand Dubai’s architectural narrative shift. The

tower isn’t apologizing for ambition; it’s refining it. That distinction—

from ambitious spectacle to ambitious intelligence—defines 2026’s

building culture.

Pro Tip

Visit Sheikh Zayed Road multiple times through 2026 as the tower

progresses toward completion. Watch how the structure emerges

from surrounding context. The topping-out ceremony (expected

late 2026) will likely be public event worth attending. Photography

from multiple vantage points captures the tower’s relationship to surrounding

urban fabric.


www.magzoid.com

January 2026

13

ABOUT TIME

THREE

DECADES ON

THE WRIST

PLAYSTATION X ANICORN’S ANNIVERSARY

COLLECTION

PlayStation and Hong Kong-based

watchmaker ANICORN celebrate

gaming’s most iconic brand with a

limited-edition timepiece collection

launching December 19, exclusively through

ANICORN’s website. The collaboration honors

PlayStation’s 30th anniversary through

three distinct watches that translate console

nostalgia and contemporary gaming aesthetics

into wearable design.

The centerpiece, the First PlayStation Limited

Edition Mechanical Watch, is restricted

to 300 numbered pieces worldwide. Its dial

and FKM strap feature the classic button

symbols, while watch hands incorporate the

Start and Select buttons from the original

1994 controller. The crown bears PlayStation’s

power symbol, and the top cover displays

the brand logo. Powered by a Miyota

9039 mechanical movement with 42-hour reserve,

the watch is housed in 316L stainless

steel with sapphire crystal and 5ATM water

resistance, priced at $780 USD.

Each mechanical watch includes a SAVE.

LOAD. OVERWRITE. Memory Capsule—a

faithful recreation of PlayStation’s original

memory card enhanced with NFC technology.

Tapping the capsule opens a digital

Memory Board for personal storytelling,

reimagining game-save management. The

watch arrives in a metal protective case

modeled after classic PlayStation hardware,

with an unscrewing mechanism that mimics

unlocking saved files.

The Play Symbol Dark Mode and Light

Mode watches offer accessible quartz alternatives

at $250 USD each. Both feature

oil-injected displays creating distortion-free

visuals, with floating symbols that animate

with wrist movement. Dark Mode channels

contemporary PlayStation interfaces, while

Light Mode offers brighter, creative interpretation.

Both utilize Miyota 2035 movements,

stainless steel cases, genuine leather

straps, and 5ATM resistance—designed for

collectors who value gaming heritage translated

into everyday luxury.


www.magzoid.com

January 2026

15

DESIGN

MERCEDES-MAYBACH’S OCEAN CLUB

REDEFINES FLOATING LUXURY

Mercedes-Benz Design has unveiled the Maybach Ocean

Club, an exclusive ship-based members’ enclave aboard

the conceptual superyacht “Beyond Horizons.” Merging

automotive luxury with maritime heritage, the 155-meter

vessel offers over 50,000 square feet of deck space and staterooms

inspired by 1920s grand ocean liners, reinterpreting ultra-luxury for

the global elite.

Unveiled by Chief Design Officer Gorden Wagener at Fort Lauderdale

International Boat Show in November 2025, the project

introduces a membership model that delivers superyacht prestige

without ownership burdens. Developed with Splendid Sea co-founders

Matthias Bosse (former captain of Lady Moura) and hospitality

entrepreneur Michael Hehn, the club targets 300 co-owners, each

entitled to four weeks annually aboard the mothership.

The 15,000-ton yacht features 30 identical 74-square-meter residential

suites with private balconies, eliminating hierarchical cabin

categories. “We didn’t want categories—no master suite upstairs

and tiny cabins below. All 30 suites are equal,” explains Bosse.

Deck areas spanning 4,500 square meters include infinity pools,

panoramic lounges, beach clubs with direct sea access, and wellness

facilities designed to harmonize body and spirit.

German naval architects Dölker + Voges oversee the yacht’s

structure, balancing refined sophistication with seagoing functionality.

A dedicated 70-meter shadow vessel by Laurent Giles will carry

water toys, limousine tenders, and technical staff, allowing “Beyond

Horizons” to focus entirely on guest experience.

The yacht will follow seasonal itineraries—Mediterranean summers

and Caribbean or Indian Ocean winters—with specifications

for green methanol or biodiesel propulsion. Competitive tenders

have gone to European shipyards, with a targeted maiden season

in 2029 pending early member commitments.

For Middle Eastern luxury consumers familiar with Maybach’s automotive

excellence and yacht culture, the Ocean Club represents

Mercedes-Benz Places’ strategic maritime expansion—translating

the brand’s “sensual clarity” design philosophy into a globe-roaming

sanctuary where hospitality, design, and exclusivity converge

at sea.

16 January 2026

www.magzoid.com


17

DESIGN

MONOLITHIC

QUIETUDE

WOOYOUNGMI’S SEOUL FLAGSHIP BY STOCKER LEE ARCHITETTI

W

OOYOUNGMI has unveiled its second

standalone flagship in Seoul’s Itaewon

district, a 970-square-meter monolithic

structure designed by Swiss-Italian practice Stocker

Lee Architetti. Completed in October 2025, the

four-story building translates the brand’s sophisticated

tailoring philosophy into architectural form,

following the 2023 debut of its prestigious Rue

Saint-Honoré flagship in Paris.

The building responds directly to its compact,

curved plot along an inclined road, with volumes

that “bend and adjust” to the street’s movement.

The exterior showcases material duality: a lower

mass of textured concrete cast in OSB formwork

creates a woven, textile-like grain, while the upper

register is wrapped in luminous glass blocks. This

“glass lantern” filters natural light during the day

and transforms the structure into a glowing beacon

after dusk, anchoring Itaewon’s nightlife landscape.

