OUR VISION OF ZONA MACO 2023
As every year, Zona Maco stands out as the biggest art fair in Latin America, well known for a space that brings together the most important galleries and creative collectives in Mexico, exhibiting contemporary art, photography, design and antiques. Held in Centro Citibanamex for 4 days in Mexico City and hosting over 77,000 visitors, we all know it has become a must to visit during art week. Therefore, we couln’t miss the chance to see what's going on in the art world after the pandemic era, and treat our creativity with new ideas and proposals that shift our perspective and imagination every time.
As creatives, we see things differently and try to look beyond aesthetics, observing and understanding each piece of art as something valuable and unique, but we found some similarities and link between artists and artworks that show how different points of view can be seen and compared as something similar. For example, talking about mediums and materials, we came across many pieces that used a different approach on a deconstructed canvas, making twitches, cutting parts, or adding more materials beyond the rectangular shape, these changing canvases showed how materials help express different concepts and add value to visual art techniques.
Redefining the canvas can help the artist and the observer shift their perspective on how an artwork should be noticed, but most importantly, to break stigmas and stereotypes on how art should be perceived and acknowledge how it is constanty changing. Zona Maco, through contemporary art, seeks to express cultural diversity in our advancing world with different techniques and mediums that indicate this development. Below you will find some examples of this changing canvas proposals by various artists we noticed in the exhibit. They each show a unique way of breaking the habit of a generic-shaped canvas and how it gives a completely different meaning to the piece.
A new world reflected by a window-shaped canvas and a mirror inside it, gives various points of viewing this piece and admiring different concepts through each perspective.
Photo courtesy: Dos Ojos Team
Outside the margins of a canvas, an added material gives continuity to the picture and flows with a distinctive composition.
Photo courtesy: Dos Ojos Team
Round edges create a more approachable effect on the canvas reimagining the composition as a comparative between different textures and materials used.
Photo courtesy: Dos Ojos Team
The canvas follows the shape of the layout, not restricting the use of space and giving the idea of freedom this piece expresses.
Photo courtesy: Dos Ojos Team
Adding different materials and deconstructing shapes gives depth and meaning to some simple geometric shapes generating complexity and interaction with the space that surrounds the piece.
Photo courtesy: Dos Ojos Team
Even if this approach on paintings is not significantly new in the year 2023, we admire how artists come to defy rules, break structures, and go beyond materials to communicate their vision of a piece. With sculpture and readymade pieces, we can understand this is their way of experimenting, but working on canvas tells a completely different story.
Seeing the diverse scenery that portray Maco’s personality, we can acknowledge the impact visual arts create in our society and how it influences our way of thinking, relating and creating links between people, objects and ideas. We believe staying open to change and creating scenarios keen on exploration will elevate how we perceive art in our constantly changing culture.
Let us know what you think about our vision and comment below any points of view you had from visiting Zona Maco this year! We love to hear from you and hope we can encounter many more experiences in future exhibitions at art weeks in Mexico City.
