"I like my works to be quiet and uncluttered, so that the moment you enter, you are also confronted with your own knowledge and experiences... I like the two to come together: what I contribute and what the audience contributes to me."

1. BIOGRAPHY

Teresa Margolles’s work examines the social causes and consequences of violence. For her, morgues accurately reflect society, particularly those in her native country, where deaths caused by drug-related crimes, poverty, political crises, and the government’s inept response have devastated entire communities. Margolles has developed a unique language that gives a voice to those forgotten by the system, to all the victims of the conflict’s “collateral damage.” She holds degrees in Forensic Medicine and Communication Sciences from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Her work has been exhibited internationally in institutions such as Mattatoio, Rome (2022); 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, Milan (2018); Witte de With, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2018); the Musée d’art contemporain of Montréal, Canada (2017); the Neuberger Museum of Art, New York (2015); the Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid (2014); the Migros Museum, Zurich (2014); Tate Modern, London (2012); MALBA Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (2008); El Museo del Barrio, New York (2008); Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York (2007); Kunsthalle, Vienna (2007); the Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany (2004); P.S.1 MoMA, New York (2002); Kunst-Werke, Berlin (2002); and the South London Gallery (2002), among others.

She has participated in numerous international events such as the 22nd Sydney Biennial (2020), Los Angeles Biennial (2016), the 7th Berlin Biennial (2012), Moscow Biennial (2007), the 4th Liverpool Biennial (2006), Prague Biennial (2005), the 4th Mercosul Biennial (2003), and the 7th Cuenca Biennial (2002). Her presentation What Else Could We Talk About? was notably exhibited at the 53rd edition of the Venice Biennale (2009) in the Mexican Pavilion, curated by Cuauhtémoc Medina. Margolles’s work was presented again at the 58th Venice Biennale (2019), curated by Ralph Rugoff, where she received a special mention from the jury. Margolles’s project has been selected to occupy the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in 2024. Teresa Margolles’s work forms part of international collections such as Tate Modern, London; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Centre Pompidou, Paris; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, US; the Pérez Art Museum, Miami; MACBA, Barcelona; CNAP, Paris, France; the Museo del Banco de la República, Bogotá; FRAC Pays de la Loire, France; Neuberger Museum of Art, US; Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporánea, Turin, Italy; CGAC Centro Gallego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; the Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo Collection, Madrid; the Isabel and Agustín Coppel Collection, Culiacán, Mexico; FRAC Lorraine, France; FRAC Nord Pas-de-Calais, France; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; Kunsthaus Zürich; the Jumex Collection, 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; the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, US; Adrastus Collection, Arévalo, Spain; and the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris.