Reality through new glasses, April 13, 2007

ICONÓSFERA 
Art installation
April 13, 8pm 
Bar “Casino” Calle Canal 15 
Centro


ICONÓSFERA is a new kind of art gallery that makes us look at images in a different way. The gallery combines the contemporary gallery scene with the contemporary bar scene, creating a new reality. It is a space in which we see, feel, and are surprised. It makes us think of the world as images that are links between the creator and the viewer.

It is in this new space that the artists of ICONÓSFERA will exhibit their work. The attendees to this event will interact with the creations and experience the light and playfulness of the art.

Visual creations will be provided by the following artists: Alín Gonzalez Mariana Téllez, Alan Pfeiffer, Maricarmen Cortés Lambarri, Gonzalo García y Analí Núñez.

We invite you to share with us this new, contemporary art event

Important art events in Mexico City
By Jim Johnston

Two exhibitions in Mexico City this month highlight very different aspects of the art scene in the capital city. 

MACO (Mexico Arte Contemporàneo) is the most important international art fair in Mexico. Now in its fourth year, it brings together 84 galleries from around the world, including most of the important galleries in Mexico City.

The fair will be held from April 25 to 29 in Palmas Park, Avenida Palmas 515, Colonia Lomas de Chapultepec. ( www.macomexico.com ).

Spanish Colonial art is shown at a much-touted exhibition at the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, which runs through June 24.

“Revelaciones: Las Artes en America Latina, 1492-1820” is the title of the show which brings together painting, sculpture and decorative arts from thirteen Latin American countries. The museum, itself one of the gems of colonial architecture, is located at Justo Sierra 16, just a block from the Zòcalo, Mexico City’s main square (closed Mondays). ( www.sanildefonso.org.mx ).

Expect the unexpected

Art Opening
Fri, Apr 13, 7–9 pm
Works by Jenny Norman, 
Liliana Zuppini, Alma Guerrero and Graciela Arroyo.
“Corazón Gitano”
Hernandez Macías #96


San Miguel’s newest eclectic store, Corazón Gitano, exhibits the latest works by four versatile artists. Jenny V. Norman’s highly unusual, colorful, mosaic beads and wall décor; dramatic and head-turning jewelry by Graciela Arroyo; Liliana Zuppini’s bohemian and vibrant paintings and Alma Guerrero’s resurrected, one-of-a-kind furniture and home decór items are all featured.

MACO: Mexico City Art Fair
By Margaret Failoni (Atención archives, June 16, 2006)

The 2006 Mexico City Art Fair was quite an experience. The last art fair I attended was several years ago in Guadalajara. It was small but decent. After a few years’ run, they closed down. I guess it didn’t’ drum up enough business or public. This is the third year the fair takes place in Mexico City and it was truly disappointing. I have participated in many art fairs and visited most: the local Italian ones, Rome, Bologna, Turin and Bari and most of the international: Basle, FIAC in Paris, ARCO in Madrid, The New York Armory show and the Chicago International. 

Never have I come across such a mess. There were a handful of galleries which were decent…not great, but decent. The rest was pitiful. The stands were sloppy, badly presented and looking very unprofessional. Most of the art shown looked like amateur night; a great deal of pseudo conceptual art….but without a concept. Badly drawn pictures on paper clipped to the walls, multicolored plasteline, wiggly some things, hanging from strings, badly photographed videos, and hand held digital cameras amateurishly shot, totally without content.

Many European galleries were in the ‘new art’ section located on the top floor. Hard to believe they would come so far to show such bad and badly presented…something, which I refuse to call art. The escalators didn’t go up that far and the two working elevators never came and when they did, it was impossible to get in them. So, one wearily climbed two flights hoping it would be worthwhile, but of course, it never was. Furthermore, the fair was not held in the large, modern fair building in the Colonia Del Valle, but instead, was in a smaller building off the Reforma with no air conditioning. Words cannot describe the heat. No ventilation and incredible crowds of people. I was pleased and flattered to receive an invitation to the opening night. Little did I realize that everyone else in Mexico had received an invitation. All the fairs I have been to in the past, have a special, by invitation only opening night for the galleries working the fair and two tickets for their guest. Everyone else pays for very expen
sive tickets the monies of which go towards a benefit: for a new museum, special artists’ scholarships, etc. There is a beautiful buffet, wines are served and usually there are many, well dressed and well behaved people seeing and hoping to be seen. The Mexico City opening was…well, I guess you could say it was more democratic. The impression was that all 20 million people in the city were there that night. It was almost a stampede! Every artist or pseudo artist was present, students of every age, dealers, their parents and children, the press, but I can honestly say I didn’t get the impression their were collectors that night, although their were special busses to transport those who signed in ahead of time, to their homes and/or hotels. The heat was unbearable.

