4 days ago
Mercedes-Benz Looks Inward in 'BE-LONGING' Exhibition
Summary
The Mercedes-Benz Art Collection is launching its international exhibition series withBE-LONGING, its first stop in Mexico City. Housed at Espacio CDMX in the heart of Chapultepec Park, the showcase pairs works from the brand's own collection alongside contemporary pieces by artists living and working in Mexico – a sweeping mosaic of affinity, belonging and identity in-flux.
From questions of memory and geography to body politics and vocation, the artists ofBE-LONGINGare threaded together by a particular flavor of freedom found in the slipperiness of identity. The scenography, helmed by Mexico City basedC Cúbica, enhances ideas of interconnectedness and multiplicity through a modular, open-ended design, pushing the presentation into an experiential realm.
Highlights include Francis Alÿs' seminal'Paradox of Parxis I (Something Making Something Leads to Nothing),' a nine-hour ode to CDMX through the aperture of a melting ice block, and'El color de tus ojos (venus)' byEnrique López Llamas, whose surreal cowboy imagery evokes ideas of fragmented masculinities and embodiment. Additionally, Naomi Rincón Gallardo revives Mesoamerican fables inResiliencia Tlacuache, while speculative futures take center stage in'My future is not a Dream' byCao Fei.
With upcoming installments in the series still underway, the inaugural Mexico City edition draws excitement for what's to come. In hand with exhibition itself, the collection has also launched an expansive programming calendar, inviting audiences to engagee with'multiple conceptual axes' ofBE-LONGINGto foster creative dialogue between global and local communities.
The exhibition is now on view in Mexico City through August 31. For more information aboutBE-LONGINGand corresponding programming, check out the Mercedes-Benz Collection'swebsite. Read on for the full list of featured artists.
Emma AdlerJane AlexanderFarah Al QasimiFrancis AlÿsLeonor AntunesPia CamilNicole ChaputClément CogitoreCao FeiDavid GoldblattWu HaoIsaac JulienAlicja KwadeEnrique López LlamasRobert MapplethorpeJorge Méndez BlakeZanele MuholiAnn-Kathrin MüllerBerenice OlmedoAnnu Palakunnathu MatthewChantal Peñalosa FongElodie PongNaomi Rincón GallardoBárbara Sánchez-KaneLerato ShadiDayanita SinghPamela SinghBuhlebezwe SiwaniMartin Soto ClimentTercerunquintoFrieda Toranzo JaegerTheresa Weber
Espacio CDMXAv. de los Compositores 4,Bosque de Chapultepec II Secc, Miguel Hidalgo,11100 Ciudad de México, CDMX
