Mexican Duo RojoNegro Installs Colossal Work on UC San Diego Campus
María Sosa and Noé Martínez, the Michoacán artists representing Mexico at the Venice Biennale, hand-painted 260 ceramic tiles for the installation.
On the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) campus, a monumental artwork by Mexican duo RojoNegro has made its debut. Entitled "La asamblea del barro" (2026), this permanent outdoor piece is the first installation by the artists, who represent Mexico at the 61st Venice Biennale.
Crafted from 260 distinct, hand-painted ceramic tiles, the artwork is mounted on four tree-like panels. RojoNegro, consisting of María Sosa and Noé Martínez, drew inspiration from the relationship between Mesoamerican and Western knowledge that is intertwined through colonialism.
Sosa, with Purépecha roots, and Martínez, whose family origins trace back to the Huasteca region, use their multidisciplinary practice to bring Indigenous ways of being to the forefront. By doing so, they challenge dominant colonial narratives and legacies, highlighting the ancestral knowledge that has survived four centuries of violent erasure.
In "La asamblea del barro," the artists incorporate the four cosmic trees central to Mesoamerican thought. These trees, which continue to resonate among Indigenous peoples, symbolize a cultural and ideological resistance that underscores the profound connection between the body, its surroundings, and the forces of nature.
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