Inside, the store navigates the steep slope

through staggered mezzanine levels connected

by a central vertical core. This “cinematic” layout

creates shifting ceiling heights and varying proportions,

allowing menswear and womenswear

collections to unfold as part of a continuous spatial

journey. The ground floor features a lounge with

custom furniture by artist Dongwook Choi, while

upper levels house the collections. A rooftop garden

offers panoramic city views.

The material palette remains ascetic—concrete,

steel, stone, and wood—ensuring the architecture

recedes enough for garments to command attention.

By bridging the design language of its Paris

predecessor with Seoul’s urban energy, the flagship

stands as a definitive monument to WOOY-

OUNGMI’s global “quiet luxury” movement and

architectural ambition.

18 January 2026

www.magzoid.com


19

GET THE BAG

CIRCULAR

CRAFT

DHL AND SUBJECT

TRANSFORM

LOGISTICS UNIFORMS

INTO ARTISAN BAGS

Masanaka Sakao’s new brand SUBJECT has launched an

upcycled bag collection in collaboration with DHL, transforming

retired courier uniforms from the company’s global

logistics network into premium accessories. The initiative

reimagines materials that carried the stories of frontline workers

across continents, reconstructing them through Sakao’s refined design

perspective and Japanese artisan expertise.

Produced by skilled craftsmen from workshops in Toyooka City,

Hyogo Prefecture—Japan’s foremost bag production hub with over

1,000 years of willow-weaving heritage—and Kurashiki City, Okayama

Prefecture, the collection preserves the authentic texture and

durability of the original workwear while elevating it into wearable

luxury. Toyooka’s bag-making tradition, which supplied fiber bags to

Japanese Olympians at the 1936 Berlin Games, brings unparalleled

technical skill to the project.

The collaboration originated from SEEKER CREATIVE STUDIO,

Sakao’s creative collective founded after his success with TATRAS.

The studio has consistently proposed sustainable brands like MSK,

a philosophy that resonated with DHL’s environmental commitments.

Tony Khan, President of DHL Express Japan, emphasized the cultural

significance: “Our uniforms carry the pride and history of our staff who

have been active on the frontlines of global logistics. We feel great

significance in seeing them resurrected as products with new value.”

A portion of sales is donated to the NPO Made in Japan Project,

supporting regional industries and traditional craftsmanship preservation.

The collection is available globally via SUBJECT’s official website,

with international shipping completed through DHL’s GoGreen

Plus service using sustainable aviation fuel—connecting circular design

with carbon-conscious logistics for a holistic sustainability approach.


www.magzoid.com

January 2026

21

INTERVIEW

MANOJ SUREKA

CEO & Managing Partner,

Synergy Fin. Consulting

MENA’S RISING

SELF-MADE

CREATIVE

STUDIOS

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

In an era where creativity is shaping industries and imagination is powering some of the world’s most dynamic businesses, Manoj Sureka

stands at the forefront of a powerful shift, bringing creativity into finance. As the Managing Partner of Synergy Fin. Consulting, Manoj has

become one of the UAE’s leading voices in alternative funding, structured finance, and entrepreneurial growth.

Q. What factors are driving the emergence of self-made

creative studios in the MENA region?

A: The proliferation of digital tools, social media

platforms, and accessible design technologies

has enabled individuals to transform

personal projects into fully operational

creative businesses. This is further supported

by an increasing demand for locally relevant

content and innovative design solutions.

Q. How do side projects transition into

professional studios?

Many begin as freelance assignments or

personal initiatives. By consistently delivering

high-quality work, focusing on a niche,

and cultivating a strong online presence, creators

attract clients and collaborators, eventually

formalising into studios with structured

teams, processes, and portfolios.

Q. Which sectors are experiencing the

greatest impact from these creative studios?

Advertising, digital content production,

branding, and UX/UI design are witnessing

significant growth, with studios serving both

regional and international clients.

Q. What challenges do self-made creatives

encounter in MENA?

Key challenges include securing funding,

navigating regulatory frameworks, scaling

operations, and balancing creative autonomy with client requirements.

Q. Why is this trend significant for the region?

It signifies a shift towards homegrown innovation,

empowering local talent and diversifying

the creative economy beyond traditional

sectors.

Q. How critical is community and networking

for emerging creatives?

Community engagement and professional

networks are essential, providing mentorship,

collaboration opportunities, and client referrals

that accelerate growth.

Q. What role does technology play in the

development of these studios?

Technology enables creators to produce professional-grade

work remotely, manage projects

efficiently, and reach a global audience

without the need for extensive infrastructure.

Q. What guidance do successful MENA

creatives offer to aspiring entrepreneurs?

They emphasise starting with manageable

projects, maintaining consistency, building a

personal brand, embracing experimentation,

and focusing on delivering tangible value to

clients and audiences.

22 January 2026

www.magzoid.com


23

THREADS

Reinvented

Utility

CARHARTT WIP’S SS26 DENIM EVOLUTION

Carhartt WIP’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection anchors

itself in denim reinvention, presenting utility workwear

through contemporary treatments and archival silhouettes.

Launching now via the brand’s webstore and

global retail network, the collection balances seasonal transition

with year-round versatility, priced from $58 to $438 USD.

Denim serves as the creative foundation, explored through

multiple fabrications: traditional rigid denim for durability,

hand-finished “grind-wash” treatments that deliver aged aesthetics,

and industrial poly-cotton hybrids referencing workwear

uniforms. This material diversity speaks to Carhartt WIP’s

ongoing dialogue between heritage construction and modern

streetwear sensibilities.

The color palette maintains intentional restraint—overdyed

burgundy, brown, and grey across canvas and jersey pieces,

layered with earth-toned check flannel shirts. This muted approach

ensures adaptability across seasons while reinforcing

the brand’s workwear DNA.

Outerwear standouts include the Adair Coat, drawing functional

design cues from vintage fireman jackets with metal clip

closures, and the Shepton Jacket, which revisits the proportions

of the classic B-6 flight jacket. Both pieces demonstrate

Carhartt WIP’s skill in translating archival workwear codes into

contemporary silhouettes.

