Instalaltion View of a trace beyond the life of the body, 2026. Photo by Alum Gálvez. Courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim.
Mexico City Art Week 2026 once again positions the city as the most important art epicenter in Latin America. Every February, a dense constellation of contemporary art fairs, exhibitions, galleries, independent spaces, and ephemeral projects activates a vibrant cultural agenda that draws artists, collectors, curators, and audiences from around the world. With such an expansive offering unfolding simultaneously, a clear and carefully curated guide becomes essential for navigating what truly matters.
Among the standout presentations of Art Week 2026, Carmen Neely's exhibition, a trace beyond the life of the body, marks the artist’s first exhibition in Latin America and a pivotal moment in her practice, now situated between Chicago and Mexico City. Closely tied to writing, Neely’s painting operates as inscription: layers, erasures, and negative spaces—introduced here through the use of masking tape—evoke censorship, redaction, and intervened memory. The exhibition reflects on how history is rewritten through omission and distortion, proposing the void not as absence, but as an active trace that insists on being read.
Excerpted words written by Ramón barreto for Vogue México.
