Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/749295
culturedmag.com 295 Top, Gloria Cortina and Bree Zucker; center, Galeria La Esperanza in Mexico City; left, Cortina's Mathias Table, 2014. PHOTO BY PJ ROUNTREE, COURTESY OF CRISTINA GRAJALES GALLERY BEYOND THE D.F. Guadalajara Once home to Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco, Guadalajara is still a town built by and around artists including Gonzalo Lebrija, Jorge Méndez Blake and the city's breakout star, Jose Dávila, all of whom show inside a Barragán-designed house that is now home to the hip Madrid-based gallery Travesía Cuatro. "Mexico needed a second scene and Guadalajara is the perfect frame," says gallery co-founder Inés López-Quesada. Artist Dávila adds, "The last five years have been especially productive with newly opened spaces like Ladera Oeste, PAOS, Páramo, Travesía Cuatro and Tiro Al Blanco, none of which existed before." Mérida During Gallery Weekend, José García, Mx and Travesía Cuatro invaded a 19th-century building in Colonia Juarez with shows of Edgardo Aragón and Gonzalo Lebrija, respectively. José García, Mx, the Mexico City- based gallery that represents Simon Fujiwara, Christian Jankowski and Nina Beier, followed up on that outing with a Jorge Pardo show at their second space in Mérida, the Spanish colonial capital of the Yucatán that is also home to many top artisans. "Mérida has a different gallery profile than our space in Mexico City," says director Leticia Vilalta. "This space is created with the idea of expanding the possibilities for artists to develop projects not only in this culturally rich and tropical environment, but also to use the space as a mixture of a venue that stands between gallery space and a production site." Oaxaca Since opening in the fall of 2014, Bosco Sodi's Tadao Ando-designed arts foundation/studio space, Casa Wabi, has offered residencies to 90 international artists. Four of them were featured in the inaugural exhibition (of photos inspired by the space) for the foundation's new Alberto Kalach-designed non-profit gallery in Mexico City's up-and-coming Santa Maria de la Rivera area. "Mexico and especially Mexico City are in a great artistic moment, but for the young artist it is still very difficult," says Sodi. "We want to give opportunities to young Mexican artists who do not have a gallery yet." Aguascalientes As the name of this mountainous estado suggests, Aguascalientes has long been known for its hot springs. But with the addition of Museo Espacio in the industrial shell of the former railway workshops, "we foresee Aguascalientes becoming a contemporary art center, offering projects that involve the local, national and international art scene, and creating a place for knowledge and dialogue," says museum director Anuar Atala Mendoza. "Specifically, Museo Espacio gives local artists, students and visitors the chance to experience the work of leading international artists like Jannis Kounellis and Daniel Buren, as well as lectures about contemporary art, group discussions and public events like our Noches de Museo programs." Through April the museum is presenting "Wirikuta: Mexican Time-Slip," a group exhibition referencing the parallel worlds of Philip K. Dick's 1964 novel "Martian Time-Slip," featuring works by Carsten Höller, Philippe Parreno, Pamela Rosenkranz and Bosco Sodi, among others.