Foundational staples anchor the collection: the men’s OG

Double Knee Pant and women’s OG Arctic Jacket, both constructed

from heavy-duty, rigid denim for long-lasting wear.

Modern reinterpretations appear through relaxed-fit “jorts” and

vintage-wash denim midi skirts, blending rugged utility with

current streetwear trends.

For UAE consumers seeking versatile, durable pieces that

transcend seasonal trends, Carhartt WIP’s SS26 collection offers

workwear-rooted design with contemporary relevance—

utility.

24 January 2026 www.magzoid.com www.magzoid.com January 2026

25

THREADS

QUIET

DISRUPTION

MM6 MAISON MAR-

GIELA PRE-FALL

2026 REDEFINES

THE EVERYDAY

MM6 Maison Margiela’s Pre-Fall

2026 collection presents a masterclass

in deconstruction, channeling

the house’s signature codes

through the pragmatic language of school

uniforms and workwear. The result is a study

in quietly radical silhouettes—garments that

appear functional at first glance but reveal

engineered disruptions upon closer inspection.

The collection’s conceptual anchor is

duality: rigidity meets fluidity, the ordinary

transforms into the avant-garde. Pieces appear

worn backward or inside out, a hallmark

gesture that has defined Margiela’s subversive

approach since its inception. Inverted

workwear jackets feature oversized collars

and exterior pockets that flip traditional construction

logic, while asymmetrical knitwear

and half-tucked shirting maintain an illusion

of effortless disorder.

Tailoring is reimagined through unexpected

slits and openings that alter proportions,

destabilizing conventional silhouettes without

sacrificing wearability. Neutral and muted

tones—whites, grays, blacks, and soft

beiges—ground the collection in understated

elegance, allowing the structural innovations

to take center stage. Layering drives

the narrative, with elongated jersey shirts,

stacked hoodies, and raw-hemmed denim

anchoring more conceptual outerwear.

This approach reflects MM6’s ongoing

commitment to quiet subversion—a fashion

that challenges conventions through subtle

interventions rather than dramatic gestures.

For design-conscious consumers and industry

professionals, the collection demonstrates

how deconstruction can coexist with

everyday utility, transforming familiar archetypes

into statements of intellectual sophistication

and contemporary relevance.



27

THREADS

REFINED

UTILITY

NEEDLES REIMAGINES WORKWEAR FOR FALL/WINTER 2025

NEEDLES has released its second

Fall/Winter 2025 exclusive capsule

for NEPENTHES, reimagining traditional

workwear through a contemporary

streetwear lens. The collection centers

on durable polyester-cotton twill fabric in

Charcoal and Navy colorways, blending utilitarian

function with refined urban aesthetics.

The capsule features three foundational

pieces designed for versatile layering. The

Coverall showcases classic patch pockets

and contrast stitching, maintaining workwear

authenticity while offering clean, modern

lines. The H.D. Work Pant utilizes NEEDLES’

signature high-density construction—a voluminous

silhouette that has become synonymous

with the brand’s design language.

Completing the trio, a matching Trucker Cap

features the same twill construction and embroidered

NEEDLES butterfly logo.

Each piece functions independently or

as part of a cohesive “work suit” concept,

emphasizing the brand’s philosophy of everyday

wearability that transitions seamlessly

between rugged functionality and urban

sophistication. Designer Keizo Shimizu’s

eclectic aesthetic merges with utilitarian

silhouettes, creating garments that honor

workwear heritage while serving contemporary

style needs.

The collection reflects broader trends

in Japanese menswear, where brands like

NEEDLES, visvim, and WTAPS have elevated

work-inspired clothing into carefully

considered lifestyle wardrobes. By focusing

on quality construction, timeless silhouettes,

and versatile colorways, NEEDLES demonstrates

how workwear can transcend its origins

to become refined everyday apparel.

Priced from ¥11,000 to ¥41,800 JPY (approximately

$71 to $268 USD), the exclusive

capsule is now available through NEPEN-

THES’ online store and physical locations in

Tokyo, Osaka, and New York.


29

EDITORIAL

CLOUD DANCER

THE YEAR OF WHITE

PANTONE’S 2026 COLOR OF THE YEAR — A MANIFESTO

FOR CLARITY AND CALM

On December 4, 2025, Pantone

made history. For the first time in

26 years, they selected white—not

as background, but as declaration.

PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer arrives as

audacious statement: in a world saturated

with stimulation and noise, the color of 2026

is silence.

This isn’t clinical white or sterile emptiness.

Cloud Dancer is atmospheric—the

white of overcast skies, morning mist, cumulus

clouds. It breathes. It suggests possibility

rather than void. Technically, it contains

warm undertones preventing the coldness

of pure white, with CMYK specifications (0,

0, 3, 3) making it remarkably economical to

produce across industries.

The choice signals something profound

about our cultural moment. For a decade,

Pantone’s colors reflected emotional saturation—Peach

Fuzz’s compassion, Viva

Magenta’s boldness, Classic Blue’s stability.

We sought reassurance through chromatic

intensity. Now, Pantone suggests we’re exhausted.

We need less, not more. We require

cognitive rest.

Cognitive science validates this intuition.

Visual simplicity reduces mental processing

load, freeing psychological resources for

creativity and contemplation. Minimalist environments

activate the brain’s default mode

network—the neural system responsible for


31

EDITORIAL

creative ideation and deep thinking. Cloud

Dancer, as white, optimizes these conditions.

It provides visual anchor without demanding

cognitive resources.

For the UAE and GCC, Cloud Dancer

carries specific meaning. Traditional Gulf architecture—whitewashed

wind towers, pale

limestone walls, cream villas—deployed

white as environmental strategy, reflecting

intense sunlight in climates exceeding 45°C.

Cloud Dancer resurrects this wisdom intellectually,

linking contemporary minimalism to

indigenous architectural knowledge.

