Teresa Margolles

Teresa Margolles was born in 1963 in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico
She currently lives and works between Mexico City and Madrid

Teresa Margolles’ works examines the social causes and consequences of violence. For her, the morgue accurately reflects society, particularly that of her home country where deaths caused by drug-related crimes, poverty, political crisis and the government’s inept response has devastated communities. She has developed a unique, restrained language in order to speak for her silenced subjects, the victims discounted as ‘collateral damage’ of the conflict. Margolles holds a degree in Forensic Medicine and Communication Science from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico.

Her work has been shown internationally in institutions such as Mattatoio, Rome (2021); MUAC, Mexico City (2021); Es Baluard, Palma de Mallorca, Spain (2020); BPS22, Charleroi, Belgium (2019); Kunsthalle Krems, Austria (2019); MSSA, Santiago de Chile (2019); MAMBO Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá (2019);  Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea in Milan (2018); the Witte de With, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2018); the Musée d’art contemporain of Montréal (2017); the Neuberger Museum of Art, New York (2015), the Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid (2014), the Migros Museum, Zurich (2014), the Tate Modern, London (2012); the MALBA, Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (2008); the Museo del Barrio, New York (2008); The Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York (2007); the Kunsthalle, Vienna (2007); the Centre d’Art Contemporain of Brétigny, France (2006), The Museum für Moderne Kunst of Frankfurt, Germany (2004); P.S.1/MoMa, New York (2002); the Kunst-Werke in Berlin (2002) and the South London Gallery (2002) among others.

She has participated in many Biennials such as the 11th Bienal de Lanzarote (2022); the 22nd Sydney Biennial (2020), Los Angeles Biennial (2016), 7th Berlin Biennial (2012), Moscow Biennial (2007), 4th Liverpool Biennial (2006), Prague Biennial (2005), 4th Mercosul Biennial (2003) and 7th Cuenca Biennial (2002). Her presentation What Else Could We Talk About? was notably shown at the 53rd Venice Biennale (2009), in the Mexican Pavilion exhibition, curated by Cuauhtémoc Medina. Teresa Margolles work is featured again in the 58th Venice Biennale (2019), as part of the International Exhibition May You Live in Interesting Times, curated by Ralph Rogoff where she received a Special Mention of the Jury in recognition of her work. Margolles has also been awarded the Fourth Plinth comission in Trafalgar Square for 2024.

The work of Teresa Margolles is part of many art collections around the world like Tate Modern, London; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Centre Pompidou, Paris; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, US; Perez Art Museum, Miami; MACBA, Barcelona; CNAP, Paris; Museo del Banco de la República, Bogotá; FRAC Pays de la Loire, France; Neuberger Museum of Art, US; Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Torino, Italy; CGAC Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Colección Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC; Kunsthaus Zürich; Colección Jumex, Mexico City; Migros Museum, Zurich; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, US; Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City; Museo Amparo, Puebla, Mexico; Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City; Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany; Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, US; Adrastus Collection, Arévalo, Spain, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, among many others.

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