A week has passed, a little more, since the end of Art Week in the mighty Mexico City. During this week, we had hundreds of art events, making it impossible to choose which ones to attend and which ones to read about or watch videos to find out what we missed. So here, we tell you about the exhibitions, fairs, and events we visited in case you missed out.
This time, this was the itinerary for RF ArtVentures and its collectors:
Tuesday, February 6th (starting a day late, as Monday had been a holiday):
La Subasta del Castillo de Chapultepec:
The name led us to believe it was an auction at Chapultepec Castle, as the name suggested, but it wasn't. As we approached the auction's address, we understood that it wasn't at the castle but that, perhaps, it would have a view of said building. However, it wasn't easy to find the address because, as is often the case in this city, it seemed like the location of the auction was being kept secret. There was nothing outside that referenced an art event, as it was in a house that seemed abandoned.
Upon arriving at the opening of this event, we were a bit disoriented - not in a bad sense but because the horizon of expectations we had generated for ourselves wasn't met (our fault). The venue, which we appreciate for deviating from the concept of the white cube, seemed more like a social space. It was a combination of a bar and an auction house, without being either completely.
It was an online auction that lasted for 4 days. The first bid came within the first two hours of the auction, marking a good start. The artists who organized this event were very excited and shared that feeling with all of us who visited.
MAIA Contemporary
From Chapultepec, we jumped to the Roma neighbourhood, where we visited not just one but 3 (and a half) openings. The first of these was at the MAIA Contemporary gallery. I must mention that this review may be a bit biased as it's one of the team's favourite galleries.
The exhibition they inaugurated this time was by the artist Marcos Castro, titled Quemando la Casa. The place was transformed by the exhibition's setup, which the gallery itself defines as a stage set. Here, we share a snippet of the text the gallery prepared for the exhibition:Â
For Carl Jung, the house symbolizes our psyche, a manifestation of the soul. "Home is one of the most primary collective symbols, our refuge, the boundary between the world and me. Thus, burning the house is not only an act of renewal/transformation but also the moment to break down the barrier between me and Nature, inside and outside."
The exhibition will run until April 6, 2024.Â
Arróniz
Then, we went to the Arróniz gallery, which always presents very interesting proposals. The gallery also takes advantage of its space and presents several artists at the same time while maintaining their individuality as they have 3 sections plus a terrace where they occasionally also display pieces. This time, we saw the work of Moris, with El Silencio Tras la Tragedia; the work of Matthias Schaareman; and the works of Christian Camacho.
Moris's large-format pieces definitely catch the eye and invite you to explore more deeply. However, we must say that Christian Camacho's works captivated us. His pieces, although not many, made us stop and look at them more attentively: the play of depth and the technique that from afar could seem like mosaic was truly fascinating.
Mathias Schaareman's exhibition will run until April 6.
Moris and Christian Camacho's exhibitions will run until April 25.
OMR
The last stop of the night was the opening of the OMR gallery, which by this point was already crowded, and for good reason. Upon entering, you don't know where to begin to explore the gallery due to the grand setup of the exhibition. Every wall was intervened by the artist Eduardo Sarabia. In Four Minutes of Darkness, it seemed like you were entering a magical forest, as the artist was heavily inspired by his childhood.
This exhibition is the second part of a trilogy dedicated to the total solar eclipse, inviting you to explore the "power of imagination and the desire to project the future," as the gallery mentions.
Four Minutes of Darkness will run until March 26, 2024.
Wednesday, February 7th:
Zona MACO
This day was entirely dedicated to Zona MACO, the major art fair of Mexico and Latin America.
We started early as we were invited to the VIP opening, where we had the opportunity to converse with collectors and gallery owners. The nerves of the exhibitors, who were still fine-tuning some details, could still be felt, but of course, so could their excitement to kick off a week full of sales.
Briefly - and by brief, I mean we dedicated half an hour to each section - we visited the Design and Antiques Salon sections. In the Design section, it's always interesting to see the proposals from universities and how they materialize their ideas of innovation and creativity. On the other hand, in the Antiques Salon section, the interesting part is getting to know figures of great importance to our market and cultural heritage, such as Rodrigo Rivero Lake, who participated with his gallery of antiques and modern art. Mr. Rivero Lake is one of the most important figures, as auction houses like Morton refer to him when they need to authenticate pieces by Mexican artists like Chucho Reyes, to mention one example.