Regional designers gain opportunity to

claim whitespace as cultural inheritance

rather than Western borrowing. Studio D04’s

light-modulated interiors, Khalid Shafar’s

Sadu textile research merging algorithm with

heritage—both practices find philosophical

alignment with Cloud Dancer’s principles.

For luxury positioning, Cloud Dancer

represents a strategic advantage. Where

the UAE’s historical design emphasized visual

maximalism—gold accents, saturated

colors, ornamental density—Cloud Dancer

signals an alternative: restraint as ultimate

status. Properties like Six Senses The Palm,

adopting Cloud Dancer extensively, position

against regional tradition, communicating

that contemporary luxury resides in wellness,

mindfulness, and escape from overstimulation.

Practical application demands intelligence.

Cloud Dancer works best paired

with grounding materials and accent colors.

Cloud Dancer plus terracotta recalls

Gulf heritage. Cloud Dancer plus deep blue

references Arabian waters. Cloud Dancer,

plus natural wood, creates warmth through

contrast. The critical strategy: maintain white

dominance while varying texture—smooth

plaster, raw linen, polished stone—creating

visual richness without chromatic intensity.

Fashion brands responded immediately,

positioning Cloud Dancer as confidence

through simplicity, a signal of contemporary

minimalism and sustainability consciousness.

Digital interfaces recognize Cloud

Dancer’s accessibility advantages—improved

contrast ratios, reducing eye strain

for digitally fatigued users.

Philosophically, Cloud Dancer’s selection

reveals cultural maturation. We’ve experienced

sufficient stimulation. We understand

accumulation has limits. Simplification requires

courage. This aligns with ancient

contemplative traditions—Zen’s emptiness,

Islamic sacred geometry’s reduction to essential

principle, Minimalism’s transcendence

through subtraction.

Yet paradox persists: Pantone profits by

marketing absence. Brands gain premium

positioning through claiming simplicity.

Commercial systems have learned to monetize

non-consumption. Is Cloud Dancer a

genuine cultural shift or a sophisticated marketing

of restraint? Probably both.

What matters: Cloud Dancer’s widespread

adoption genuinely shifts how design gets

made and how people experience environments.

The color of 2026 invites engagement

with whitespace not as background, but as

primary material—technically, aesthetically,

philosophically.

The future of design isn’t what you add. It’s

what you remove.


33

INTERIROR

Peace

New England Patriots wide receiver

Stefon Diggs has stepped off the

field and into the design world with

Si Vis Pacem, a luxury furniture line

unveiled at Design Miami during Art Basel

2025. The collection—named after the Latin

phrase “if you want peace”—channels

Diggs’s personal need for sanctuary into

sculptural pieces designed to ground, restore,

and elevate daily living.

The five-piece debut includes a plush futon-style

sofa, backless H-shaped chrome

chairs, oversized free-form mirrors wrapped

in fur, rounded coffee tables with cow leather

details, and an olive-green lounge chair.

Each piece features organic silhouettes,

soft curves, and earth-inspired textures that

blur the line between functional furniture and

Through

Design

STEFON DIGGS LAUNCHES SI VIS PACEM FURNITURE

collectible art. The H-shaped multifunctional

pieces shift effortlessly between stool, end

table, counter seat, and accent chair, embodying

versatility within sculptural forms.

“I go to war everyday—between my job,

my passions and my everyday life,” Diggs

explained. “When I come home, I want to feel

as much peace as possible. Si Vis Pacem is

my way of creating peace in my space; and

the only time I truly feel at peace is in the

spaces I create.”

Currently available by commission with a

broader release planned for 2026, the collection

builds on Diggs’s 2024 collaboration

with French luxury brand Paulin Paulin Paulin.

However, the use of real animal fur in the

mirrors drew immediate criticism from PETA,

which urged Diggs to adopt faux alternatives.

For design-conscious audiences valuing

both aesthetics and personal sanctuary, Si

Vis Pacem represents an athlete’s creative

expansion into intentional home design—

where comfort meets sculptural ambition.


35

AUTOMOTIVE

ADRIAN

NEWEY’S

FINAL

MASTERPIECE

RED BULL RB17 HYPERCAR REVEALED

Red Bull Advanced Technologies has

unveiled the final production design

of the RB17, a track-only hypercar

that represents legendary engineer

Adrian Newey’s ultimate expression of automotive

performance. Limited to just 50 units

and priced at approximately $6 million USD,

the RB17 delivers Formula 1-level capability

in a package designed for private owners.

The transition from virtual concept to

physical machine is complete, showcasing

a design philosophy rooted in “form following

function.” At its heart sits a naturally aspirated

V10 engine that revs to a staggering

15,000 RPM—paired with a sophisticated

hybrid system—producing over 1,200 horsepower.

This powertrain drives a carbon-fiber

monocoque chassis weighing less than 900

kilograms, achieving a power-to-weight ratio

that Red Bull claims will deliver F1-competitive

lap times.

The RB17’s sculpted aerodynamic profile

generates nearly two tons of downforce, creating

mechanical grip levels that push the

boundaries of what track-focused hypercars

can achieve. Every surface has been optimized

for airflow management, with aggressive

ducting, sculpted bodywork, and active

aerodynamic elements working in concert to

maximize cornering speed and stability at

velocity.

Newey, whose career has defined modern

Formula 1 through championship-winning

designs for Williams, McLaren, and Red Bull

Racing, approaches the RB17 as his definitive

parting gift before transitioning to his

next chapter. The hypercar embodies decades

of racing knowledge translated into a

machine accessible to capable private drivers

rather than professional racers alone.

Exclusivity extends beyond the 50-unit

production run. Each owner receives a bespoke

driver development program including

access to Red Bull’s elite simulators and

professional track-side support—ensuring

that buyers can extract maximum performance

from machinery operating at the

highest levels of automotive engineering.

The RB17’s naturally aspirated V10 stands

as a philosophical statement in an era dominated

by turbocharged hybrid powertrains.

By prioritizing throttle response, aural drama,

and the visceral experience of high-revving

combustion, Newey honors racing’s analog

heritage while incorporating cutting-edge

hybrid technology for ultimate performance.

