Due to the pandemic, all artistic and cultural events around the world are impacted in one way or another. Mexico City is no exception. This year’s Art Week -generally starring Zona Maco, Material Art Fair and Salón Acme– will take place in alternative formats.
Despite the dynamics being significantly different from previous years, MASSIVart does not want to miss the opportunity to showcase the work of talented artists and outstanding cultural agents in Mexico. During this week, we will give space to different artists and gallery owners to share their perceptions and experiences within the national art scene.
We continue this special week with Jimena Montemayor.
The work of Jimena Montemayor (Mexico City, 1990) focuses on the tensions in personal experiences, juxtaposing emotions and nostalgia with the permanent and the temporal and at the same time the impact of technology in our daily lives and our multiple channels of communication. What all these components have in common is their abstract presence which we subconsciously nurture and manifest in our behaviours, decisions and most importantly─the energy of our feelings.
Whether influenced by the education we have received, our culture or our social environments, it is the side effects and results of this process that Montemayor explores and translates into a visual format. The use of the straight or perplexed line, sharp and irregular angles, the repetition of graphic patterns and also the introduction of amorphous bodies and structures, contribute to the search for an ongoing language and dialogue.
Through her multidisciplinary career in the areas of art and design, her work has created an intertwined relationship with aesthetics and perspectives that have created a fusion in the way she manipulates content. Her work explores diverse materials and dimensions, from drawings and digitized 3D sculptures to pieces made of steel, terrazzo, clay and wood. She currently lives and works between Miami and Mexico City.
Since my childhood, I always had an inclination towards visual arts and art in general. But I guess the concept of wanting to be an artist was formalized in my mid-20s when I really started producing work.
My work explores visual and graphic composition translated into lines, repetitions, patterns, bodies. I do not necessarily look for a complex questioning, but the possibility of causing some emotional or physical reaction. Joy, humour, confusion, etc, ideally I seek to achieve an identification or understanding with the public on a social and personal level.
I really enjoy experimenting and learning to use new formats and materials, be it 2D, 3D or digital. Also something that I find fundamental is collaboration. Apart from the fact that it is very exciting to share the same interest with other artists, designers, or people in the creative industry, the simple experience of joining forces is basic.
Diverse, iconic and fun.
Without a doubt, yes. There are too many artists in Mexico with a lot of talent that I deeply admire. There is a courage and empowerment of ideas and opinions that have never been seen in this country, or at least for me. Especially there are more and more women artists, which gives me a lot of motivation and inspires me to continue making art.
The scarcity of scholarships or financial support from the government.
Hard to answer, because I have several that I love. But if I have to choose one it would be OMR (@galeriaomr). Its curatorship, artists and exhibition space are exceptional and very dynamic.
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