- With 174 works by more than 100 Latin American artists, the exhibition offers the most comprehensive review of the collection
- Marking the beginning of the FEMSA Collection’s 50th anniversary celebrations, the exhibition will be on view March 20 to August 9, 2026
Monterrey, Nuevo LeĂłn, march 19, 2026 – As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, the FEMSA Collection opens the exhibition Constellations and Drifts: Art from Latin America in the FEMSA Collection at the Monterrey Museum of Contemporary Art (MARCO), offering new perspectives that highlight the depth and significance of one of the most influential collections of 20th– and 21st-century contemporary Latin American art.
Over five decades, the FEMSA Collection has gathered works by artists of distinct generations that reflect the evolution, complexity, and diversity of artistic production in the region, with a special emphasis on Mexican art. With 174 works by more than 100 Latin American artists, the exhibition offers the most comprehensive presentation of the collection to date in Mexico, while offering a compelling look at how it continues to evolve.
Far from being organized as a chronological journey, Constellations and Drifts proposes a curatorial structure based on five curatorial themes, or “constellations,” which draw connections and establish relationships between works from different eras, geographies, and generations.
“The constellation model allows us to understand that there isn’t just one single history of Latin American art,” explains Beto DĂaz Suárez, curator of the FEMSA Collection. “Rather, it’s a network of connections that can be continually reconfigured, generating new interpretations among artists working from different contexts and moments.”
Curated by Eugenia Braniff, Paulina Bravo, and Beto DĂaz Suárez, curators of the FEMSA Collection, and Adriana Melchor, an independent curator, the exhibition is organized around five constellations: Territories: The Symbolic Limits of Geography; Architectures of Colonization: Between Language and Bodies; Debating Abstraction:
Geometry and Form in Latin America; Alchemy: Transformation, Transmutation, and Change; and Identities: Identities on the (Im)Possibility of a Chorus, all of which reflect the curatorial vision currently guiding the development and direction of the collection.
For Paulina Bravo, chief curator of the FEMSA Collection, this approach allows revisiting the collection from a contemporary perspective.
“Rather than presenting a strictly historical survey, we are interested in showing how the questions that run through Latin American art continue to resonate in the present. By bringing together emblematic modern works with contemporary artists, the exhibition opens up new ways of approaching the collection.”
The exhibition features works by key figures in Latin American art, including JesĂşs
Rafael Soto, Rufino Tamayo, MarĂa Izquierdo, Diego Rivera, JoaquĂn Torres-GarcĂa, Fanny SanĂn, Helen Escobedo and Gego, along with recent acquisitions and contemporary artists, whose practices broaden the collection’s perspectives.
“The constellations allow us to connect works that historically have neither been presented nor viewed together,” says Eugenia Braniff, associate curator and advisor to the FEMSA Collection. “This exercise and new interpretation allow us to look at the collection from the present and devise how we want to continue building it for the future.”
The exhibition holds special significance in the context of its presentation at MARCO, an institution whose history is closely intertwined with that of the FEMSA Collection. This collaboration carries added resonance as the collection marks its 50th anniversary. Presented in the city where the collection first took shape, the exhibition returns to its point of origin, revisiting the intellectual and artistic inquiries that have defined it while projecting new lines of research for the years ahead.Â
“The heart of the contemporary visual arts scene in Monterrey lies in the FEMSA Collection and the Monterrey Museum of Contemporary Art, institutions that share a vision of the impact of contemporary art, not only in terms of its creative potential but also its educational dimension,” notes Taiyana Pimentel, director of MARCO. “From this perspective, the foundation and the museum have collaborated over the past decade to reposition contemporary art and its diverse discourses within the institutional landscape. Thus, a new interpretation of the FEMSA Collection arrives at our venue. On this occasion, it is presented with a cutting-edge approach in which modernism and contemporary art converge, through a critical and distinctly youthful lens.”        Â
An exhibition that comes alive beyond the galleries
In addition to the works from the collection, Constellations and Drifts includes commissioned artwork by the Argentine artist Ad Minoliti, conceived as an active space within the exhibition. His project proposes collage as a tool for exploring the construction of identities and will be activated through workshops and encounters with artists, activists, and researchers.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a public program that will expand upon the conceptual themes of the show through talks, workshops, artistic activations, and interdisciplinary encounters. These activities aim to create spaces for dialogue that allow diverse audiences to establish new connections with the works.