Then, we moved on to the photography section, which also includes NFTs, digital art, and new technologies in art. We came across works by our friend Fabián Ugalde and discovered other new artists we didn't know, like Amor Muñoz, participating with Bitforms Gallery. Her work revolves around the idea that water could have come from another planet before reaching Earth. Through algorithms, data extraction, and with the help of artificial intelligence, she managed to reproduce the original language of water. A highly complex but equally fascinating piece. Â
Next, we delved into the Contemporary Art section, which in turn is divided into four sections: Zona MACO Sur, Zona MACO Ejes, Zona MACO General and Zona MACO Moderno. Of course, we won't dwell on each of the galleries that caught our attention, as it would take a whole book to explain and discuss everything. This time, we'll only give a brief summary.
In the Zona MACO Sur section, the central theme was care - care for the environment, self-care, caring for others, etc. We saw galleries like GalerÃa Alfredo Ginocchio from Mexico City and Los Cabos, Galleria Anna Marra from Rome, GalerÃa Patricia Ready from Santiago de Chile, among others.
The Zona MACO Ejes section was curated under the concept of the relationship between pleasure and politics. We noticed a certain inclination of the galleries to present more proposals that could be more linked to the themes of eroticism or sexuality than to politics. We saw galleries like FURIOSA from Mexico City, Now:Gallery from Lima, Gathering from London, and Red Arrow from Nashville.
In the General section, we found the most important galleries, both Mexican and international: Kurimanzutto, Galleria Continua, Cadogan Gallery, GalerÃa Hilario Galguera, JD Malat Gallery, among many others. These galleries represent the most influential artists in the contemporary market and also have the greatest impact on the art market.
Lastly, the Zona MACO Moderno section was characterized by a strong presence of works by Colombian artist Fernando Botero, whom we bid farewell to on September 15, 2023. It's no surprise that after his passing, galleries feel motivated, so to speak, to sell works by this artist as they are aware of the scarcity value and the great opportunity it is for them to present these "gems" to collectors.
After spending a long day at Zona MACO and giving our tour to a group of private collectors, we all went to the opening cocktail of the same fair at the Hotel Mondrian Mexico City Condesa, where we chatted with artists and other figures from the art world and fostered connections among everyone.
Thursday, February 8th:
MATERIAL Fair and Salón ACMEÂ
This day was dedicated to the MATERIAL Fair and the Salón ACME: two very different ways of interpreting the concept of "alternative."
We can describe the MATERIAL Fair as an experimental fair: the galleries that participate present artists whose work goes beyond any traditional concept we may have of art, which is something we really appreciate. In this fair, it is understood that art cannot be defined, and therefore it cannot be limited.
It also has a section dedicated to design, in which unfortunately one exhibitor could not present their items as they were held up in customs. However, this Belgian gallery, Zaventemateliers, found a very original way to present their pieces, making cardboard replicas to display during the fair.
Salón ACME has been one of our favorite events during this week: a magical place full of proposals that make you question, for the better, the discourses of art. Visiting Salón ACME is a complete experience from art to gastronomy, passing through music. However, talking with an artist led us to wonder what the success of this event is: the art or the entire experience. This artist commented that from their perspective, the place overshadowed the works, stealing the spotlight, and we can agree to a certain extent. Art is not just an object presented to us within a white cube space such as museums, galleries, or fairs, but it can also be experiences that encompass various factors.
However, we consider that, as is often the case with these big events, it is difficult to see everything and not get lost once inside. A tip for anyone planning to visit the Salón ACME in its future editions either on their own or with us: mark your routes well so you don't miss out on anything.
Friday, February 9th:
BADA Fair
The last day of our tour was dedicated to the fourth edition of the BADA Fair. This fair came from Argentina to present artists with a new way of representing themselves without the need for intermediaries or gallery owners. We at RF believe that, although we do not deny that it is a great opportunity for artists, within the art system there are certain gears that you cannot skip as an artist or it would stop working and halt your professional career at some point.
This was our first time visiting this fair and the big difference we noticed compared to others is the evident distinction between a gallerist and an artist. The gallerist, throughout their career, has acquired certain sales skills as their business depends entirely on it. However, artists, who are the ones dedicated to producing art and generating new discourses and forms of understanding, do not commonly acquire sales skills, which is reflected in an event like this.
When you approach a booth at a fair to inquire about a piece, the gallerist approaches you and explains everything you need to know about it. When we approached the artists at BADA, they did not seem prepared to engage with visitors about their work. They were limited to discussing technical matters and hardly shared more details with us.
One of the advantages of events like this is recognizing where younger and emerging artists are heading, understanding their interests and discourses so that art advisors can project future trends in the market. Without a doubt, it is a great opportunity to discover new artists as a young collector because this is how they mutually propel each other's careers forward.
If you want to discover art that is to think and art that is good to buy, join us at RF ArtVentures, where you can discover a whole new world of art and grow your art collection.