Mexico City boasts much more than Frida Khalo and Diego Rivera paintings when it comes to art. When you take aim at the country’s onslaught of conceptual connoisseurs, then you’ll find a plethora of artists dabbling in eccentricities to hold you over for years. Kurimanzutto has a spanking new art space and exhibition in the heart of San Miguel de Chapultapec (C/ Gob. Rafael Rebollar 94, Mexico City, DF, 11850) with a ridiculous amount of space, high-ceilings, an airplane hanging from the rafts, a Pakistani flag and dozens of metal shelves hosting works from some of Mexico’s finest concocters of peculiarity. Ever wonder if you could fit a concrete sphere the size of a medicine ball between two shelves? Well this is the place to find out.

Gallery Location

The current exhibition (December 2nd-February 14, 2009) gathers more than 20 artists — a few non-Mexican – to illustrate their imagination when posed the question: how does this metal shelf inspire you? The artists used metal shelving as inspiration to invent whimsical stories using found objects such as soccer balls, pornographic photos, suitcases, marijuana, ink wells and much more. Some shelves were more intriguing than others. Consider Daniel Guzman’s Dr. Lakra‘s (thanks Mariana) use of baby mannequin arms, dismembered, and tattooed to look like a sleeve taken from Kat Von Dee’s house. Other pieces, made absolutely no sense to me, but it was hardly the point of the exhibit. The exhibit’s most fascinating feature was its simplicity: turning a metal, clunky, rigged shelf into the instrument of inspiration. Check out the gallery below.

Kurimanzutto Website [Official]
Kurimanzutto opens doors to new art gallery in Mexico City [via LA Times]
More photos here.