Among the programming accompanying the exhibition, Metabolic Routes stands out as an initiative that extends the exhibition’s themes to other spaces within the museum. Through residencies led by guest Mexican chefs, the project explores the relationships between art, territory, memory, and transformative processes through the lens of cuisine. These immersive food experiences, presented at the MARCO restaurant, will result in temporary menus inspired by the constellations of the exhibition, inviting visitors to literally taste the ideas explored in the galleries. The program will remind guests that cultural knowledge is not only seen, but tasted, smelled, and embodied by all the senses.
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About FEMSA
FEMSA is a company that generates economic and social value through companies and institutions and seeks to be the best employer and neighbor of the communities where it has a presence. It participates in the retail industry through the Proximity Americas Division, which includes OXXO, a chain of small-format stores, and other related retail formats, and Proximity Europe, which includes Valora, our European retail unit that operates convenience stores and foodvenience. In retail trade, FEMSA also participates through the Health Division, which includes pharmacies and related activities; And in Spin, which includes Spin by OXXO and Spin Premia, among other digital financial services initiatives. Coca-Cola FEMSA, the world’s largest bottler of Coca-Cola products by sales volume, participates in the beverage industry. Through its Business Units, it employs more than 392 thousand employees in 18 countries. FEMSA is a member of the
Dow Jones Best-in-Class World Index and the Dow Jones Best-in-Class MILA Pacific Alliance Index, both of S&P Global; FTSE4Good Emerging Index; MSCI EM Latin America ESG Leaders Index; S&P/BMV Total Mexico ESG, among other indices.
About FEMSA Foundation
At FundaciĂłn FEMSA, we believe it is possible to unlock opportunities to foster a better future in Latin America. We promote transformative collaborations and invest in structural solutions that improve people’s lives. Our work focuses on four lines of action: Water Security, Early Childhood, Circular Economy, and Arts and Culture.
For more information, visit www.fundacionfemsa.org or follow us on our social media channels: FB, IG, X (@FundacionFEMSA), and LinkedIn (/FundaciĂłn-FEMSA).
About FEMSA Collection
Since 1977, the FEMSA Collection has built a leading collection in Mexico and Latin America. Today, approaching its 50th anniversary, it reaffirms its commitment to creating spaces for encounters between people, ideas, and communities. For five decades, it has been a key player in the professionalization of the art world and in collaboration with institutions both within and outside the country. Its history is linked to pioneering spaces such as the Museum of Monterrey (1977-2000), where it began to establish itself publicly and where the first core elements of its collection were formed. After its time as a museum, the Collection adopted a traveling nature, expanding its reach through collaborations with museums and organizations in various regions. This journey laid the foundation for openness, collaboration, and mobility, which continue to define the institution.
The FEMSA Collection aims to create spaces for connection, reflection, and dialogue through art. Its holdings serve as the starting point for developing proposals, and content focused on the dissemination and research of diverse artistic expressions, enabling meaningful approaches to modern and contemporary Latin American art, and fostering critical thinking, creativity, and civic engagement. Looking ahead, it is committed to incorporating historically marginalized perspectives, strengthening dialogue with diverse audiences, and developing projects that address the cultural, social, and environmental challenges of our time.
About MARCO
Since its inauguration in 1991, MARCO has established itself as one of the most important cultural centers in Latin America, playing a fundamental role in the dissemination of international contemporary art, with a particular emphasis on Latin American visual arts. Throughout its history, MARCO has hosted 293 individual and thematic exhibitions, presenting the work of more than 1,000 international artists. Its exhibition program has included influential figures in modern and contemporary art.
Under the direction of Taiyana Pimentel Paradoa since 2019, the museum has focused on producing retrospectives of mid-career Mexican artists who are prominent on the international scene, recently with Teresa Margolles ÂżCĂłmo salimos? (How Do We Get
Out?), the first survey in the Americas of the Mexican artists. In addition to its exhibitions, the museum offers an extensive educational program, with activities ranging from guided tours and workshops to community programs, courses, and lectures that seek to bring the public closer to contemporary art.
With a forward-looking vision, MARCO continues to evolve in response to the challenges and transformations of contemporary art, strengthening its impact through innovative exhibitions, inclusive educational programs, and spaces for critical reflection. Its work transcends the exhibition of art, fostering a profound dialogue between the public and current artistic expressions.
