While the focus during Zona Maco in Mexico City might be on the fairs, galleries, and museums, one of the more beloved events is the annual Salón Acme showcase, which is hosted at a Chapultepec restaurant by local hospitality maven Antonio Vilches (the man behind Leonor, La Zaranda, and Café Paraiso among other hotspots). In the Salón Acme 'eatery', which is located across the street from Kurimanzutto gallery, this year’s showcase gave a platform for emerging artists without representation and under-recognised artists with galleries, selling works for $1100 and under.
'This is a totally self-sustaining operation,’ says Vilches, who notes that Mexican art stars like Jose Dávila, Mario García Torres, Gonzalo Lebrija and Stefan Brüggemann donated more expensive works (starting at $2500) to an auction held earlier to raise money for the salon. ‘All of the artists enter an open call, whether they have a gallery or not, even if they are minors or elders.’
What began four years ago with 300 entries — a description of the work and the work itself — has grown to 800 entries for this year's salon, which showcased more than 60 artists, which were judged by a council that included artists and curators from MUAC, Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, and Museo Jumex.
’The cool thing is that it's the council that says yes and no and why, so it gives feedback to people which they could maybe never reach the director of the most important museum in Mexico,’ says Vilches. ‘Even if you're 15-years-old or have no money, it's very democratic.’
This year's highlights included a wall installation of sexualised drawings by Horacio Quiroz; documentary photographs of darkly humorous installations with beds and balloons by Gabriel Monroy; obsidian rocks carved with topographical lines by Paula Cortazar; collages of bordering US state flags (Arizona, Texas, and California), made from Mexican passport papers by Christian Becerra; and a contract between a linguist and an artist, Sofia Hinojoso, who agreed to never use two words for the rest of their lives.
The salon also devoted the entire upstairs gallery to artists from various states; this year the focus was Sonora in northwest Mexico. ‘The thing is not to get revenue from art,' says Vilches. ‘But to support the development of art.’
Remedios, by Elsa Pinto. Organised by local hospitality maven Antonio Vilches, the showcase provides a platform for emerging artists without representation and under-recognised artists with galleries, selling works for $1100 and under
Caja de Knorr Suiza, by Cirse Irasema (left) and Torre de Babel, by Belsay Maza. 'All of the artists enter an open call, whether they have a gallery or not, even if they are minors or elders,’ says Vilches
Serie Angel Exterminador, by Dulce Chacon-Aparacion. This year's salon, which showcased more than 60 artists, was whittled down from 800 entries, judged by a council that included artists and curators from MUAC, Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, and Museo Jumex
Aliento, by Jorge Rosano Gamboa. ’The cool thing is that it's a council that says yes and no and why, so it gives feedback to people which they could maybe never reach the director of the most important museum in Mexico,’ says Vilches
Cona Montetario, by Tomas Contreras
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Salón Acme website
ADDRESS
Rafael Rebollar 95
Colonia San Miguel Chapultepec
Mexico City
-
Olfactory Art Keller: the New York gallery exhibiting the smell of vintage perfume, blossoming lilacs and last night’s shameOlfactory Art Keller is a Manhattan-based gallery space dedicated to exhibiting scent as art. Founder Dr Andreas Keller speaks with Lara Johnson-Wheeler about the project, which doesn’t shy away from the ‘unpleasant’
-
Explore a barn conversion with a difference on the Isle of WightGianni Botsford Architects' barn conversion transforms two old farm buildings into an atmospheric residence and artistic retreat, The Old Byre
-
Audi launches AUDI, a China-only sub-brand, with a handsome new EV conceptThe AUDI E previews a new range of China-specific electric vehicles from the German carmaker’s new local sub-brand
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been doing this weekInvesting in quality knitwear, scouting a very special pair of earrings and dining with strangers are just some of the things keeping the Wallpaper* team occupied this week
-
Tanya Aguiñiga: the artist weaving new narratives for borderless creativityWe profile LA-based artist and Loewe Foundation Craft Prize finalist Tanya Aguiñiga, whose work explores life on the US-Mexico border and seeks to empower transnational voices
-
Bosco Sodi’s monumental new Mexico City studio is a multifunctional featAs Bosco Sodi unveils his new Studio CMDX in Atlampa, Mexico City, we speak to the artist about how the vast Alberto Kalach-designed former warehouse is a feat in multitasking
-
Artist’s Palate: Jose Dávila’s chocolate fudge with pecansTry Jose Dávila’s indulgent recipe for chocolate fudge with pecans, from our December 2022 issue’s Artist’s Palate feature, a Wallpaper* homage to our favourite contemporary art
-
Botanical sculptor Azuma Makoto creates a sculptural ecosystem at Mexico’s SFER IKJapanese artist Azuma Makoto’s largest flower sculpture to date responds to SFER IK’s unique biophilic design and the surrounding wilderness
-
Mexico City art hub JO-HS opens inside a modernist iconNew exhibition space and creative hub JO-HS opens inside a striking example of modernist Mexico City architecture by Carlos Herrera
-
Bosco Sodi’s message of post-pandemic hope in New York CityThe Mexican artist takes over Manhattan's Washington Square Park on Sunday 23 May, giving away 439 small clay spheres embedded with seeds to spread a message of hope
-
Unno gallery shines a spotlight on Latin American design talentOffering a new point of view on the region's talent, Milan-based digital gallery Unno makes its debut with a series of collectible design objects that reference ancient aesthetics with a contemporary spin