Carbon-fiber construction throughout

the chassis ensures structural rigidity while

minimizing mass. This lightweight architecture

allows the hybrid system’s additional

weight to be offset, maintaining the responsive

handling characteristics essential for

track performance. The sub-900-kilogram

curb weight positions the RB17 among the

lightest hypercars ever produced, rivaling

purpose-built race cars in power-to-weight

efficiency.

Red Bull Advanced Technologies, the division

responsible for translating F1 expertise

into commercial applications, brings

decades of motorsport knowledge to the

RB17’s development. The team has previously

collaborated on projects like the Aston

Martin Valkyrie, demonstrating capability

in creating extreme-performance road and

track vehicles that push engineering boundaries.

For the 50 individuals securing RB17 ownership,

the hypercar represents more than

automotive acquisition—it’s entry into Red

Bull’s racing ecosystem, complete with driver

development programs typically reserved

for professional motorsport. This holistic

approach ensures owners can fully exploit

machinery designed to operate at F1 performance

levels.

The RB17’s final design reveals aggressive

visual drama matched to aerodynamic

purpose. Sculpted surfaces channel air with

precision, creating the downforce necessary

for cornering speeds that approach professional

racing. The carbon-fiber bodywork

isn’t merely lightweight construction but an

active participant in performance, working

continuously to manage airflow and generate

mechanical grip.

As Newey prepares for his next chapter

beyond Red Bull Racing, the RB17 stands

as definitive proof of his engineering philosophy:

that extreme performance emerges

from holistic design thinking where every

element serves aerodynamic, mechanical,

and experiential purposes simultaneously.

The hypercar represents not an ending but

a culmination—decades of Formula 1 knowledge

distilled into 50 machines capable of

delivering racing thrills to private owners.


www.magzoid.com

January 2026

37


5 ART

MOMENTS

IN THE

UAE IN

2026

THE ART CALENDAR IS STACKED. FROM

FEBRUARY MUSEUM OPENINGS THROUGH

NOVEMBER’S INTERNATIONAL FAIR SEA-

SON, 2026 PRESENTS FIVE UNMISSA-

BLE MOMENTS THAT WILL DEFINE THE

YEAR’S CULTURAL LANDSCAPE. THIS IS

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN INSTITUTIONAL

AMBITION, MARKET CONFIDENCE, AND

CURATORIAL RIGOR CONVERGE.

HERE ARE FIVE ART EXPERIENCES THAT DEMAND

YOUR ATTENTION.

SHARJAH ART FOUNDATION SPRING PROGRAMME:

JORGE TACLA SURVEY

AL MUREIJAH SQUARE, SHARJAH | FEBRUARY 8 – JUNE 7, 2026

Sharjah Art Foundation presents the

largest retrospective to date of Chilean-Palestinian

artist Jorge Tacla—

over 170 paintings and works on

paper spanning from the mid-1980s to present.

Tacla, a third-generation Palestinian and

Syrian immigrant in Chile, has developed a

unique method of “painting in the negative”

to record how political violence and natural

disasters imprint upon built environments.

This is architectural trauma made visible—

cities as bodies bearing witness to history.

What You’ll See:

Tacla’s haunting canvases depict urban

ruins not through literal representation but

through ghostly absences and spectral traces.

He photographs damaged structures,

then meticulously paints their negative images—spaces

where buildings once stood

become dense matter; solid walls dissolve

into void. The technique creates disorienting

psychological effect: you’re looking at cities

through X-ray vision, seeing structural skeletons

and architectural memory simultaneously.

The Intellectual Framework:

For Gulf audiences, Tacla’s work carries particular

resonance. The exhibition arrives as

region grapples with accelerated urbanization,

heritage demolition, and architectural

transformation at unprecedented scale. Tacla

asks: What happens when cities erase

themselves? What remains when buildings

disappear? These aren’t abstract questions

for audiences witnessing Dubai and Abu

Dhabi’s constant reinvention.

The Broader Programme:

Tacla’s survey anchors Sharjah Art Foundation’s

ambitious spring season, which

includes Ahaad Alamoudi’s first UAE solo

exhibition (exploring regional cultural identity),

Rachid Koraïchi’s five-decade practice

in Islamic mysticism and symbolism, and the

annual March Meeting (March 27-29) bringing

international curators and artists for three

days of talks and performances.

Insider Strategy:

Allocate minimum two hours for Tacla exhibition

alone. The work demands slow viewing—initial

reading reveals architectural

forms; sustained attention reveals emotional

and political substrates. Visit during March

Meeting weekend (March 27-29) when Sharjah’s

entire art ecosystem activates with

talks, performances, and satellite exhibitions.

All programming free admission.


www.magzoid.com

January 2026

39


LOUVRE ABU DHABI: PICASSO,

THE FIGURE

LOUVRE ABU DHABI | JANUARY 19 – MAY 31, 2026

Louvre Abu Dhabi presents major Picasso

retrospective—Picasso, the

Figure—organized with Musée national

Picasso-Paris. The exhibition spans

seven decades exploring Picasso’s radical

reimagining of the human body across Cubism,

Surrealism, and late classicism. This is

rare opportunity to engage European modernism’s

central figure outside Western museums,

in dialogue with Louvre Abu Dhabi’s

“universal museum” philosophy.

What You’ll See:

Key works from Louvre Abu Dhabi’s collection

paired with loans from Paris. The exhibition

traces fragmentation, reconstruction,

and psychological investigation of the human

figure. Curatorial framework emphasizes

Picasso’s engagement with African

sculpture, Islamic geometry, and non-Western

traditions—positioning him within global

modernism rather than isolated European

genius.

The Intellectual Framework:

Viewing Picasso from Abu Dhabi rather than

Paris fundamentally reshapes interpretation.

The exhibition interrogates what it means

to present European modernism through

non-Western lens. This intellectual move

matters more than specific artworks—it’s

statement about global art historical authority

and interpretive possibility.

