MONTERREY.- The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey (MARCO) presents Nuevo León: El futuro no está escrito (Nuevo León: The Future Is Unwritten), an exhibition that delves into the social complexities and contradictions of living in a 21st-century city, through contemporary photography.
Under de curatorship of Mauricio Maillé and Ariadna Ramonetti, the exhibition features 602 works by 10 photographers and a collective. The works are presented in the following order in the galleries of MARCO: Aristeo Jiménez, Yvonne Venegas, Oswaldo Ruíz, Alejandro Cartagena, the Estética Unisex collective (composed of Lorena Estrada and Futuro Moncada), Loreto Villarreal, Stefan Ruiz, Ruth Rodríguez, Salomé Fuentes, Sofía Ayarzagoitia, and Juan Rodrigo Llaguno. These artists have explored themes such as urban growth, labor culture, and the everyday lives of various social groups, among others.
Most of the artists are originally from Nuevo León or have addressed issues in their careers that concern and occur in the region. However, these issues are not exclusive to a single geographic point; rather, they are conditions shared with other localities across Latin America.
Aristeo Jimenez’s artwork is the core of the exhibition, as a tribute to his artistic career. The artist has dedicated himself to documenting the daily lives of socially vulnerable sectors and communities in Monterrey, such as peripheral housing, obscure nocturnal environments, and red-light districts.
Building on Jiménez's work, the curators established connections between photographers who have focused on Nuevo León from diverse perspectives. In a form of visual dialogue, they selected five artists' projects to include some historical photographs from the Fototeca Nuevo León collection, with the aim of creating a historical contrast.
Together, these artistic proposals, each with its unique perspective, form a panoramic, divergent, and kaleidoscopic vision of a complex city.
The production of the exhibition received special sponsorship from Banregio, a banking institution celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Additionally, the company boasts a contemporary photography collection that has become one of the most important in northern Mexico.
"We are thrilled to celebrate Banregio's 30th anniversary by contributing to this exhibition, which honors the 200th birthday of Nuevo León, a state where multiple realities converge to enrich our land and create success stories. These are the very stories the bank supports because we believe in the dreams of Mexican entrepreneurs," said Manuel Rivero Zambrano, CEO of Grupo Regional and Hey Banco, who also serves on the MARCO Board of Directors.
"We also believe in the dreams of the country's artists, making this the perfect occasion to promote their recognition and the work they do in favor of the national culture and history."
The exhibition will be displayed until February 2025. MARCO is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, with extended hours until 8:00 PM on Wednesdays. Admission is free on Wednesdays and Sundays. General admission is 90 MXN, with a reduced price of 60 MXN for students, teachers, and INAPAM members. Access for people with disabilities and their companions is free every day.
