Los Tepalcates

AGO Projects presents the exhibition Terrícola; life through the land by Los Tepalcates.

Earthling; Life through Earth, is the first solo gallery exhibition of the work by Laura Enriquez Chavéz and Asuncion Enriquez Chavéz, opening in February 2025 during Mexico City Art Week and curated by Elise Durbecq. The exhibition will showcase work that combines traditional craft techniques, the legacy of communal ceramics workshops in Oaxaca, and an exploration of surreal animism. The artists transcend function in exuberantly expressive and exquisitely detailed work.

The workshop collaborated with Durbecq for this exhibition to develop a broader range of domestic objects in the distinctive Los Tepalcates style. Durbecq, a Mexico-based designer, has led the conversation on collaboration with artisans for over 15 years. She notes that the works in this exhibition are imbued with a sense of humor that allows the pieces to be “not serious, though technically serious,” breaking from the communal vernacular of Atzompa.

This compelling new body of work encompasses lamps, tables, large vessels, and tableware, showcasing the artists’ skill and experience in making traditional cookware. In her essay on this work, Su Wu wrote, “rendered masterfully with simple tools, from corn cobs to stones, the pieces suggest glimpses of a larger consciousness in folklore and encounter and the genuine immediacy of the animals who give each piece form.

The work of Laura and Asuncion will be accompanied in the installation by a suite of small oil paintings by Nanashy Mauro (Oaxaca, 2001), whose work similarly deploys humor in the suggestion of animals in the built environment and the absurdity of the natural habitat of convenience stores and yoga studios. The ceramics and oil paintings will all be based on animals of the American continents, grouped into four families: reptiles; ground animals such as deer, jabalí, coyote, and armadillos; birds, including parrots, toucans, and chicken; and sea animals.

–AGO Projects