This week, the Mexico City art mega-fair Zona Maco makes its presence felt, expecting to inundate the city with global galleries, curators, and more art happenings than one has time for. Local artists and galleries piggyback on the international acclaim of Maco and schedule all of their lively happenings to promote their most promising artists. And just like Art Basel Miami Beach, Maco has given rise to emergent art fairs poppping up during the same week. Art world excitement revolves this year around Material Art Fair, which attracts a younger, more experimental demographic—60 percent are first-time exhibitors, ranging from 34 countries.
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Through all of the excitement and attention, we wanted to set our sights on Mexico City-based artists and projects. Below you will find a diverse mix of media and curation, merging the established elite with the exploratory pop-up during Mexico City's art fair week:
Salón Acme
- Salón Acme is a pop-up Mexican art collective in its fourth year of curating group shows reworking the traditional salon. This year’s installation is housed in the beautiful Archipiélago space with live performances, art the relies on robots and solar power, and a special ode to artists from the state of Sonora.- Jill Magdid’s Barragan® exhibited in the Labor booth at Zona Maco. The gallery represents some Mexico City heavy hitters like Pedro Reyes, Teresa Margolles, and Erick Beltrán and is not to be missed.- Zona Maco Design distills conceptual art into design objects. Check out painter Pedro Friedeberg's hand knotted rug collaboration with Odabashian.
Nico Colón, Untitled, 2015. Image courtsey of Et al., at Material 2016
- Nico Colón at the San Francisco-based gallery Et. al. booth at Material. Expect the unexpected with Colón’s large-scale UV prints with oil, leaf, and camo motifs changed sporadically for more of his pop culture and political pieces with Speedy Gonzalez and Bod Dylan references.
- Emre Hüner’s Hypabyssal on display at Marso gallery as part of Sala Seis, dedicated to experimental and interdisciplinary works. Based on his residency in Mexico, the artist uses ashes from Mexican volcanoes to explore layers of memory. The show was organized by Carla Fernandez.
- Manuel Solano, exhibited in the Galeria Karen Huber booth at Zona Maco. Solano is best known for his memoir-style series titled Blind Transgender with AIDS.
Mañana, Mañana by Chantal Peñalosa. Image courtesy of Bikini Wax gallery. Photo by Ramiro Chaves.- Chantal Peñalosa's Mañana, Mañana at Casa Maauad. The exhibition is anchored by a video installation of empty movie theaters in Tecate, Baja California to explore the notions of work and waiting.
Callejero by Andrew Birk at Anonymous Gallery. Image courtesy Hernán Cortés.- Andrew Birk’s Callejero at Anonymous Gallery opens February 6th. The installation works to fill every space of the gallery with street culture and texture ala DF streets. The artist writes that the show should feel and look like “the way tacos de canasta posters are wheatpasted to a concrete pillar that sustains the segundo piso outside of the hospital."
- Index Art Fair is the first art book fair in Mexico dedicated to indie publishers. Index hopes to spark a creative dialogue within the context of Mexico.- Beverly’s, the Lower East Side watering hole takes over Material’s central bar area with a group exhibition full of New York surprises.
Natalia Ibáñez Lario, Applied Arts (Anti-Aging and Anti-Misery Formula, 33% Pure Vitamin C) Yautepec, Mexico City at Material 2016
- Natalia Ibáñez Lario’s Applied Arts (Anti-Aging and Anti-Misery Formula, 33% Pure Vitamin C) on display at the Yautepec booth. Her works implicate our social media compulsions. Here on display is a critique on Botox and the miracles of makeup but we are also obsessed with her @BEFOREANYONEELSE_ANTESQUENADIE Instragam show.
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