Mixed Reviews for Mexico's MACO Fair

MEXICO CITY—Since its debut three years ago, the MACO art fair (México Arte Contemporáneo) has been a highly unscientific experiment, seeking answers to a number of interesting questions: Will the local collecting base in Mexico step up to the plate and buy enough work to keep the fair going? Will European and American galleries bring enough fresh material to make the event a destination? And will international collectors, no doubt weary from a long season of art fairs, bother to come?

After wrapping up its third edition at the Expo Reforma in central Mexico City this past weekend, the fair still asks more questions than it answers. But yes, there are signs of success.

Organizers Zélika García and Enrique Rubio (brother of pop star Paulina) make for glamorous and gracious party hosts. The list of collectors who flew in for the occasion was longer than ever, as was the roster of dealers, up to 72 this year from 53 in 2005.

The program of events, designed to entertain the collectors (and also dealers) was a hit, drawing crowds to the deeply nostalgic Museo Frida Kahlo and the ever-contemporary Jumex Collection alike. And several collectors swore that the Expo food, courtesy of Hotels Habita and Basico, was the best fair food they’ve ever had.

But few galleries could say the same of sales. The fair got off to a quiet start with a collectors’ preview on the afternoon of April 26. Few galleries made any sales, and those on the first floor were told around 4 pm that day to send away any clients, and all but two employees, to make room for a special visit by Martha Sahagún, the wife of Presidente Vicente Fox.

Some dealers started grumbling. “We call her the rat,” says Frederick Janka, a curator with Nina Menocal gallery in Mexico City. “Nobody likes her. Nobody wants to sell anything to her.”

An hour later, the first lady swept through the first floor wearing a silvery silk pantsuit, followed by a small entourage. But she was clearly looking and not buying. Does she even collect contemporary art, I asked gallerist Emma Molina, who is based near Monterrey. “Art? No, they don’t collect art,” Molina answered firmly. “They collect horses.”

Still, within a couple days, at least a dozen galleries were doing serious business, thanks to a mix of collectors from North America, South America and Europe.

Galerie Grita Insam of Vienna did well with an installation and video by Spanish artist Mateo Maté on the theme of war and nationalism, with works priced up to $6,000. She also sold a couple portfolios of six text-based images by Ken Lum, priced at $8,400 for the bunch.

Arndt & Partner of Berlin stopped traffic with its large and slightly menacing installation of oil paintings by German artist Tim Trantenroth, who specializes in surveillance cameras and inhospitable architecture. The gallery sold about half of Trantenroth’s pieces at prices from $2,500 to $14,000. “We do better every year we do the fair,” said Matthias Arndt, who is on the selection committee.

But by far the most successful booth belonged to Mexico City gallery Kurimanzutto, which represents art stars such as Carlos Amorales, Miguel Calderón, Daniel Guzmán, Damián Ortega and Gabriel Orozco. “This year represents a very big step for us,” said Monica Manzutto. “We usually sell 90 percent of our material to Europe and the States. But this time we sold mostly to Mexican collectors.”

The gallery sold out its booth and then some, placing over 30 abstract photographs by Amorales (he calls them “digital drawings”) at $1,500 each and making a very rare six-figure sale at the fair—a large Orozco painting at exactly $100,000.

The Orozco canvas looks like a black-drip painting by Jackson Pollock, with a slash or two by Antonio Tapies. Only this particular Ab Ex painting was made through an unusual and whimsical procedure: Orozco had four students in one of his workshops hold the four corners of the canvas and placed a tennis ball dipped in black acrylic at the center. Wherever the ball rolled, a line of paint followed.

The fair was not, however, all fun and games. Of the 40 galleries new to MACO this year, most struggled to make even a handful of sales. And Mexico City doyenne Nina Menocal, who did well with photographs by local artist Alex Dorfsman of graffiti in Rio de Janeiro, said her sales were down from the previous year. She blames it on “horrible traffic” caused by several days of demonstrations downtown near the convention center.