PROYECTOS MONCLOVA

Proyectos Monclova is one of the leading contemporary art galleries in Mexico City. Founded in 2005 by José García and Alejandro Romero, the gallery’s impressive international and multigenerational roster includes many of Mexico’s most acclaimed artists. This April, Proyectos Monclova will participate for the first time in Dallas Art Fair, bringing a dynamic selection of works by gallery artists, including Gabriel de la Mora, Edgar Orlaineta, and Eduardo Terrazas, all of whom experiment with materiality, albeit from different points of reference: nature, geometry, historical contexts.

Gabriel de la Mora (b. 1968, Mexico City) incorporates into his artistic practice the quotidian detritus of modern life, which he obsessively collects. For his 2022 series Lepidóptera, the artist created geometric mosaics that are impossibly ethereal and beautiful, softened with fragments of rare Morpho didius butterfly wings (ethically sourced, as the species is on the verge of endangerment) to explore the genetically determined variations in their patterns. The repetitive mosaic configurations in which the fragments are arranged allow for close study of the unique characteristics of each wing, revealing subtle differences that would otherwise be imperceptible.

Exploring the cult status of postwar architecture and design, Edgar Orlaineta (b. 1972, Mexico City) questions and subverts the symbolic cultural and economic value of industrial design objects that have become coveted collector items. His mixed-media sculptural wall piece Untitled, 2022, is assembled from the odds and ends left over from previous projects. This body of work represents a new direction for the artist, one in which the manual process of making takes precedence over the investigation of ideas.

Eduardo Terrazas (b. 1936, Guadalajara) was a founding member of the Mexican contemporary art scene. Trained as an architect, by the 1970s Terrazas began exploring geometric abstraction through formal investigations that combined drawing and elements of indigenous Mexican folk art. He is perhaps best known for his work incorporating Huichol yarn technique, excellent examples of which can be seen in his ongoing series Possibilities of a Structure, in which colored yarn is arranged in complex patterns on wax-covered boards. Terrazas adopted this practice not only for its unique aesthetic qualities, but also for the meditative nature of the laborious work, which requires complete concentration.

The work of these three artists has been collected and exhibited by institutions across the globe, including Texas museums such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Instituto Cultural de México, San Antonio; and the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont.

“Mexico has always had a very close relationship to Texas, and the same can be said with the gallery’s clientele in the region,” says Isabella Aballí Sotto Mayor, the gallery’s sales director. “Dallas and its surrounding cities have some of the [United States’] most interesting and strongest art collections, therefore [Dallas Art Fair] seemed like the perfect fair to further grow our gallery’s and artists’ presence there.”

Proyectos Monclova has previously participated in major international art fairs including Frieze Los Angeles, Art Basel (Miami Beach and Hong Kong), The Armory Show, and ZonaMaco México Arte Contemporáneo, among others. The gallery’s decision to add Dallas Art Fair to the docket is a testament to Dallas’ growing reputation as a world-class art destination. –Sara Hignite P