Mariana Castillo Deball

The work of Mexican artist Mariana Castillo Deball operates at the intersection of art, science, history, and archaeology. In her installations—featuring ceramics, painting, drawing, printmaking, sound, and photography—she explores how knowledge is shaped and transformed by structures of power. Her practice casts a critical eye on historiography and the mechanisms of archiving.

Her new work, created specifically for Dortmunder Kunstverein, draws parallels between craft techniques and narrative processes. Several thousand threaded ceramic beads come together in an expansive spatial installation. They not only emphasize the linear nature of time and the transmission of cultural practices, but also the interruptions and ruptures that occur in the telling of stories.

Mariana Castillo Deball (*1975 in Mexico City, lives in Berlin) exhibited internationally at HKW Berlin (2024), Pivô (2023), Biennale di Venezia (2022), Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen (2021), New Museum, New York (2019), among others.

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