Though the first week of February draws herds of international art dealers and collectors to Mexico’s capital city, its thriving contemporary art scene is the unrivaled art destination of Latin America year-round. Steeped in a tradition that leans toward the avant-garde – Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera made the city their home in the early 1900s, leaving immersive surrealist murals painted across public spaces and storied monuments – Mexico City’s artists don’t shy away from imbuing their practices with some of the most pressing issues facing their communities today.
Kicking off today and running through February 10, Mexico City’s art week offers a respite from the noise-polluted streets, but it also represents a chance to explore works by artists so furtively honoring the city’s vanguard legacy. In Polanco, the tonier Zona Maco offers a variety of blue-chip and emerging artists; Material Art Fair in the Tabacalera neighborhood showcases a dynamic array of fresh new voices; while Salon Acme, the relative newcomer, falls somewhere in between. Of course, you can always skip the fairs in favor of a more guerilla experience – there’s more than a handful of local galleries and artist collectives putting on exhibitions across the city this week. Here, we highlight the 10 Mexican artists worth scoping out this week.
9. Federico Martínez Montoya
Toying with principles in minimalism and conceptual realism, Federico Martinez Montoya works across mediums to create works that explore the meaning of labor, and particularly, professional creative work. Architectural principles heavily inform this young Mexican artist, whose work is being exhibited by Galería Breve at Material Art Fair.
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