Publication

  • Estructuras al límite. Poemas sobre Félix Candela/ Structures at the Limit. Poems on Félix Candela
    David Bestué
    Author
    Buró-Buró and de_sitio, 2014
  • GRANTEE
    de_sitio
    GRANT YEAR
    2012

David Bestué, Untitled, 2013, Mexico City. Courtesy of the artist.

This project by David Bestué seeks to activate Félix Candela's work through temporary performative and sculptural interventions. Photographic records of these interventions, as well as texts written and graphic by the artist, take the form of a publication. Bestué's work analyses modern architecture by investigating the relationship between geometry and affection, the built environment and the human body in motion. By creating a parallelism between bodies in action and engineering through these performances, the artist seeks to build a connection between different forms of physicality.

David Bestué (b. 1980, Barcelona) is an artist interested in the relationship between art and architecture. Between 2003 and 2009 he developed "Enric Miralles a izquierda y derecha", and later "Formalismo Puro" about Spanish architecture of the 20th century, both published by Tenov. He holds a BA in Fine Arts from the University of Barcelona. His solo exhibitions include: Aproximación parcial al trabajo de un arquitecto, Sala Montcada de la Caixa (Barcelona, 2005) and the Arkitekturmuseet (Stockholm, 2008); Formalismo puro, Fundación Marcelino Botín (Santander, 2009); and Piedras y poetas, Galería Estrany de la Mota (Barcelona, 2013). He has done residencies at Gasworks (London, 2010) and de_sitio (Mexico City, 2013).

Félix Candela (1910-1997) was born and educated in Madrid. He established his architectural career in Mexico after exile during the Spanish Civil War. Candela worked on more than 1,700 projects around the world with his company Cubiertas Ala. Continuing an early fascination with the structural limits and formal capabilites of reinforced concrete, he built many experimental—and audacious—structures around Mexico City.

José Arnaud-Bello (b. Oaxaca, 1976) is an artist and architect based in Mexico City. As part of his practice he developed research on Félix Candela's structures and their architectural potential. His work has recently been shown at the Palais de Tokyo, France; Montehermoso Cultural Centre, Spain; Wysing Arts Centre, UK; and Urgente, Salón Nacional de Artistas, Colombia, amongst others. Upcoming shows include the 30th Sao Paulo Biennial. He is cofounder of Co, a platform for the development of socio-environmental projects in Mexico.

Andrea Chirinos is a Mexican dancer and choreographer currently based in Mexico City.  Her work is influenced by the visual arts, dance, photography, and human attitudes and gestures. Chirinos uses movement to create nonlinear narratives that allow the viewer to experience their own perception of time, focusing on images, sensations, and emotional states. As the director of the Mexico City-based dance company Mitrovica Danza Contemporanea, she has choreographed several works, including Enredos, which won the Mexican National Award. She often performs in galleries and museums instead of theaters in order to be closer to the public.

Amanda Echeverría (b. 1979, Mexico City), cofounder of de_sitio, is a cultural manager. In recent years, she has developed communication strategies and public relations in cultural and artistic projects taking place in Mexico City, including the Museo Tamayo, where she has worked since 2010 as head of communication and development; Proyecto Meteoro (2009); and Ambulante, a travelling documentary film festival (2008). She has also implemented fundraising strategies and institutional development projects in these three organizations as well as in independent projects.

Catalina Lozano (b. 1979, Bogotá), cofounder of de_sitio, is a curator based in Mexico City. Between 2008 and 2010, she was responsible for the Gasworks Residency Program in London. Her research interests and curatorial practice have been increasingly involved in historical research within contemporary art. Recent projects include Une machine désire de l'instruction comme un jardin désire de la discipline at MARCO, Vigo and FRAC Lorraine (2013-14), Being an Island (with Kasha Bittner) at the daadgalerie, Berlin (2013), The gate towards the invisible must be visible at Casa del Lago, Mexico City (2012), ¿Tierra de nadie? at Centro Cultural Montehermoso, Vitoria-Gasteiz (2011). She is part of the artistic team of the 8th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art.

Daniela Pérez (b. 1980,  Mexico City), cofounder of de_sitio, is an independent curator based in Mexico City.  She was part of the curatorial team of the Bienal do Mercosul, Porto Alegre, Brasil, 2013. Between 2007 and 2011, she was an associate curator at Museo Tamayo, where she curated the exhibitions The Marquise Went out at Five..., I am a fe(MEN)ist, Chronicles of Absence, and The Line of the Volcano. She has worked at the Museu de Arte Moderna, Sao Paulo; the New Museum, New York; and the Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, Mexico. She has participated as a juror for art prizes, collaborates with texts for art-based magazines, and has taught art courses at La Esmeralda and SOMA. She holds an MA in contemporary art curation from the Royal College of Art, London.

de_sitio is a non-profit platform founded in Mexico City in 2011 by Amanda Echeverría, Catalina Lozano and Daniela Pérez. With no permanent venue, de_sitio is devoted to the conception, development and promotion of contemporary art projects. de_sitio seeks to expand the possibilities of collaboration in different contexts with different organizations and individuals in order to foster continuous and consistent exchange in the development of ideas and concrete research. These are shared through different formats such as publications, residencies, exhibitions and other public programs. Focusing on the work process, de_sitio is a flexible and critical platform that prioritizes those projects based on dialogue.