Escultura social: a new generation of art from Mexico City

Abstract

Mexico City has emerged as a thriving centre of contemporary art. Escultura Social features recent work by a group of artists whose influence has already extended far beyond Mexico and focuses on how they have contributed to an international dialogue through their use of nontraditional materials, new media and critical perspectives. This book takes Joseph Beuys' idea of 'social sculpture', or escultura social, as a multivalent reference point for understanding how these socially engaged works draw connections between people and nature and promote a demystified and democratic concept of art-making. Featuring the work of nineteen artists, this bilingual volume includes several artists' writings by pioneers of artist-run exhibition spaces: Stefan Bruggemann, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Yoshua Okon and Pedro Reyes. Critical essays on the contemporary Mexican scene and relevance of Beuys' ideas are accompanied by illustrated texts on each artist in this unique and important book.