Mexico City’s arts scene is thriving with the Feria Material and Salón ACME fairs, showcasing contemporary creativity amidst customs complications. From experimental galleries to immersive installations, these events are a testament to the city’s vibrant cultural landscape.
Material and Salón ACME Open to Enthusiastic Crowds as Dealers Creatively Solve Customs Delays
The arts scene in Mexico City is thriving, with two major fairs, Feria Material and Salón ACME, drawing enthusiastic crowds and showcasing the best of contemporary creativity.
Highlights from Feria Material
Feria Material, which opened on Thursday, February 6, and runs through Sunday, February 9, is a platform for new discoveries and innovation. The fair features a diverse range of galleries and artists, with a focus on emerging talent. One of the standout highlights was the experimental gallery General Expenses, which featured an intriguing painting by ‘Catherine Mullican’ alongside works by ‘Magdalena Petroni’, ‘Philip Hinge’, ‘Wendy Cabrera Rubio’, ‘Antonio Vidal’, and ‘Roger Muñoz’.
Another key player in Mexico City‘s younger, more experimental scene is Lodos, which experienced a steady influx of collectors throughout the morning. At the center of the booth were two striking new humanoid sculptures by Mexican artist Berenice Olmedo, with the smaller piece acquired by a private collection during the preview and the larger piece currently on hold for a Mexico-based foundation.
Small-Scale Works Gain Popularity
With shipping costs and logistical hurdles continuing to soar, small-scale artworks are becoming increasingly popular. Material is probably the best place to find these works, with collectors able to find true gems at reasonable prices that are easy to pack up and bring home in a suitcase. Among the standout pieces were psychedelic small paintings on shaped wood by Emiliano De Ezkauriatza and intimate photo impressions on clay by ‘Lucia Farrow’.
Dealers Get Creative with Customs Delays
Despite the challenges with shipping and customs, dealers at Feria Material got creative with their presentations. Some galleries had to improvise in their booths after their shipments were delayed, while others turned the situation into an impromptu performance or interactive experience. For example, Chicago-based Povos resorted to hanging only the frames of ‘Isabella Mellado’‘s large-scale paintings, which were still stuck in customs as of Thursday.
Salón ACME: A Platform for Creativity
Salón ACME, which opened on Thursday, February 6, is an artist-driven platform dedicated to providing visibility, momentum, and diffusion to emerging creators. The fair features seventy-nine emerging artists from Mexico, Latin America, and beyond, selected from 1,800 applications. This year’s edition includes a focus on Veracruz, with a heterogeneous exhibition curated by Rafael Toriz.
Notable Presentations at Salón ACME
One of the standout presentations was the immersive installation by ‘Julieta Gil’, which explores ideas of anti-monuments in vegetative oases. The Bodega section hosts the exhibition ‘From Bed to Living Room’, conceived by editor and essayist ‘Enrique Giner de los Ríos’, which examines the domestic journey as a framework for interrogating the network of relationships between the self and its surroundings.
Galerie Kornfeld’s Curated Presentation
Berlin-based Galerie Kornfeld took over one of the rooms with a curated presentation by Berlin artist ‘Susanne Roewer’. The exhibition explores the complexities of progress and colonization, centering on the figure of La Malinche. Roewer’s multilayered presentation incorporates actual waste products, combining slag from San Luis Potosí with a glass-like industrial byproduct that remained in Mexico and silver that was extracted in vast quantities and transported to Europe and Asia.
Overall Sales
Despite the strength of the presentations, overall sales appeared slower on Material‘s first day. Dealers, however, remained optimistic and largely satisfied, even with only a handful of sales finalized by the end of the opening day. By now, most are accustomed to the market’s post-pandemic readjustment, where the rapid sellouts of the Covid-era boom feel increasingly like a distant memory.
Feria Material and Salón ACME continue through Sunday, February 9 at Expo Reforma, Mexico City.
Mexico City, originally founded in 1325 as Tenochtitlán, was the capital of the Aztec Empire.
After the Spanish conquest, it was rebuilt and renamed Ciudad de México (City of Mexico).
The city's population grew rapidly due to its strategic location on Lake Texcoco and its role as a major commercial center.
Today, Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world, with over 21 million inhabitants.
Its rich cultural heritage is evident in its historic center, which features ancient Aztec temples and colonial-era architecture.
