¿La nueva generación de artistas actuales tiene el potencial de continuar esta tradición de diálogo intercultural?, ¿llegamos tarde a las innovaciones?, ¿sólo nos queda realizar adaptaciones y comentarios desde nuestra cultura? Es el camino y sus interrogantes de la plástica mexicana de hoy.

Andrew Birk is a fan of Mexico City. He’s been obsessively recording images with his phone for years. The pictures from his Instagram account (@andrewbirk) offer particular views and fragments of the city which seek to emphasize solutions of contemporary art and stand out as a persistence of painting.

Andrew Birk is a gringo. I don’t mention this as an insult—I’m one too, after all—but to give some context to his work. The Portland, Oregon, native has lived in Mexico City since 2011 and has a clear affinity for the cacophony and vibrancy of this dense, sprawling metropolis.

Painting in its most classical form is Andrew Birk’s most direct and definitive reference in his recent, large-scale, fully immersive work at Anonymous Gallery in Mexico City.

Andrew Birk (Oregon, 1985), exhibe una ambientación urbana conformada por una decena de pinturas densamente empastadas y graffiteadas que tienen collages de propaganda laboral, lienzos adosados a un falso muro de piedra volcánica coronado con vidrios rotos rodeados por objetos urbanos.

Callejero is a large scale project that seeks, from a base of painting, to represent an image of the city consisting of different fragments, like those recorded in his photographs. However, Birk’s work transcends the simple domain of representation, the fragments amalgamated into a stage. While largely focused on research about this medium, Callejero goes beyond the two-dimensional and provides a wide sensory load.

Mexico City is more up-and-coming than ever. With its restaurants, nightlife, and booming art scene, it’s no wonder that the New York Times singled it out as its number one pick for places to visit in 2016.