The Season Context:

Picasso, the Figure anchors Louvre Abu

Dhabi’s robust 2026 programming. Coordinated

exhibitions at natural history, contemporary,

and archaeological museums across

Saadiyat create comprehensive visual arts

experience. Allocate 2-3 days minimum for

full district exploration.

Insider Strategy:

Mid-morning weekday visits (Tuesday-Thursday)

offer optimal conditions—minimal

crowds, perfect natural light from Nouvel’s

“rain of light” dome. The architecture becomes

inseparable from viewing experience.

Photography allowed without flash.

Combine with Manar Abu Dhabi light installations

(if visiting early 2026) for contrasting

art experiences.

JAMEEL ARTS CENTRE: GLOBAL POSITIONING

SYSTEM

JADDAF WATERFRONT, DUBAI | JANUARY 28 – JUNE 28, 2026

Jameel Arts Centre presents Global Positioning

System, a major group exhibition

examining how artists navigate

systems of power, geography, and

identity in an increasingly interconnected yet

fractured world. Curated by Art Jameel’s curatorial

team, the exhibition brings together

25+ international artists whose practices interrogate

borders, migration, environmental

collapse, and technological surveillance—

themes urgently relevant to Gulf context and

global contemporary moment.

What You’ll See:

The exhibition spans multiple galleries and

outdoor courtyards, featuring photography,

film, sculpture, works on paper, textiles, and

site-specific installations. Artists use mapping,

cartography, and spatial documentation

as conceptual tools—not to assert

control but to question who gets to define

territory, movement, and belonging. Expect

works addressing climate displacement,

digital surveillance, contested borders, and

alternative geographies imagined by those

excluded from official maps.

The Artistic Lineup:

While full artist list hasn’t been announced,

expect significant representation from

MENA, South Asia, and Global South practices—regions

where questions of sovereignty,

migration, and territorial control remain

urgent rather than theoretical. Jameel

Arts Centre’s programming consistently

centers artists whose work addresses power

asymmetries and decolonial futures.

The Broader Season Context:

Global Positioning System anchors Jameel

Arts Centre’s 2026 programming alongside

solo exhibitions including Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook’s

The Bouquet and the Wreath

(November 2025-March 2026) and Kamruzzaman

Shadhin’s monumental textile installation

The River Remembers (March-August

2026). Together, these exhibitions create

sustained engagement with migration, memory,

and environmental transformation.

Insider Strategy:

Visit early in exhibition run (February-March)

when programming intensity peaks—expect

artist talks, curator tours, and panel discussions.

Jameel Arts Centre’s architecture—

designed by Serie Architects—integrates

indoor galleries with outdoor courtyards and

creek views. Allow 90 minutes minimum.

Free admission. Combine with visits to Alserkal

Avenue galleries (15-minute drive) for

comprehensive Dubai art experience.


www.magzoid.com

January 2026

41


FRIEZE ABU DHABI

INAUGURAL EDITION

MANARAT AL SAADIYAT | NOVEMBER 2-6, 2026

Frieze launches its first Middle East

edition in November 2026, transforming

Abu Dhabi Art Fair into Frieze Abu

Dhabi. This positions Abu Dhabi as

Frieze’s chosen regional hub, elevating the

fair into Frieze’s global network (London,

New York, Los Angeles, Seoul). It signals

major power shift in Middle East art market—direct

competition with Art Basel Doha

launched earlier in 2026.

What to Expect:

120+ international galleries with strong

representation from MENA, Africa, Latin

America, and South Asia. Frieze’s curatorial

approach emphasizes overlooked geographies

and artistic practices historically

marginalized by Western art market. Expect

blue-chip galleries (Pace, Hauser & Wirth)

alongside regional leaders (Green Art Gallery,

Leila Heller) and emerging platforms

from Lagos, Cairo, Karachi, São Paulo.

Programming Beyond Booths:

Frieze’s signature talks program—among

global fairs’ most extensive—brings scholars,

artists, and thought leaders addressing

decolonization, climate change and art,

digital collecting, and regional artistic production.

Site-specific commissions and performances

throughout Manarat Al Saadiyat

create fair-as-ecosystem experience rather

than transactional marketplace.

The Competitive Context:

Frieze Abu Dhabi (November) arrives

months after Art Basel Doha (February) and

Art Dubai (April), creating unprecedented

concentration of major international fairs in

Gulf within single year. Both Abu Dhabi and

Qatar are sovereignly backed and culturally

ambitious. The global art world benefits—

collectors, curators, and artists now have

three major destinations creating year-round

Gulf engagement.

Insider Strategy:

VIP Preview (November 2-3) offers quieter

gallery access and direct dealer conversation.

Deutsche Bank sponsorship brings collector

programming and curator-led tours.

Weekend public days reveal how local audiences

engage with international contemporary

art. Plan extended visit—combine

fair with Saadiyat museums and downtown

galleries.

ART DUBAI

20TH EDITION

MADINAT JUMEIRAH | APRIL 15-19, 2026

Art Dubai celebrates 20 years as

Middle East’s flagship contemporary

art fair. What began as regional

platform evolved into genuinely

global event with 120+ galleries from 35+

countries, particular strength in MENA, Latin

America, and South Asia. Art Dubai functions

as institutional curator—which artists,

galleries, and practices gain international

visibility depends partly on Art Dubai’s selection

and positioning.

What to Expect:

Four curated sections: Contemporary (bluechip/mid-tier),

Modern (20th-century regional

masters), Bawwaba (emerging galleries/

experimental projects), Digital (NFTs/new

media). Expect 36 first-time exhibitors.

Strong MENA representation—Green Art

Gallery, The Third Line, Carbon 12, Tabari

Artspace showcasing established and

emerging regional talent.

Programming:

Global Art Forum brings speakers addressing

contemporary concerns—AI, climate,

decolonization. Digital Summit explores

blockchain and collecting. Artist conversations

offer intimate dialogues with participating

creatives. Modern Talks examine Arab

modernism’s ongoing influence. This is fair

as cultural institute, not just marketplace.

