Zona Maco, one of Latin America’s largest and most important fairs, opened to VIPs on Wednesday morning. Because of heavy traffic, the first few hours were relatively light in terms of visitors, though the aisles were in full swing by afternoon. (Trying to get out of the Centro Citibanamex Convention Center, where the fair is held, on the outskirts of Mexico City was its own journey.) asialive88
Despite its size, the fair is quite manageable in a few hours and the aisles never seem unending, as can be the case with other mega fairs in convention centers. The work on view this year is especially strong, with the added component that visitors can vote for their favorite from a shortlist of 20. The winning artist and gallery will receive a $100,000 prize, courtesy of the Erarta Foundation, to split as part of a new initiative to mark the fair’s 20th anniversary.
Below, a look at the best on view at Zona Maco, which runs through February 11. asialive88
Romeo Gómez López at Galeríe Éric Mouchet
Photo : Maximilíano Durón/ARTnews
When Galerie Éric Mouchet, which has locations in Paris and Brussels, reached out to Romeo Gómez López about doing a booth with them at Zona Maco, the Mexico City–based artist got to thinking about what exactly is attracting so many visitors, both tourists and digital nomads, to his city. That ultimately led him to create this tongue-in-cheek solo presentation, part of the fair’s Ejes section, curated by Bernardo Mosqueira. Installed on one wall, above eye level, is a row of black airplane seats onto which Gómez López has imprinted his spread buttocks, using screen printing ink. The trace left behind is a barely there, seemingly sweaty self-portrait of sorts.
On the adjacent wall is a large sculpture that resembles something between a black hole and the Lord of the Rings’ Eye of Sauron, but is actually a rendition of tourist trap Panadería Rosetta’s famed guava roll (the cronut of Mexico City). Nearby is a small sculpture that features a portrait of Moctezuma II, the last Aztec emperor; he’s delicately placed in a soft-serve-esque turd of volcanic rock, a reference to Moctezuma’s Revenge, the colloquial term for getting diarrhea while traveling in Mexico. The work is also part of Gómez López’s “Antropolo-chic” series which looks at the cost of colonialism for Indigenous people at the time of conquest and today, as it is incredibly difficult for Indigenous people to travel abroad. asialive88