It’s been a short while since I’ve returned from the sultry Oaxacan coastline of Puerto Escondido, Mexico, after attending the third annual Mexico Design Fair. Unexpected plumes of volcanic ash blanketing Mexico City delayed arrivals and departures, foiling plans professional and personal alike. In hindsight, the pause offered a opportune moment to reflect upon both the parts and the sum of an event devised to spotlight the best of contemporary Mexican design, one as warmly memorable as the Pacific sunset that played backdrop for the entirety of our stay.
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Staged across various venues of architectural pedigree – Casa Naila, a beachside residence designed by BAAQ’s Alfonso Quiñones, Casa Malandra designed by Alberto Calleja, the newly revealed Meridiano gallery by architect Tatsuro Miki and Axel Vervoordt, not to mention a slew of destinations orbiting the fair such as Tadao Ando designed Casa Wabi, many deserving of an architectural pilgrimage themselves – MDF vacillates between the intimate and social, quiet and celebratory, obvious and revelatory against a dramatic coastal backdrop.
MDF is staged as a testament to the numerous talents of contemporary design working across Mexico City and beyond, a creative scene that isn’t always given its proper dues north of its borders. The event is in some sense curated to illuminate and inform all attendees across its three days of tours, talks, and festivities, but also celebrate knowingly of their own growing importance – a manifestation of IFYKYK.
First and foremost is the incomparable daydream residence of Casa Naila, a four structure home opened to the elements and guests during Mexico Design Fair. Orchestrated by MDF founder and chief curator Carlos Torre Hütt, the beachside escape was made into a loosely woven narrative of rooms showcasing traditions of materiality unique to Mexico. A few favorites below:
Set along to complement the main exhibition within Casa Naila, Fernanda Antillón and Mariano Rodea of the Leon based firm Casa Blanca Oficina worked with Javier Marín Foundation’s Fábrica de San Pedro in Uruapan, Michoacan to erect a shade structure that operated both as totem and refuge from the elements – soft architecture designed for temporary inhabitance, respectful of its imprint upon the site.
The 2023 Mexico Design Fair concluded with a literal bang, dazzling beachside guests and locals with a pyrotechnic show choreographed by Canadian artist Brendan Fernandes incorporating traditional Mexican handcrafted “castillos” (castles) and “toritos” (little bulls) set ablaze to music.
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Noting the growth of Mexico’s contemporary design scene, Mexico Design Fair’s imprint will continue to deepen globally. Yet in attendance the event’s organizers reveal a welcome appreciation in nurturing an intimate and natural ambiance where designers and collectors alike are allowed to organically develop an understanding of the who, how, where, and why behind each design – an opportunity often absent during larger and crowded traditional trade shows. Here along the Oaxacan coastline, each object’s material and form are given a valuable context tied to landscape, the craft/artisan culture, and history of Mexico itself, washing upon the mind in rhythm with the ever-present crashing of the waves.
Source: design-milk