NewsObituaries
Ernesto Mallard, resolute leader of Mexican Op-Art, has died, aged 89
After causing a sensation early in his career in the 1960s, the sculptor and visual artist retreated from the gallery scene, and was only recently re-acknowledged
NewsObituaries
Vicente Rojo, Renaissance man of 20th-century Mexican culture, has died, aged 89
The painter, sculpture and graphic designer helped define the Modern style for a generation
NewsHeritage
Fire destroys the ‘Sistine Chapel of the Purépecha Plateau’ in Mexico
Art historian who knew the building best says the Indigenous community who worshipped in the unique 16th-century church should decide what will replace it
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Mexico's culture crisis: pandemic leads to budget cuts that leave many workers unpaid while vanity projects receive millions
The ministry of culture has lost 75% of its funding, threatening the long-term survival of the country’s publicly funded museums and heritage sites
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Oaxaca museum in Mexico is locked in standoff with private foundation
Director spends night inside as the institution’s funders fail to pay salaries
NewsArt market
Undeterred by claims of inauthenticity, Christie's Pre-Columbian sale will go ahead tomorrow
"Christie’s has not been provided with any evidence that would challenge the lawfulness of this sale," a representative says
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Decoded Maya hieroglyphs reveal the name of powerful woman ruler: ‘Lady Yopaat’
After ten years of research, the city of Cobá is revealing its secrets to archaeologists
NewsFrida Kahlo
Spanish dealer claims to find long-lost Frida Kahlo painting
Missing for six decades, La Mesa Herida (The Wounded Table) may be in a London warehouse, but experts say the work is likely a fake
NewsObituaries
Manuel Felguérez, Mexican abstract master, has died, aged 91
The artist broke with tradition in the post-war years and was an early pioneer of film and digital art,
NewsMuseums
Critics demand explanation after quiet departures of Museo Jumex’s curator and director
Faults including a lack of transparency and a capricious programme have been cited following a change in management at the private museum
NewsFakes & copies
'Stolen' ancient sculpture returned to Nigeria is 'the kind of fake you could buy on eBay', African art expert says
Countries' rush to restitute objects is part of the problem, says Belgian lawyer
NewsNative American
President Trump blows up Native American grave site for his border wall
“Sacrilegious” act on Unesco-recognised site in Arizona which contains remains of Indigenous peoples
NewsObituaries
Francisco Toledo, renowned Mexican artist and activist, has died, aged 79
Known for powerful imagery rooted in his native Oaxaca, he was also a cultural benefactor
News US politics
Anti-Trump seesaw by architect duo unites children on US-Mexico border
“Actions that take place on one side have a direct consequence on the other side,” say project founders
ArchiveNew Museum
New cultural centre opens at Tlatelolco Square, Mexico City
And third Mexican collector loans his art to university
NewsCrime
Murdered muralist Héctor Domínguez honoured in Mexico
Suspicion aired that the 27-year-old artist may have been killed, along with his father and brother, because of his environmental activism
NewsArt theft
Votive paintings smuggled out of Mexico return to public view at Los Pinos presidential palace
The former government residence turned museum will host its first art exhibition
NewsMexico
Art that breathes: Mexican murals aim to clean the air
The public art works are painted using Airlite which purifies polluted air in a process similar to photosynthesis
NewsExhibitions
Ai Weiwei creates Lego portraits of missing Mexican students
The installation investigating their disappearance is part of the artist’s show at MUAC
ReviewExhibitions
Sunday in Chapultepec Park with Carsten Höller
The artist’s interactive exhibition at Mexico City’s Museo Tamayo encourages visitors to explore, take drugs and dream, but is it more than just another “art experience”?
BlogLinda on the loose
Grace Jones graces the stage for Aids charity at Mexico City home of Eugenio López
BlogLinda on the loose
Fraccionar, an idiosyncratic show in Mexico City, makes a match with the sublime Casa Luis Barragán
The curator Inti Guerrero has succeeded where others have fallen short
NewsArt market
Economic policies introduced by Mexico’s new president have yet to dent dealers' sales at Zona Maco
Works at mid-tier price points are moving quickly at the 16th edition of the Mexico City fair, according to exhibitors
PreviewExhibitions
Have Brooklyn and Boston bagged Frida Kahlo blockbusters?
Shows at the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston explore the Mexican artist’s love of fashion and “arte popular”
ReviewBooks
How the Mexican Stridentist movement tried to build a national identity following the Civil War
Art and social action after the Mexican Revolution
NewsMexico
What happened to all the art in Mexico’s presidential palace?
