What to See This Week in Mexico City During ZONAMACO 2023

Galerie Philia
Andres Monnier, Pilar Zeta, Alban Roger, Jorge Brown: Antipodes
February 10—April 2023
Opening February 10, Galerie Philia presents a dynamic group exhibition of artworks by Andres Monnier, Pilar Zeta, Alban Roger, and Jorge Brown. In a multifaceted exploration of nostalgia, ancient synergy, and human perception, “Antipodes” displays monumental and skillful works of stone. Argentinian artist Zeta examines modern divinity through an awe-inspiring, angelic, and colorful installation of glass-like sculptures, while Mexican sculptor Monnier alludes to wabi-sabi philosophy and the cosmic mind-body connection in dense black stone candelabras, tables, and abstract art.

kurimanzutto
Nairy Baghramian: modèle vivant
February 11—March 18, 2023
Opening February 11, kurimanzutto presents a new exhibition by artist Nairy Baghramian titled “modèle vivant,” on view through March 18. In referencing the classic artistic practice of drawing, painting, or sculpting the human figure by way of a live model, Baghramian’s latest abstract sculptures investigate shifting points of view and the very definition of the sculptural body. The artist converses with figural creations of 20th century Mexican-based artists Geles Cabrera, Elizabeth Catlett, Helen Escobedo, and Ángela Gurría in a thought-provoking and cross-generational exploration of human form and vocabulary. Shifting colors and materials reveal intimate points of connection and our potential for transcendence.  

LagoAlgo
Claudia Comte, Gabriel Rico, SUPERFLEX: Desert Flood 
Opening February 10, 2023  
On the occasion of Mexico City Art Week, LagoAlgo presents a group exhibition by Swiss artist Claudia Comte, Mexican artist Gabriel Rico, and Danish collective SUPERFLEX. The space’s third show creatively explores earth’s ecological changes and the threat of destruction to vital sources of water. Through painting and sculpture, Comte speaks of the urgent preservation of future ecosystems by way of cartoons, handcrafts, and optical art. Rico, known for his poetic collection of contemporary objects juxtaposing nature and culture, here displays a neon light installation with human characteristics and cultural symbols. SUPERFLEX art collective, founded in 1993 by Jakob Fenger, Rasmus Nielsen and Bjørnstjerne Christiansen fuses art, science, and collective intelligence in an immersive work illustrating a McDonald’s restaurant flooded in water and chaos, as well as neon signage reading, “We are all in the same boat.” 

Le Laboratoire
Manuel Rocha Iturbide and Roberto Turnbull: DE OIDO
January 21—March 25, 2023
As part of the ZⓈONAMACO 2023 art fair, Le Laboratoire presents an exclusive dialogue between prolific Mexican artists Manuel Rocha Iturbide and Roberto Turnbull, titled “DE OIDO,” currently on view through March 25. Held within the gallery’s new location, creative hub G56, the exhibition breaks barriers between music and visual arts through an imaginative synthesis of shapes, colors, auditory metaphors and games. Rocha Iturbide, composer, sound artist, and researcher, and Turnbull, painter and engraver, unite their paintings, sound sculptures, and collaborative engravings, producing lively, surreal works of art and friendship.

MASA gallery
Brian Thoreen: Non-Zero-Sum
February 8—April 8, 2023
On February 8, MASA gallery celebrates a new permanent space in Mexico City with a solo exhibition by artist and designer Brian Thoreen, on view through April 8. “Non-Zero-Sum” is composed of ten functional and six non-functional works which creatively experiment with form, shape, and usage. Large-scale candles of raw cast beeswax appear tactile and animalistic, while a chair of decadently stacked neoprene is sumptuous and earthy. A series of artworks convey secret binary codes in smudged charcoal markings on paper. Continuing his investigation of static and kinetic universal laws, Thoreen gracefully explores gravity, dislocation, and perception. 

Museo Jumex
Minerva Cuevas: Game Over
November 26, 2022—February 26, 2023
Museo Jumex presents an installation by Mexican multimedia artist Minerva Cuevas titled, “Game Over,” currently on view through February 26. The immersive exhibition, developed by Associate Curator Marielsa Castro Vizcarra and Curatorial Assistant Adriana Kuri Alamillo, examines the nuances of urban development, ecology, and humans’ profound influence on mother earth through ironic works of art. A grand papier-mâché sculpture titled “200 mamuts, casi 25 camellos, cinco caballos (200 mammoths, almost 25 camels, five horses),” pays homage to the legendary discovery of mammoth fossils beneath construction of the Mexico City airport. Cuevas forges artistic connections between the personal, political, and economic in a group of related works on display in the museum; the artist’s No Room to Play (2019) presents a video of post-war playgrounds in Germany in which a young girl’s poetry journeys through the dark realities of climate change on the urban landscape. 

OMR
Alicja Kwade: Silent Matter
February 7—March 25, 2023
On February 7, OMR debuts an immersive solo exhibition by German-Polish artist Alicja Kwade during Mexico City Art Week. Through dreamlike sculptures and installations, Kwade investigates the intersection of science, philosophy, and social reality. Towering sculptures and hovering mobiles of dense and shimmering stones act as planets and particles intimately connected by invisible forces. Works on cardboard titled “Schusslöcher (Bullet holes),” are made up of 8,760 watch hands, imaginatively depicting the hours rippling from one to another in a year—illustrating the sheer volatility and grandeur of time.

Galería RGR
Jesús Rafael Soto: The Instability of the Real
February 7—April 15, 2023
Galería RGR presents a solo exhibition by the late Venezuelan artist Jesús Rafael Soto, commemorating 100 years since his birth and rejoicing in his legendary mark on Kinetic, European, and Latin American art. Co-curated by Tatiana Cuevas and Paola Santos Coy, the sweeping show displays five decades of historical artworks from the estate of Atelier Soto. The artist explored the nuances of instability, vibration, and dematerialization in three-dimensional space, offering unique perspectives on our perception of time and space in an ever-evolving world.