While artists, critics, collectors, and art enthusiasts descend upon Miami, the exhibitors list has been released for 2019’s Material Fair. The sixth edition of the fair makes an early mark on the 2019 fair scene running from February 7th to the 10th. Touted as Latin America’s premier art fair, the four-day event runs alongside Zona Maco in the country’s capital.
For the second year in a row, Material will be hosted in the Frontón México, an Art Deco-era sporting arena in Mexico City. Local architects APRDELESP will transform the space again this year after rave reviews from their 2018 designs to accommodate the 73 exhibitors representing 22 countries. Among the 73 exhibitors, 29 are new to Material, including Nielsen, Lyles & King, and Jan Kaps. Newcomers will be joined by repeat exhibitors like Labor, Document, and LambdaLambdaLambda. Frontón México will be the fair’s home for upcoming years according to an email dispersed by Brett William Schultz, the fair’s creative director, and Rodrigo Feliz, exhibitor liaison. The email expressed that the deal with the sports arena will allow Material ‘to continue perfecting what already works well, rather than having to reinvent the fair from the ground up yet again.’
2019 will see the third edition of IMMATERIAL, the fair’s performance-based series, which has become integral to the fair’s public programmes. In previous years, highlights included Pedro Reyes’ monograph Ad Usum and works by Frida Escobedo, the Mexican architect who designed the 2018 Serpentine Pavilion in London. IMMATERIAL has also welcomed Beverly’s, a New York-based bar and curatorial project, which transformed a Frontón locker room with installation and participatory performances – Berverly’s will again occupy the Frontón’s locker rooms this year. Curator Michelangelo Miccolis will be in charge of 2019’s IMMATERIAL programming.
The 2019 edition of Material will introduce a new section solely devoted to arts publications and artists books. Titled READING MATERIAL, continuing the play on the fair’s name, Schultz and Feliz note ‘it’s definitely not a typical art book fair. It’s going to look more like a massive picnic, and there’s going to be a ball pit and bars and all sorts of activities happening there.’
A general feel of optimism surrounds Material as the fair draws closer. Schultz and Feliz have stated: ‘We’ve got a brand-new president, Andres Manuel López Obrador, and a new mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, who both aim to make arts and culture a much higher priority than they’ve been in the past.’ The duo continued: ‘There’s more eyes on the Mexico City art scene than there have ever been before, and this new generation of organizers, curators, and artists that’s coming up here is just really smart, savvy, and ambitious. There seem to be golden years ahead.’
A complete list of this year’s exhibitors can be found here.
