This year, ZonaMACO welcomed the addition of 39 new exhibiting galleries along with city-wide programming across 90 independent galleries, museums, and cultural institutions. The fair hosted a large range of artists including Yoshua Okón, Manuel Felguerez, and Alejandra Venegas at Proyectos Monclova; Gabriel Kuri, Roberto Gil De Montes, Abraham Cruzvillega, and Minerva Cuevas at kurimanzutto; and Jose Dávila, Gabriel Rico, and Pia Camil at Galeria OMR.
Pace Gallery’s striking presentation paid homage to Mexican modernist Luis Barragán through a bold yellow and pink booth design, housing works by James Turrell, Arlene Shechet, and perhaps most notably, two oversized canvases by Julian Schnabel. The artist’s custom-made portraits of Frida Kahlo, composed of paint and shards of broken glass, received immediate attention from VIP attendees.
Norway’s OSL Contemporary dedicated their entire booth to a single installation by Vanessa Baird, which immediately became one of the most talked about works at the fair. The work, titled Lost Humanity: One Way Ticket to Mars, covers the walls in scrolls filled with human bodies suffering from violence and genocide. The piece was perhaps the only overtly political works at ZonaMACO, which has long been known for hosting more politically and socially engaged work than other international fairs.
Making an emphasized effort this year to highlight artists from the Global South, first-time exhibitors include Palo Gallery, featuring Liberian artist Lewinale Havette, and Hexton Gallery, spotlighting Argentinian artist Marcos Acosta. The introduction of the Erarta Foundation’s $100,000 Art Prize added another layer of significance to the proceedings, particularly for emerging galleries in the Ejes section. The prize is awarded to an artist and gallery voted for by attendees instead of a jury of art professionals.
The VIP preview opened just one day after President Donald Trump paused a 25 percent tariff on Mexican imports for 30 days, causing an undercurrent of uncertainty. Despite concerns over potential tariff impacts, galleries reported strong sales and engagement, proving that the international art community is increasingly excited and compelled by the extraordinary creative energy radiating from Mexico City’s dynamic cultural ecosystem.
H. Zhang
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Zona Maco [Exhibition Site]
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