Peggy Guggenheim's Grandson Opens IK LAB Gallery in Tulum

Santiago Rumney Guggenheim, grandson of legendary patron Peggy Guggenheim, has opened a new gallery space called IK LAB in Tulum, Mexico, on the Yucatán Peninsula. Unlike conventional white-cube galleries, IK LAB is a mystical wooden structure with curved walls, vines, and trees integrated into the architecture, designed by Jorge Eduardo Neira Sterkel, founder of the Azulik eco-resort. Visitors must remove their shoes to enter, creating a dialogue with the space and the surrounding jungle. The gallery aims to challenge artists to create works that communicate with the living, ever-changing environment, contrasting with sterile contemporary art spaces. It will host artist residencies, children's art programs, and multidisciplinary residencies for aspiring artists, designers, chefs, and musicians. The inaugural exhibition, "Alignments," features works by Tatiana Trouvé, Artur Lescher, and Margo Trushina, co-curated by Santiago R. Guggenheim and Claudia Paetzold. The exhibition runs until September 2018. Santiago previously worked at Gagosian and opened a Rumney Guggenheim Gallery in New York. He notes that the curved walls reminded him of his grandmother's legendary New York gallery, Art of This Century, opened in 1948.