Mexico’s densely populated, historic capital, Mexico City is a bustling hive of culture and creativity. Built on the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan amid the high plateaus of central Mexico, the city has a long and storied past. Today it is a continental political and financial cultural hub.
From the 20th century, Mexico City has developed its reputation as a cultural capital, spawning avantgarde artists such as Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Leonora Carrington. The city continues to produce internationally known contemporary artists today, such as Damián Ortega, Bosco Sodi, Mario García Torres, and Betsabeé Romero.
Amid the city’s historic, modernist, and cutting-edge contemporary architecture are a plethora of cultural institutions. Among them, museums range from the historic collections of Palacio de Bellas Artes, Museo Nacional de Arte, and Museo Soumaya to the modern Museo Jumex, Museo de Arte Moderno, and contemporary Museo Tamayo.
Other contemporary art institutions such as Casa Vecina in Mexico City’s historic centre, and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México’s Casa del Lago Juan José Arreola, take an active role in promoting and supporting developments in contemporary art.
Beyond these institutions, Mexico City’s thriving art scene is bolstered by diverse commercial galleries like Galería OMR, Labor, Deli Gallery, and Kurimanzutto; and influential artist collectives such as Biquini Wax EPS and Ladrón. The city’s walls also offer a rich tapestry of street murals.
Mexico City hosts several major international contemporary art fairs and events, including Material Art Fair, Condo Mexico City, and the monolithic Zona Maco. These help to cement Mexico City’s ongoing presence in the international art world.
Our exhibition profiles include press releases, installation images, and for gallery spaces, a selection of artworks being shown in Mexico City. They also include access to profiles of exhibiting artists.
To present only the best of contemporary art on Ocula, our Members are determined by a selection committee of respected and influential international gallerists.
Mexico City offers a myriad of art galleries to explore. Most of these spaces are clustered near the city’s historic centre. OMR was founded in 1983 as one of Mexico’s first contemporary art galleries. It represents new voices in Latin America and beyond, including artists such as Claudia Comte, Jose Dávila, and Superflex.
Galeria RGR was founded in Venezuela in 2012, before moving to Mexico City in 2018. Sited inside the former offices of youth magazine ERES, the gallery uses abstract art as a ‘guiding thread’, representing artists such as Ding Yi, Magdalena Fernández, and Hilma’s Ghost, and the estates of Grego and Carlos Cruz-Diez.
Galería Hilario Galguera opened in 2006 with a solo presentation by Damien Hirst. The gallery supports artists exhibiting rigour and aesthetic precision, making work that engages with the social-political and formal contexts of today. Besides Hirst, represented artists include David Bailey, Bosco Sodi, and Michael Joo.
Set in the vibrant Roma neighbourhood, Terreno Baldío Arte was established in 2005 as an office managing exhibitions of Mexican sculptor Javier Marín’s work. The gallery has since expanded to represent local and international artists, working with Fundación Javier Marín to exhibit their work in museums and public spaces.
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