Adam Szymczyk's 'Olinka' Exhibition Explores Nahui Ollin and Curatorial Vision

Curated by Adam Szymczyk, the exhibition 'Olinka' presents a complex exploration of history through the figure of Nahui Ollin (Carmen Mondragón), a poet and painter active in Mexico City during the 1920s and 1930s. The show features newly commissioned works by artists including Paulina Olowska, Thea Djordjadze, and Danh Vo, alongside pieces by Mexican artists such as Mariana Castillo Deball and Tercerunquinto. Historical paintings, watercolours, and poems by Dr Atl and Nahui Ollin herself are displayed, complemented by photographs of Ollin. Wall quotations from texts by Giorgio Agamben, Roberto Bolaño, and Emily Dickinson provide contextual layers, while typewritten pages detail Dr Atl's utopian vision for a city named Olinka. The exhibition's title references an Aztec term meaning 'movement' or 'earthquake', which Dr Atl used for his imagined cultural utopia. Szymczyk's curatorial approach is described as thoughtful and totalising, with the review noting that the curation sometimes overshadows the artworks. The show was reviewed in the March 2013 issue of ArtReview, with the critic expressing mixed feelings about the balance between research and aesthetic presentation.