Satellite Activation:

Art Dubai catalyzes citywide programming.

DIFC galleries open new exhibitions. Alserkal

Avenue hosts satellite projects. Auction

houses schedule evening sales. Private collections

open by appointment. The entire

Dubai art ecosystem activates around fair.

Insider Strategy:

VIP Preview (April 15-16) essential for serious

collectors—major works sell quickly.

A.R.M. Children’s Programme makes fair

family-friendly. After Dark programming

nightly creates social dimension. Plan minimum

three days. This is fair as cultural experience,

not just transaction event.


www.magzoid.com

January 2026

43

ARTIST

LIMINAL

SELVES:

ANOUSHKA

MIRCHANDANI’S

DIASPORIC

PORTRAITS

Anoushka Mirchandani paints translucent

women who slip between

worlds—half‐emerging, half‐dissolving—mapping

the quiet fractures

of immigrant womanhood with unflinching

intimacy. Born in 1988 in Pune, India,

and now based in San Francisco, her practice

probes ancestry, gender, and cultural

assimilation through figures poised in repose

and rebellion, their bodies both defiant and

fugitive against sociopolitical backdrops.

Mirchandani’s visual language emerged

from personal rupture: emigrating young to

the United States unlocked new freedoms

as a woman but demanded she negotiate

her identity as Indian, immigrant, Other.

Figures in her paintings—often friends, family,

or self‐portraits—recline nonchalantly,

limbs and torsos blending into raw canvas

or sage‐imprinted grounds, delineated by

expressive oil stick outlines that evoke both

presence and erasure. These works reclaim

the female body from shame and surveillance,

transforming patriarchal constraints

into spaces of agency and self‐reparation.

Expanding beyond acrylic and pastel,

recent pieces incorporate silk, sculpted

wooden thorns, and multisensory elements,

creating archives that trace identity’s micro‐tensions

across India and America. Her

compositions capture liminal states: women

unbothered by modesty’s gaze yet partially

suppressed, embodying the push‐pull of

assimilation where parts of the self are foregrounded

or forced underground.

Solo exhibitions include Galerie Isa, Mumbai

(2023); UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles

(2023); Rhodes Contemporary Art, London

(2021); and Glass Rice, San Francisco

(2020). Group shows and fairs encompass

BODE Berlin (2023), Marianne Boesky Gallery,

NYC (2022), and The Armory Show,

NYC (2022–2023). Awards such as the SFA

Grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission

(2022–2023), Emerging Artist Award

2025, and Artist‐in‐Residence at Silver Art

Projects, NY (2025) affirm her rising prominence.

For Magzoid readers attuned to cultural

hybridity and luxury’s undercurrents,

Mirchandani’s paintings offer a poignant

meditation on diaspora’s enduring beauty

and unease—portraits that whisper of belonging

forged in perpetual becoming.


www.magzoid.com

January 2026

45

ARTIST

VERDANT

DREAMS:

MULGIL

KIM’S ART

ROAD

ODYSSEY

Mulgil Kim (b. 1988) transforms

nature’s quiet details into surreal

reveries, where grass becomes

ocean waves, trees turn into merry-go-rounds,

and fields dissolve into starlit

expanses. This South Korean painter’s work

captures emotional landscapes born from

an extraordinary journey—a solo Art Road

project spanning 673 days across 46 countries

and five continents, yielding over 400

paintings that blend memory, travel, and

imagination.

Feeling confined by studio walls during

her fine arts studies, Kim embarked on this

odyssey to paint directly from lived encounters

with the world’s diverse terrains. Returning

to Korea, she launched the National

Art Road series, channeling seasonal shifts

and human stories through lush greens

that evoke tranquility and introspection.

Her recurring motifs—a girl in a blue dress,

playful animals, dreamlike prairies—invite

open-ended interpretation, blurring reality’s

edges to foster personal resonance.

Central to Kim’s lexicon is grass, reimagined

with boundless invention: as brooms

sweeping snow into blooms, curtains unveiling

giant cats, or rinds cradling beachside

watermelons. These transformations celebrate

nature not as backdrop but as an

emotional partner, its forms breathing narratives

of serenity amid modern haste. Light

and scale shift intuitively, turning observed

places into felt atmospheres that linger like

half-remembered dreams.

Exhibitions across Korea include solo

shows at PBG Gallery (Echoes of Evergreen,

2025), Arte K Gallery, and CICA Museum

of Art, alongside collaborations with Samsung

Electronics and Korean broadcasters.

Recognitions from the National Museum of

Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, affirm

her role in rekindling nature’s gentle power

through art.

For Magzoid’s discerning audience, Kim’s

canvases offer respite—a lush invitation to

pause, breathe, and rediscover the subtle

wonders thriving within and around us.


www.magzoid.com

January 2026

47

ARTIST

FUTURE

ECOLO-

GIES:

THE LIVING

WORLDS

OF SARAH

MARTIN‐NUSS

Sarah Martin‐Nuss builds luminous,

shifting ecosystems on canvas, inviting

viewers into worlds where painting

behaves less like an image and

more like a living organism in motion. Working

across painting, drawing, performance,

and sound, the Brooklyn‐based artist draws

from biological systems, post‐humanist theory,

and the entangled logics of ecology to

propose a reality in which all beings, forces,

and materials co‐author the shape of time.

Born in 1992 in Corpus Christi, Texas,

Martin‐Nuss studied Fine Art and English Literature

at Austin College before completing

an MFA in Painting and Drawing at Pratt Institute

in 2024, alongside additional studies

in visual arts in Cannes and art practice in

New York. Parallel training in performance,

sound, and video—together with work as

producer, songwriter, and vocalist for the

avant‐pop duo Dancing In Tongues—infuses

her visual language with a distinctly choreographic

sense of rhythm and breath.