The following day, most of the stands were staffed by gallery personnel. The principal dealers were back in their galleries, I presume, receiving clients. I guess that’s where most of the horse trading was taking place. I did see many Americans with ‘dealer’ written on their face, being met and taken by cab to the various galleries and special venues set up for that art week.

I ran into a few San Miguel artists and collectors, all with wan expressions on their face.

One collector, when asked what he thought of the fair, answered after a pause “let’s just say there’s nothing here I can’t live without”!

In all fairness, there were a few galleries who put their best foot forward and therefore, worth mentioning. The major Mexican galleries who were also the official ambassadors for the fair, all did a good job in preparing and presenting their stands. As you entered the ground floor exhibition area, you came across the Galleria de Arte Mexicano’s stand. They presented a frontal wall painted Chinese red as a backdrop for Jan Hendrix’s beautiful, small bronzes. They showed some classic Mexican art such as small Siqueiros oil as well as a selection of their contemporary artists including a small, beautiful oil by San Miguel artist, Mari José Marin. The OMR Gallery was located on the second floor and had a very clean and linear exhibition of works by José Leon Cerillo, black and white optical art reminiscent of the 70’s. Oscar Roman had a large stand showing far too much work all hung helter skelter, but most of good quality; works by Agostin Castro Lopez, Mariana Pereyra, Gabriel Guerrero and Ricardo Villasana, a
ll painters.

In short, out of over seventy galleries exhibiting from Mexico, The United States, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, England, Colombia, Canada, Puerto Rico, Argentina and Brazil, very few were worth the effort of going to see them. The best, in my book, were the fore mentioned Mexican galleries, plus Galeria Luis Adelantado from Valencia, Spain and Miami, Florida showing very good photo art; Galeria La Caja Negra from Madrid with an exceptional stand, showing works by Bethsabeé Romero, Jan Hendrix, Richard Serra and Ben Vautier; Drexel Galeria from Garza Garcia, N:L: (Monterrey) showing interesting paintings by Armando Romero and the wonderful Daniel Lezama; George Kargl Fine Arts from Vienna with very good photo art and beautifully executed collages; KBK Arte Contemporaneo from Mexico City with interesting, small sculptures and wonderful C-print art photography; the Mackey Gallery from Houston, Texas with good paintings by Francisco Larios and some very interesting, well executed scul
pture by Martin and Sicilia and Carole Benzaken; Galeria El Museo from Bogota, Colombia has some very good painters and sculptors including works by Botero and Aurora Cañero; the Galeria Myto of Mexico City had very fine paintings and sculpture by Angel Ricardo Rios and Ariel Orozco; Galeria Praxis had its usual stable of fine figurative and neo mannerist painters such as Roberto Cortázar, Hugo Lugo and wonderful photo pieces by Sandra Valenzuela; Galeria Quetzalli from Oaxaca showed unusual and interesting small paintings by Sergio Gaval , small ceramic sculpture by Laura Roseto and an interesting video by Irene Dubrovsky and last, the Quinta Galeria also from Bogota, Colombia with fine paintings by Pedro Txillida and Nicolás Uribe.

I was assured on the following day that sales went well that opening night and when counting the red dots, paintings were what sold and some photography. I guess collectors weren’t interested in the concepts or lack of, in the rest of the mish/mash presented.

Will I go back next year? You bet. It can only get better. It is most definitely not an avangarde art venue like Basle but painting is still the Prima Donna and if you present quality, it will sell.