“Elephant in the Room.”
Photo: Courtesy of the artist and La Metropolitana
10 Standout Design Moments from Mexico City’s Art Week
From a line of geometric stools carved from volcanic rock and marble to Sebastián Escultor’s dinnerware collection with Anfora Studio, here are the pieces we're still thinking about
The art world recently descended on Mexico City for its annual Art Week, imbuing the already-bustling creative capital with even more layers of energy. And a lot of energy is needed to see it all—from the fairs (Zona Maco, Salon Acme, Material) to the museums and open studios. While there is no shortage of art to see, design is increasingly playing a larger part.
Zona Maco has a section dedicated to design (including fashion and jewelry), Unique Design X was conveniently located in the same building as the Feria Material, and Territorio showcased Mexican designers in the bucolic setting of Chapultepec Park. Design galleries Ago Projects and MASA both showed new work from their artists, and several lesser-known but promising designers opened their studios to the public for the first time. In many cases, the locations were as beautiful as the works on display. Below, discover 10 standout moments.
Ernesto Azcarate’ creations. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
1. Ernesto Azcarate
Ernesto Azcarate has been an under-the-radar source for Mexican interior designers for over a decade. The multi-hyphenate creative, who counts George Nakashima and J.B. Blunk as influences, opened his studio to the public for the first time. Azcarate showed an edited, quietly stunning collection that, for the most part, he handcrafted himself. On view were two large, low tables made from Parota wood and stone, an ultra-versatile chair and sconces, also of Parota wood, and a highly polished bronze mirror. Also on display: a collection of clay maquettes that gave visitors a peek into the Mexico City native’s process.
“Sometimes We Seek, Sometimes We Find,” by Hector Esrawe. Photo: Alejandro Ramirez Orozco
2. Héctor Esrawe at MASA x Luhring Augustine Vol. 2
MASA and Luhring Augustine presented their second collaborative exhibition featuring the work of artists and designers from both galleries, installed in MASA’s beautiful historic space in San Miguel Chapultepec. Of particular note was an installation of limited-edition polished bronze mirrors by esteemed architect, and co-founder of MASA, Héctor Esrawe. Titled “Sometimes We Seek, Sometimes We Find,” the collection “stands as a testament to the design activity as a constant act of observation. This series invites reflection on the interplay between intention and accident, precision and imperfection, order and chaos, planning and observation,” according to a statement on Esrawe’s site.
The Dot series by Mauricio Paniagua and Tony Moxham of MT Objects. Photo: Courtesy of MT Objects
3. MT Objects at AGO Projects
AGO Projects is one of Mexico City’s most beloved design galleries, founded in 2019 by Rodman Primack and Rudy Weissenberg and quickly becoming a go-to source for top-notch interior designers (including Kelly Wearstler, who was spotted there during art week). Also spotted: the Dot series by Mauricio Paniagua and Tony Moxham of MT Objects. It’s a collection of optimistic ceramic pieces that are decorated with joyful, hand-airbrushed spots. Especially notable are the lamps, also ceramic and laboriously hand-perforated, allowing the duo to create lighting without bulbs or shades (the light is embedded within the ceramic forms).
Work by Joel Escalona. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
4. NONO
NONO, a Mexico City-based furniture company specializing in sculptural pieces handcrafted using various woods, was the standout at Zona Maco Diseño this year. Designer Joel Escalona founded the company in 2011, acts as its creative director, and designs all the pieces. The assortment he chose to show were an assemblage of soulful organic shapes, from the walnut Elefante console and small side table to the Socle dining table, the Sereno walnut wall shelves, and Still Stand black-tinted oak totem-like sculptures.
“Elephant in the Room.” Photo: Courtesy of the artist and La Metropolitana
5. Marina Abramović x La Metropolitana
The acclaimed artist Marina Abramović debuted the “Elephant in the Room,” a collection of limited-edition wood and copper chairs handcrafted in collaboration with woodworking design studio La Metropolitana. La Metropolitana, for the uninitiated, trains and employs carpenters in disadvantaged communities in Mexico to strengthen families and communities through craftsmanship and designs that integrate Scandinavian, Eastern, and Mesoamerican traditions. (Fun fact: Chef René Redzepi once described their work, created to furnish Noma in Mexico, as “perfect Mexicandinavian style”). Abramović’s chairs rest on “shoes” made from materials including copper recovered from coins and industrial waste, and precious woods sourced from government seizures.