In recent solo exhibitions such as Future

Currents and Pouring Water Into Water at

Rachel Uffner Gallery, and Open Systems

at Prince & Wooster, Martin‐Nuss explores

currents as both metaphor and material:

flows of water, information, memory, and

desire that circulate through and reshape

environments. Her works dissolve binaries

of figure and ground, natural and technological,

abstraction and landscape, offering

porous, borderless fields where forms

emerge, erode, and recombine in perpetual

metamorphosis.

The paintings are built through an iterative

process of layering, flattening, erasing,

and re‐inscribing, a method that mirrors

ecological cycles of growth and decay.

Works on paper serve as intimate laboratories

for these ideas, compressing entire

climates into small formats that nonetheless

pulse with the same vibrating density as her

large‐scale canvases.

Martin‐Nuss’s work has been featured in

exhibitions at NADA New York, PhillipsX,

Pfizer Factory, Steuben Gallery, and the Art

Museum of South Texas, and has appeared

in platforms including Two Coats of Paint,

Cultbytes, Art Spiel, and New American

Paintings. With pieces now entering collections

such as JPMorgan Chase, her practice

speaks powerfully to a global moment

increasingly attuned to interdependence,

climate precarity, and the poetic intelligence

of the more‐than‐human world.


www.magzoid.com

January 2026

49

ARTIST

WEAVING

FUTURES

FROM

WALLMA-

PU:

THE

ART

OF SEBA

CALFUQUEO

Seba Calfuqueo’s practice unfolds

as a powerful weaving of land, language,

and body, positioning them

as one of the most compelling ultra‐contemporary

voices from Latin America

today. Rooted in Mapuche heritage and

lived experience as a trans artist in Chile,

their work becomes a site of resistance, repair,

and remembrance in the face of ongoing

colonial erasures.

Born in Santiago de Chile in 1991, Calfuqueo

works across performance, installation,

ceramics, video, and sculpture, activating

each medium as a way to question how

Indigenous subjects are framed within Chilean

and broader Latin American societies.

Their pieces often stage subtle yet incisive

confrontations between Mapuche worldviews

and Western narratives, exposing the

stereotypes and exclusions produced at this

intersection while opening space for küme

mongen – the Mapuche principle of “good

living” – to surface as an ethical horizon.

Ceramics has become a particularly resonant

language for Calfuqueo, where clay

carries memory, cosmology, and ecological

consciousness. In series such as “Imagen

país,” cobalt‐glazed vessels honour Mapuche

craft traditions and their deep connections

to sky and sea, transforming everyday

trades into luminous monuments of cultural

persistence. These works refuse the notion

of folklore as static; instead, they insist on indigeneity

as a contemporary, future‐oriented

force.

Calfuqueo’s performances and videos

extend this inquiry into gender, territory, and

embodiment, revisiting history from a Mapuche

perspective while foregrounding feminist

and queer dissidence. Works like “You

Will Never Be a Weye” and “Cuerpos en resistencia”

confront the violence of imposed

norms, reclaiming narrative agency through

gestures of vulnerability and strength. This

biographical and political layering allows

their practice to resonate globally, even as

it remains anchored in Wallmapu, the ancestral

Mapuche territory.

Recognised by institutions such as Tate

Modern, Centre Pompidou, Denver Art Museum,

and Museo Thyssen‐Bornemisza, and

featured in major exhibitions including the

Venice and Whitney Biennials, Calfuqueo’s

trajectory signals a decisive re‐centering of

Indigenous epistemologies in contemporary

art discourse. Awards from the FAVA Foundation,

Eyebeam’s Fractal Fellowships Program,

Ama Amoedo Foundation’s FAARA,

and the Cuervo Prize at Zona Maco further

underscore the urgency and relevance of

their vision. For audiences in the UAE and

beyond, Calfuqueo’s work offers an evocative

lens on how art can mend fractured

histories while imagining more just, plural

futures.


www.magzoid.com

January 2026

51

ARTIST

FACELESS

REVER-

IES:

THE

INTIMATE

WORLDS OF

CELINE ALI

Celine Ali (b. 1997) paints faceless

women suspended between abstraction

and reality, transforming

domestic interiors into charged

emotional landscapes where identity quietly

unravels and reconstitutes itself. Romanian‐born

and of Turkish heritage, the London‐based

artist distils her cross‐cultural

upbringing into luminous compositions that

probe the multiplicity of self, intimacy, and

what it means to inhabit a female body today.

Trained first in Interior Design at Northumbria

University and later completing a

Master’s in Fine Art in London, Ali navigates

space with an architect’s sensitivity and a

painter’s intuitive boldness. Her canvases

layer cubist structures, surrealist touches,

and fluid organic forms, creating rooms that

feel at once sheltering and psychological—

settings where figures can undress their

emotions in private.

Ali’s signature faceless figures refuse easy

recognition, inviting viewers to project their

own stories onto bodies rendered in voluptuous,

imperfect contours. By stripping away

conventional visage, she explores ambiguous

identities and the tension between how

women are seen and how they see themselves

across cultures, belief systems, and

inherited expectations. Bold chromatic palettes

heighten this theatre of feeling, staging

loneliness, longing, failed love, and desire

as states that are vulnerable yet defiantly

dignified.

In series such as Moments of Being at JD

Malat Gallery and the forthcoming Paradiso

at Maddox Gallery, Ali turns everyday interiors

into sanctuaries of resilience. Chairs,

tables, windows, and patterned textiles

double as metaphors for containment and

escape, holding traces of memory, spiritual

aspiration, and the “eternal feminine” that

her work continually reimagines beyond idealised

perfection.

Exhibited internationally at spaces including

JD Malat Gallery and Maddox Gallery

in London, Ali is increasingly recognised

as a vital voice in contemporary figuration.

For Magzoid’s readers, her paintings offer

an arresting lens on hybridity and womanhood—images

that whisper of softness and

strength coexisting in the same room, in the

same body, in the same breath.


www.magzoid.com

January 2026

53

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