Mónica Mayer
Mexican artist – Performance artist, Photography, Feminist Art
Mónica Mayer (Mexico City, 1954), studied visual arts at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas in Mexico City and in 1980 obtained a masters degree in sociology of art at Goddard College while participating at the Feminist Studio Workshop in Los Angeles, California.
Her work has been exhibited in over 100 group exhibitions in Mexico, the U.S. and Europe and has had solo exhibitions among others at: Casa del Lago (1977), en el Museo Carrillo Gil (1987), Lourdes Chumacero gallery (1990), Pino Suárez subway station (1990), Auditorio subway station (1993), The National Gallery in Kingston, Jamaica (1996), Centro Cultural Candido Mendes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1997), El Colegio de Arquitectos in Pichinche, Ecuador (1997), the artists run gallery Pinto mi Raya (1989, 1992), the Trotsky Museum (1999), the Centro Cultural San Angel (1999) in México D.F., La Masmédula Galería (1999), Jardín de las Esculturas, Xalapa, Ver (1993).
A major area of Mayer’s work has been performance art.
In 1983 she formed Polvo de Gallina Negra, the first feminist art group in Mexico with Maris Bustamante. The group presented performances in the media and different social interventions. Mayer also formed the group Tlacuilas y Retrateras, another feminist art group integrated by the participants in a two year workshop she gave to artists and art historians. Mayer has also performed on her own or with Victor Lerma in different festivals in Mexico and Japan, as well as presenting her work in museums. However, most of her performance pieces are social interventions designed specifically for each place and situation. Since 1989 she has participated in Pinto mi Raya with Victor Lerma, which is an on-going piece on the Mexican art system.