Dinnerware by Macros Castro. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Dinnerware by Macros Castro. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
6. Marcos Castro at Ceramica La Mejor
Marcos Castro is considered one of Mexico’s most promising emerging painters, and “Cadena de Cobalto” (“Chain of Colbalt”) marks his second foray into the medium of ceramics. The first, a mural, was created in 2019. This new collection of blue and white pieces references Delftware in a series of tile murals, planters, and dinnerware that the 44 year-old Mexican native painted on-site at the Ceramica La Mejor studio in Laguna, a one-time textile and lace factory converted into a thriving creative hub in the Roma-adjacent Doctores neighborhood of the city. Castro spent four months there, painstakingly hand-painting each piece of his first-ever tabletop and other functional ceramic pieces depicting symbols found in myths, legends, and literature tied to the origins of Mexico, its inhabitants, and its territory.
Geometric stools carved from various stones, including volcanic rock and marble, designed by Carmen Castillo Badio, founder of Ente Arte.Objeto. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
7. Ente Arte.Objeto at Feria Territorio
There were several satellite fairs during art week, and a few focused exclusively on design. Feria Territorio, from the founders of Design Week Mexico, was a standout. It featured over 40 Mexican designers and artisans in an excellent location—a Félix Candela-designed building within Chapultepec Park dedicated to architecture and design. Spotted here: a line of geometric stools carved from various stones, including volcanic rock and marble, designed by Carmen Castillo Badio, founder of Ente Arte.Objeto.
Colección 137 by Sebastián Escultor for Anfora Studio. Photo: Courtesy of Anfora Studio
8. Sebastián Escultor for Anfora Studio
Sebastián Escultor is a beloved Mexican artist and sculptor, best known for public artworks in bright colors, most notably that 92-foot-tall modernist interpretation of a horse’s head on Paseo de la Reforma. So his appearance at the Anfora Studio booth in the design section of Zona Maco caused quite a stir, with fans lining up for selfies. Escultor was there for the debut of Colección 137, a collection of dinnerware, vases, an urn, and a large fruit bowl, created in collaboration with century-old ceramics producer Anfora Studio. The dinnerware, with hand-painted red rim lines, is a limited edition of just 20 sets, while the sculptural vessels are each an edition of 30, featuring 10 in each color.
CC Tapis installation at Casa Estudio Max Cetto. Photo: Alejandro Ramirez Orozco
9. CC Tapis Installation at Casa Estudio Max Cetto
The 1949 modernist home of legendary German-Mexican architect Max Cetto served as a gorgeous backdrop for showcasing two new CC-Tapis rug collections: Raag by London-based Doshi Levien and Clay Scan by New York designer Eny Lee Parker. It was part of “Metamorphosis,” an installation curated by Studio 84, a Mexico City-based showroom representing the likes of Dimore Milano, Nilufar, Zak + Fox and, of course, CC-Tapis. The installation in Cetto’s home, currently inhabited by relatives of the late architect featured lighting from the Flos archives and furniture from predominantly Latin American designers—including local studio Habitación 116 and Ōmbia Studio from Colombia—represented by Unno Gallery.
Ciénaga by Eduardo Rivas. Photo: Courtesy of ERM Studio
10. ERM Studio
Eduardo Rivas earned his chops at EWE, a Mexico City-based design studio founded by gallerist Age Salajõe, designers Manuel Bañó and architect Héctor Esrawe. He left after two years to start his own practice, and showed his latest collection—Ciénaga—in his home studio in Roma Norte. Crafted from a combination of sand cast aluminum and solid aluminum bars, the collection includes a series of shelves, a wall mounted cabinet, a coffee table and a lounge chair, with nods to Gerrit Rietveld, Marcel Breuer and Le Corbusier. ag
Cover: “Elephant in the Room.”
Photo: Courtesy of the artist and La Metropolitana
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