At the VIP preview of Zona Maco on Wedensday guests were welcomed by a digital installation by artist Miguel Chevalier titled “8 Ties” presented by Hermes. The immediacy of top-tier luxury branding at the very entrance exemplified the international reach and importance the 10-year old fair has developed since its inception.
Big ticket items were visible such as a mirrored, metal cylinder installation by Anish Kapoor at Gladstone Gallery, and a James Brown, who was himself on-site in person at Hilario Galguera which sold for $250,000. Also evident as a trend was the introduction of older works or artists in the contemporary art galleries. Two examples were seen including a rare 1965 Daniel Buren (950,000 Euros) at Galleria Continua, and a large Julian Schnabel at Enrique Guerrero.
Galerist Jose Kuri from Kurimanzutto said, “Many European gallerists, given the oversaturation in the market, are seeking new paths and windows for secure investments.” This opportunity is exactly what propelled the multiplication of two more curated sections at the fair, both which found success by providing the opportunity of discovery for collectors.
As for stand-out works, bold-name Collector Alain Servais chose a collage style work by Theo Michael at OMR Gallery, one edition of which was bought by Coleccion Jumex founder Eugenio Lopez. He also highlighted his favorites in sculpture including a Pedro Reyes work at Galeria Labor and one by Jose Leon Cerillo at Proyectos Monclova.
In the evening gallerists and collectors migrated to the ExConvento de San Hipolito, a colonial landmark building in the downtown center of the city, which hosted the Zona Maco 10th Anniversary Dinner. The merging of art world professionals with Mexican society was evident at every table and through the attendence of various business leaders such as Lorenzo Lazo, who commented that it was the first time in the history of the city’s largest newspaper, Reforma, that an independant cultural event that was not governemnt funded, made the cover of the paper.
Thursday morning invitees were escorted (many via helicopter) to the viewing of the Coleccion Jumex in Ecatepec outside of the city. Guests explored the large warehouse type space and encountered works by artists such as Fischli & Weiss and Maurizio Cattelan. A work from Danh Vo’s “We The People” series was displayed promientnly close to an instalatiion of Doug Aitken’s Migration video. Jumex then celebrated its collection and upcoming blockbuster opening of its new permament home in Carlos Slim‘s Plaza Carso with a starstudded event at Plaza Condesa.
And, as so often the art world does, late night throngs of young fashionable gallerists, edgy Mexican scensters, and international collectors took the party to the three-night only Le Baron Pop-Up installed at the Condesa DF hotel. Closing the late-night at Le Baron made as one collector stated, “feel like we are truly a global art event.”
