A FRACTURED SENSE OF PLACE

A Fractured Sense of Place presents the latest body of work by Montserrat Ayala, marking the second chapter of her ongoing research project, Me Sabe a Metal la Boca (My Mouth Tastes Like Metal). This exhibition functions as a formal inquiry into the "pictorial exercise of presence"—a methodology that prioritizes the observation and reinterpretation of the  landscape as a means of establishing contemporary value.

Ayala’s work addresses the psychological tension between the physical location and the idealized "elsewhere." By rejecting the pursuit of a non-existent "perfect place," her practice anchors itself in a commitment to inhabiting the current environment. The result is a series of works where the landscape functions as a protagonist within a narrative that, while fictionalized, remains strictly grounded in reality.

Research and Methodology

The exhibition highlights Ayala’s focus on process through material. Her investigation into the landscape is not merely representational but is an exploration of how specific media can alter the perception of natural forms.

The works on display demonstrate a technical versatility, utilizing a range of textures to articulate the "bittersweet" quality suggested by the project’s title—identifying beauty within harshness and vice versa

Context: Me Sabe a Metal la Boca

Initiated in early 2025, this project explores the concept of the metallic taste as a metaphor for the contradictory nature of experience—the intersection of the aesthetically pleasing and the inherently abrasive. In this second iteration, the "fracture" serves as a critical lens through which we view our relationship with the land, moving away from decorative tradition toward a more rigorous, analytical presence.

About Montserrat Ayala
Contemporary Artist
Based between Mexico City and Barcelona

Artist and Designer.

Holds a degree in Arts and Design with a Higher Vocational Training Cycle in Applied Arts to Sculpture from Escola Massana (Barcelona, Spain). Postgraduate studies in Architecture of Ephemeral Spaces from UPC in collaboration with Arquine (Mexico City, Mexico) and a Master’s degree in Design Through New Materials from ELISAVA (Barcelona, Spain).

She has explored research on traditional materials such as ceramics, wood, and glass, as well as the design of new biomaterials. 

Co-founder of SumarioTierra, a platform for promoting ceramics; Taller KHE, a ceramics workshop; Daniel y Catalina, a ceramics store; Robotánica, an agrotech startup; Malwih, a foundation to disseminate pre-Columbian history in 

Mexico; and Fuego Vivo, an agroecology project in Xochimilco, Mexico City.