Pablo Rasgado's 'Pentimento' Turns Restoration into Art at Mexico City's Laboratorio Arte Alameda

Laboratorio Arte Alameda (LAA) in Mexico City has reopened after a restoration that began with its closure on December 30, 2025. The museum, housed in a former 16th-century Franciscan convent, now features a site-specific project by Mexican artist Pablo Rasgado titled 'Pentimento' (through October 18). Rasgado was in residence during the restoration, incorporating layers of wall paint, copies of colonial paintings, and 13 tons of debris into his work. The building, constructed from 1591, was a site of the Mexican Inquisition where executions occurred between 1596 and 1771. It later housed the Pinacoteca Virreinal (1964-2000) before becoming LAA in 2000. Restoration addressed damage from the 2017 earthquakes and water infiltration, overseen by the Centro Histórico Trust and Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History. Rasgado's project uses pentimento—visible changes in paintings—creating fictitious alterations over digital facsimiles of 27 colonial paintings from the Pinacoteca Virreinal. One work replaces faces in Francisco Antonio Vallejo's 'Glorificación de la Inmaculada' (1774) with pre-Hispanic figures. The artist plans a second intervention in August, with performances by Gabriel Acevedo Velarde and Adrián Bracho. Ongoing challenges include water infiltration and deterioration of the bell tower.