TL;DR
Get art and craft supplies delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
RojoNegro, the Mexican duo representing Mexico at the 61st Venice Biennale, has installed “La asamblea del barro,” a permanent outdoor artwork at UC San Diego. The work consists of 260 hand-painted ceramic tiles arranged on four tree-like panels and draws on Mesoamerican ideas about the relationship among people, nature and the universe.
Mexican art duo RojoNegro has installed “La asamblea del barro”, a permanent outdoor work beside the Triton Center at UC San Diego, bringing a large-scale exploration of Mesoamerican knowledge and cultural memory into a public campus setting. The installation is made from 260 hand-painted ceramic tiles mounted on four tree-like panels.
The work’s title translates as “The Assembly of Clay.” María Sosa and Noé Martínez, the Michoacán-born artists who make up RojoNegro, painted the tiles by hand. The installation’s four branching panels refer to four cosmic trees described in Mesoamerican thought, according to the artists’ statement about the work.
RojoNegro’s work centers Indigenous ways of being and the knowledge carried through materials, cultural practices and generations. Sosa has Purépecha roots, while Martínez’s family traces its origins to Mexico’s Huasteca region. The artists describe the piece as addressing the relationship between Mesoamerican and Western knowledge, a history shaped by colonialism.
The installation is located outside the university’s Triton Center and is identified as permanent. Its placement on campus makes it accessible as a public artwork rather than an exhibition confined to a gallery. The available report does not specify the commissioning process, project budget or date of the public unveiling.
A Mesoamerican Idea in Public View
By placing the work outdoors at a university, RojoNegro presents its themes to students, staff and visitors who may encounter it outside a formal art or history class. The installation’s scale and repeated tree forms give those ideas a physical presence in a shared campus space, while its ceramic tiles connect the work’s material to its title and subject.
The artists frame the installation around cultural knowledge that persisted despite colonial efforts to suppress Indigenous customs. That framing makes the piece more than a decorative addition to campus: it offers a public account of memory, cultural continuity and resistance. The university setting also brings that account into an institution where different traditions of knowledge meet.
RojoNegro’s profile adds another point of interest. The duo is representing Mexico at the 61st Venice Biennale, according to the source report. Their campus installation therefore provides a local audience with a substantial work by artists also appearing in a major international art event, though the report does not give further details about their Biennale presentation.
Popular right now
Vitamix 5200 Blender with 64 oz. Container, Black
Samsung 43-Inch M70H Series 4K Mini LED Smart TV (2026)
KitchenAid Artisan Mini Tilt-Head Stand Mixer, 3.5 Qt, Contour Silver
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
The Artists’ Material and Cultural References
RojoNegro is the collaborative practice of life partners María Sosa and Noé Martínez. Originally from Michoacán and based in Mexico City, the artists work across disciplines and foreground Indigenous perspectives. The report describes their practice as challenging colonial narratives and drawing on ancestral knowledge embedded in materials and practices.
For “La asamblea del barro,” the artists connect the four cosmic trees of Mesoamerican thought with relationships among the body, the surrounding environment and natural forces. Their statement presents the trees as an idea that continues among Indigenous peoples and as evidence of cultural and ideological resistance. The work’s 260 individually hand-painted tiles translate that conceptual framework into a permanent outdoor form at UC San Diego.
““In ‘La asamblea del barro,’ we include the four cosmic trees that sustain the universe in Mesoamerican thought.””
— RojoNegro, in a statement about “La asamblea del barro”
Project Details Not Yet Reported
The source report does not give the installation’s exact unveiling date, commissioning history, cost, dimensions or details about who funded the project. It also does not describe any public programming, interpretation materials or maintenance plans for the permanent work. Those details should not be inferred from the installation’s location or the artists’ statement.
The account identifies RojoNegro as representing Mexico at the 61st Venice Biennale, but it provides no further information about the Biennale project or how that presentation relates to the UC San Diego installation. The university and artists’ plans for future events connected to “La asamblea del barro” are also not stated.
The Work’s Long-Term Campus Presence
“La asamblea del barro” is described as a permanent outdoor installation, so it is expected to remain part of the UC San Diego campus rather than close after a temporary exhibition. The report does not identify a scheduled event or a next project milestone. Further information from the university or RojoNegro could clarify how the work will be interpreted for campus visitors and whether related public programs are planned.
Key Questions
What is “La asamblea del barro”?
It is a permanent outdoor artwork by Mexican duo RojoNegro, installed beside UC San Diego’s Triton Center. The work uses hand-painted ceramic tiles to explore Mesoamerican knowledge and cultural memory.
How is the installation made?
The piece consists of 260 hand-painted ceramic tiles mounted on four tree-like panels. María Sosa and Noé Martínez painted the tiles.
What do the four tree-like panels represent?
RojoNegro says the panels refer to the four cosmic trees that sustain the universe in Mesoamerican thought. The artists connect that idea to Indigenous cultural continuity and relationships among the body, surroundings and nature.
Who are the artists behind RojoNegro?
RojoNegro is the collaborative practice of María Sosa and Noé Martínez, artists from Michoacán who are based in Mexico City. Sosa has Purépecha roots, and Martínez’s family traces its origins to Mexico’s Huasteca region.
Is the work temporary, and are public events planned?
The source describes the installation as permanent. It does not report any planned public events, programming or further milestones connected to the work.
Source: hyperallergic.com
