What I love most about MadArt and their artists-in-residence is their enthusiasm to let visitors behind the scenes of a show, allowing you to witness how it all comes together during their Open Studio program. You can learn a lot that way. Right now, the gallery and artist, Brooklyn-Mexico City-based muralist and sculptor Marela Zacarías, are prepping for the October 15 opening of her show Inside Out. I stopped by this afternoon for a socially distant visit.

Inside Out is inspired by the Mesoamerican Temple of the Feathered Serpent in Xochicalco, Mexico, just outside CDMX. Zacarías made her version of the temple right in the middle of the gallery using plywood and mesh. In its heart hangs one of her familiar scrunched-up painted sculptures dangling from a chain. She has dedicated her mesh temple to the Aztec goddess Cihuacoatl, who provides strength to women during childbirth.

Surrounding the structure are six floor-to-ceiling murals, designed to reference some of the architectural features, relief-carvings, and landscape surrounding the temple in Xochicalco. Zacarías's murals are drenched in bright oranges, pinks, browns. I (visually) slurped up the colors in preparation for the Big Gray Wave I know Seattle is about to get hit with.

I plan on re-visiting the exhibition once it's completed, but here's a video and some in-process shots of Inside Out coming together:

The Making Of: "Inside Out" by Marela Zacarías

Marela and her team are hard at work installing the elements of her show at MadArt. See it all come to life here! Exhibition opens October 15. #InstallationArt #SeattleArt #ArtExhibition pic.twitter.com/naR7TuCEl8
— MadArt (@MadArtSeattle) September 28, 2020