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Marco Rountree Interview
Things are going well for Marco Rountree these days. Born in Mexico City´s Federal District in the year 1982, he left school at 14. Trying to find his young self, he began to cross paths with influential members of the megacity´s art community as he drifted between parties. But art found him first. Self-taught, he says it was curiosity from these encounters that pushed him to start experimenting. Today, he stands out among the most promising and young artists of Mexico City.
Outgoing and charming, Rountree´s work ranges from collage to installations, wall interventions with tape to wood sculptures. His ties to the country shine through - allusions to Mexican history and the use of materials emblematic of the pre-Hispanic period feature often in his works. A tight connection to DF (as Mexico City is known locally), the city that raised him, continues to fuel his creativity, and inspire him to stay.
Despite this, Marco has already traveled far. From Colombia to Paris, and passing through Madrid, where Travesía Cuatro Gallery represents him in the other side of the ocean, international expositions have seen the evolution of his work. He has been laying roots in the UK since 2011, when two of his expositions first showed. The first one, “Walking Objects¨, at Essex Univesity, and the second, “Toilet Paradiso,” at London’s White Cubicle Toilet Gallery, brought the first British eyes to his work.
Amidst his busy life – and hectic hometown - we sat down to ask him about his work and Mexico’s art scene.
S.O.G.: If you had to choose one media to focus on in your art, what would it be?
M.R.: Definitely, it would be drawing.
S.O.G.: What are you working now? What might we see this year?
M.R.: I work with a lot of architects because they invite me to do projects in specific spaces: a façade for a space in San Luis Potosí, a lattice for a helicopter company’s office, some walls in a new hotel at the city downtown… But on the other hand, I continue to do collages, drawings and sculptures just for the sake of it. I recently had an exhibition with the two galleries that represents me - Proyecto Paralelo in Mexico and Travesía Cuatro in Madrid - so I don’t think I will have more exhibitions in 2014.
Finally, I’m producing music with some friends where the main idea is to create fun songs and look for people to sing over top of them.
S.O.G.: How has it been, trying to make a name for yourself in DF´s bustling art scene?
M.R.: When I first got into art, a lot of spaces were looking for new artists at the time. The added benefit of this was that almost none of them took themselves overly seriously, so we´ve been allowed to push forward on our own terms, pave the way and define our own style.
S.O.G.: How would you describe the Mexican contemporary art scene? What’s going on?
M.R.: Crowded. Luckily though, Mexico has a huge population, with no lack of interest in this market called “art”, whether they be artists, galleries or cultural spaces. But we are very bad politicians and everyone just goes after their own interests. Thankfully there is a lot of diversity and each of us has its own space. And with the massive culture of corruption here, there is a wonderful lack of rules in general.
S.O.G.: From the outside, MACO is seen to define Latin American contemporary art. As a contemporary artist living in Mexico, do you feel this is true?
M.R.: I don’t think so. Latin America is really big and the MACO exposition is just in Mexico City. It’s a very specific event: it has a huge market appeal and interesting things happening inside and outside it. But fairs are always just fairs and in the end, they are really just an extravagant side of the market. At its root though, MACO is a bit of contradiction, because it’s very much a luxury market, with disproportionate prices, yet the majority of the art for sale talks about freedom, equality and even revolution. So, I hope that doesn’t define Latin American art!
Sandra Ortega García
México D.F., 04/05/2014