Latin America's Premier Independent Art Fair Reaches A Milestone

Material, Latin America’s premier independent art fair, reaches a new milestone with the celebration of its fifth edition in Mexico City, from February 8th to 11th, 2018.

Since its debut in 2014, Material has revitalized Mexico City’s most important week for contemporary art and, in many ways, has come to symbolize its city’s vibrant and youthful cultural scene. The fair’s emphasis on experience — through its intimate scale, sense of community, and adventurous programming — has made it a required visit for collectors, curators, artists, and the general public alike.

Fair organizer, Brett W. Schultz, notes: “Each and every year, Material pushes the envelope further. It’s not just a marketplace for contemporary art; we’ve created a welcoming home for risk-taking artists and the gallerists, collectors, and curators who champion them. I think that’s why people love coming to this fair. It’s always fun and always fresh.”

For this fifth edition, Material will debut at the Frontón México, an Art Deco-era sporting arena constructed in 1929 by the architects Teodoro Kinhard and Joaquín Capilla. Abandoned for over two decades, the Frontón has been recently restored to its former grandeur as part of a massive rehabilitation project overseen by Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts. Located alongside the breathtaking Monumento a la Revolución, the Frontón México represents Material’s ongoing commitment to bringing important cultural and economic activity to the heart of Mexico City.

Isa Castilla, another of the fair’s organizers, lauds the new venue: “We’re absolutely overjoyed to be able to present our milestone fifth edition in this incredible building. It not only reflects Material’s own growth and maturation, but also connects our fair to the rich cultural history of this city.”  

Material’s last edition featured a selective and diverse group of 53 exhibitors from 17 countries and 33 cities. For this fifth edition, a similarly diverse group of exhibitors will be selected by the fair’s outstanding 2018 committee: LABOR (Mexico City, Mexico); Supportico Lopez (Berlin, Germany); Andréhn-Shiptjenko (Stockholm, Sweden); and François Ghebaly (Los Angeles, USA). Organizer Rodrigo Feliz remarks, “We’re particularly excited about the strength of the selection committee we’ve gotten together for this iteration, all of them top quality and highly relevant international galleries.”

Carla Valdivia / Studio Katsu, Material’s designer since its 2016 edition, has created a bold new graphic identity for the fair, which draws inspiration from sources as wide-ranging as Op Art, Bauhaus, and even Japanese product packaging. The Mexico City-based architectural studio, APRDELESP, has also returned to collaborate for a third consecutive year, this time with a construction that’s certain to be popping up on everyone’s Instagram feeds. “This fifth edition of Material is going to be, without exaggeration, unlike any other art fair in the world,” notes Brett Schultz.

Following up on the remarkable success of IMMATERIAL — curator Michelangelo Miccolis’s performance program for Material — IMMATERIAL Vol. II will focus on two long-durational dance works by internationally-acclaimed artists engaging with expanded notions of choreography: Mårten Spångberg and Maria Hassabi. Each of their works will be presented for the very first time in Mexico and will run the entire length of the fair’s opening hours.

The VIP Preview for Material 2018 will take place on Thursday, February 8th from 12:00 to 3:00 pm and the Public Opening will begin promptly afterward, from 3:00 to 9:00 pm.

Frontón México is located at De La República 17, Colonia Tabacalera, in the delegation Cuauhtémoc, close to Mexico City’s Historic Center.