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AVELINA LÉSPER’S STATEMENT AFTER THE INCIDENT AND CONFUSION IN ZONA MACO, MEXICO

On Saturday February 8^th, at an important art fair in Mexico, ZONA MACO, an accident happened with one of the works on display.

January 29, 2021

AVELINA LÉSPER’S STATEMENT AFTER THE INCIDENT AND CONFUSION IN ZONA MACO, MEXICO

ZONA MACO, the most important art fair in Latin America, received around 72,000 visitors and gathered fairs of contemporary art, design, photography and lounge. The exhibitors were more than 210 and came from 26 countries.

The work in question is titled "Nimble and Sinister Tricks (To Be Preserved Without Scandal and Corruption)" and was created in 2018 by Gabriel Rico.

Exhibited in the stand of the prominent OMR gallery, the work was totally destroyed while it was being criticized by Avelina Lésper. She is a recognized art critic and curator of the Millennium collection in Mexico. After the event, she was blamed by many for having behaved irresponsibly and lack of professionalism, and even for having caused the destruction of the work. “Her actions, getting too close to the work to put a can of soda on it and take a picture of it to make a remark, undoubtedly caused the destruction” published the OMR gallery on its Instagram account.

Enlarge image

Credit: Zona Maco twitter
Credit: Perrotin.com
Credit: Gabriel Rico/courtesy OMR, Mexico City
Credit: Katie White

On the other hand, Lésper states in a video that she shared on social networks that she hadn’t even touched the object when it collapsed. In her video, Avelina explains that she would never do such a thing because she has other media to share her opinions. And it makes sense: a public figure who dedicates her work to art, like Avelina, would not commit such a thing as destroying the work of an artist, regardless of her ideas and inclinations.

It is not yet clear what will happen with the work, and the artist has released a statement that describe what happened as "unfortunate."

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AVELINA LÉSPER’S STATEMENT AFTER THE INCIDENT AND CONFUSION IN ZONA MACO, MEXICO