A largely emptied Los Pinos opened to the public on 1 December, leaving many in the country wondering where the collection of paintings and decorative objects went
News
Whitney staff members assail vice chairman’s business tie to tear gas attacks at US border
In a letter, they express ‘outrage’ over a connection to a military and law enforcement supplier
PreviewExhibitions
Mexican exhibitions of southern African art bring death to life
Shows in Oaxaca de Juárez forge cross-cultural connections
NewsMexico
Mexico’s presidential palace could become one of the world’s largest museums
But some experts question whether another art space is necessary
NewsDisasters & destruction
New York cemetery opens its doors to art to honour dead migrants and victims of Hurricane Maria
Artist creates an altar incorporating objects from Puerto Rico and invites visitors to add their own
ReviewVideo, film & new media
Gael García Bernal’s new film Museo turns Mexico’s biggest art heist into a madcap caper
The Spanish-launguage movie follows two middle-class flunkies who somehow pulled off one the largest antiquities thefts in modern-day history
NewsArt fairs
Zona Maco sister fairs return one year on from Mexico earthquake
Events dedicated to photographs, antiques, crafts and curiosities offer niche disciplines for collectors
NewsPublic art
Deported veterans ‘distress’ flag mural on US-Mexico border under review
US Customs and Border Protection is considering whether to remove or preserve the painting, which some have complained is disrespectful
NewsStreet art
Mexico City street artists celebrate the lives of women
A project has enlivened a drab area with 300 portraits
NewsConservation & Preservation
World Monuments Fund gives $1m for post-quake restoration of Mexican archaeological site
Monte Albán, the ancient capital of the Zapotec people, was damaged by earthquakes in 2017
NewsResearch
New hope for lost Frida Kahlo painting
Expert says new evidence could reveal location of Mexican artist’s biggest work, which “disappeared into thin air”
PreviewExhibitions
Cross-border collaboration brings Mexican miracles to the Met
Works in new show range from altarpieces to holy effigies believed to perform miracles
BlogLinda on the loose
Jumex Museum show looks at the fall of the Utopian ideal in Latin America
Mexico City museum is becoming a private institution that actually serves the public interest
PreviewExhibitions
Face to face with a Mesoamerican metropolis—in Los Angeles
Largest city of the ancient Americas brought back to life in show of Mexican treasures at Lacma
NewsPolitics
Fury over artist’s plan to preserve prototypes of Trump’s border wall
Others, including the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, support Christoph Büchel’s proposal to turn the eight designs into national monuments
NewsArt fairs
Mexico City’s Material fair draws praise—and exhibitors from Zona Maco
As the main fair has become more blue-chip, the younger event has focused on fresh talent and a connection to the local scene
NewsExhibitions
Sean Scully brings sculptures and paintings to Mexico City's Barrágan landmark
Irish artist will show works in the horse stalls at Cuadra San Cristóbal
ArchiveFrida Kahlo
How Frida Kahlo found her Mexican identity in Detroit
Though she distinctly disliked the experience, the Detroit Institute of Arts shows how it shaped her iconic imagery
ArchiveInterviews
Interview with dealer Santo Micali on finding new markets for pre-Columbian art
Argentina, Mexico and Brazil could be the future for a field struggling with limited supply
ArchiveArt fairs
Fair report: Local galleries fare well at Zona Maco, Mexico City
International collectors and curators were out in force for the eighth edition of the Latin American art fair
ArchiveMexico
Murdered Mexican women remembered in portrait show
Artists such as Tracey Emin, Paula Rego and Maggi Hambling have produced campaigning images
ArchiveArtist interview
Interview with Gabriel Orozco on his upcoming travelling retrospective: A global artist with global concerns
The artist states his work is about “space and time, action and philosophy”
ArchiveMexico
Leading collector plans contemporary art space in Mexico City
The museum will be drawn from the Jumex Foundation's 2,000 works
ArchiveNew Museum
Mexico’s two biggest collectors join forces to form new cultural compound in Mexico city
Eugenio Lopez Alonso’s Jumex Collection is to open a building near Carlos Slim Helú’s new Soumaya Museum
ArchiveArt fairs
Mexico's MACO remains a modest fair but draws major dealers
Exhibitor numbers are up 50%, with a few big names such as Hauser & Wirth
ArchiveDamien Hirst
Damien Hirst conquers Mexico: the biggest collectors in the country are lining up to buy new work by the British artist
Other pieces, including a new version of the shark in a tank, have sold to Korea and the US
ArchiveArtist interview
Interview with artist James Metcalf: Metal mettle
The adventurer, war hero, metalworker, sculptor, and political activist talks about Paris in the 1950s and his work in Mexico
ArchiveExhibitions
Last chance to see Manuel Alvarez Bravo at MoMA
This monumental retrospective of the Mexican photographer's unique images is not to be missed
ArchiveColonial art
“Converging Cultures: art & identity in Spanish America”: a much anticipated exhibition
Four years late, the major show of Spanish colonial art and culture reveals the viceroyalties of New Spain and Peru produced during Spanish dominion
CommentPolitics
Büchel’s feeble satire ignores the hateful reality of Trump’s wall
The petition to make the proposed border wall a National Landmark is one of the worst excesses of contemporary art and needs to be called out
Ben Luke