Columna Rota

Curatorial statement 
We speak little about the role rejection plays in shaping who we are—how it defines who belongs in our world and the world at large, who doesn’t, how soul-shattering it can be; and yet, how powerfully it can propel our projects, our ideas, and ourselves.

For years, I’ve wanted to make an exhibition around the concept of rejection. As I struggled to put into words how it feels to be rejected—other than shit—I turned to Frida Kahlo’s 1944 drawing Boceto preparatorio para la columna rota [Preparatory Sketch for The Broken Column], which depicts the artist’s mutilated spine as a fragmented Ionic column. The metaphor of the crushed structure which holds humans and buildings alike, resonated with me as I thought about my own trajectory as an exhibition-maker which has mostly gone unnoticed; my romantic life which feels like a perpetual yearning; and my own condition as a chronic nitpicker. 

I am what some might call a “loser”. 

Any desire and every display of enthusiasm has been met with muted apathy—something countless others have experienced in their careers, dreams, and romantic aspirations.

This exhibition is not exhaustive, nor scholarly. It’s the final episode of a trilogy (You to Me, Me to You, 2023; From Dreams You Wake Up, 2024) in which I gather works, artists, and lives to explore themes through feeling, generating a turn towards the emotive.

As a warning, many of the artists in the show are my friends—and every single one of my friends is part of this project.

Participating artists: Arrogante Albino (Mexico) / Claudia Andujar (Brazil) / Siah Armajani (Iran) / Lutz Bacher (US) / José Eduardo Barajas (Mexico) / Lola Álvarez Bravo with Raul Abarca, Diva O. Foscade, Raúl Conde and Guillermina Álvarez (Mexico) / Soumya Sankar Bose (India) / Iñaki Bonillas (Mexico) / Victoria Clay Mendoza (Mexico-Philippines) / Phil Collins (UK) / June Crespo (Spain) / Dexter Dalwood (UK) / Jabulani Dhlamini (South Africa) / Marlene Dumas / Juan Pablo Echeverri (Colombia) / Francisco de Guerrero y Torres (New Spain, now Mexico) / Shilpa Gupta (India) / Juan Guzmán (Mexico) / Pieter Hugo (South Africa) / Onyeka Igwe (Nigeria) / Alfredo Jaar (Chile) / Sosa Joseph (India) / Frida Kahlo (Mexico) / Tamiji Kitagawa (Japan) / Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol (Mexico) / Zein Majali (Jordan) / Teresa Margolles (Mexico) / Georgina Maxim (Zimbabwe) / Steve McQueen (UK) / Erbossyn Meldibekov (Kazakhstan) / Tina Modotti (USA–Mexico) / Jou Morales (Mexico) / Thomas Mukarobgwa (Zimbabwe) / Jonathan Okoronkwo (Nigeria) / Berenice Olmedo (Mexico) / José Clemente Orozco (Mexico) / Máximo Pacheco (Mexico) / Peet Pienaar (South Africa) in collaboration with Emilio Rivera, Laura Hernández Licona, Bibiana Hernández Licona, Oralia Hernández Licona, Darlene Tranquilino Hernández, Yolotzin Giselle Rodríguez Hernández, Suzette Hernández Hernández, Eulalia Pérez García, Mileidy Patricio Pérez, Cirila Madariaga, Priscila Iturbide, Mauro García, and Maestra María de los Ángeles Licona San Juan (Mexico) / Arlette Quỳnh-Anh Trần (Vietnam) / Jo Ractliffe (South Africa) / Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa (Guatemala) / Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook (Thailand) / José Rojas (Mexico) / Daniela Rossell (Mexico) / Maruch Sántiz (Mexico) / Ramón Saturnino (Mexico) / Dayanita Singh (India) / Slavs and Tatars (Eurasia) / Wi Taepa (New Zealand) / Deng Tai (China) / José María Velasco (Mexico) / Nahum B. Zenil (Mexico) / Madame Zo (Madagascar)

Conceived by Francisco Berzunza, Diego Aramburu, Maria Inés Parra, Gabriella Nugent, Jaime Ruiz, Francesca Manfredini, Jimena Bernot, Otro Bureau, Perla San Juan, Pascal Scheuwly and a group of friends; with texts by Chloe Aridjis, Ruben Gallo, María Minera, Michael Synder, and Mauricio Tenorio, amongst others

The Museo de la Ciudad de México, housed in the eighteenth-century palace of the Count of Santiago de Calimaya, is itself central to this narrative. Columna Rota thus arrives not only as an exhibition but as an act of resurrection. Entirely funded by civil society, it insists on culture as an autonomous force, independent of state neglect and institutional complicity.

By gathering nearly two hundred artists, writers, and performers in a single gesture, Columna Rota reimagines the possibilities of the group exhibition and repositions Mexico City as a cultural capital where global art history, cultural dialogue, and local urgency meet. Its scale, its independence, and its insistence on collectivity mark it as one of the most consequential exhibitions staged in Mexico in recent years, a reminder that rejection, however wounding, can also be the ground upon which new solidarities are built.

The Museum of Mexico City is overseen by the Secretaría de Cultura de la Ciudad de México. In this context, Columna Rota is an independent initiative that contributes to the museum’s programming and to the Secretariat’s efforts, while drawing on resources that extend beyond official channels. Throughout its history, the museum has hosted exhibitions of international relevance: Five Continents, One City, curated by Okwui Enwezor which aspired to become a recurring biennial; a retrospective of Pierre Soulages in 2010 that traveled from the Centre Pompidou; and Critical Fetishes: Residues of the General Economy, curated by Cuauhtémoc Medina, Marina Botey, and Helena Chávez MacGregor (2011–12).