Pioneers in showing Mexican art abroad, Jaime Riestra and Patricia Ortiz Monasterio founded OMR in 1983. A space that has been able to gain an important presence at renowned fairs in the international arena. Now, under the control of his son Cristóbal Riestra, the gallery was relocated a couple of streets from the original house in Plaza Rio de Janeiro park in the Condesa neighborhood.
In the words of Cristóbal, he envisioned "an innovative space in which the limits of artistic practices can be expanded. We want to be a mirror of the way in which artists' study work ".
The remodeling of the space was handled by Mateo Riestra, José Arnaud-Bello and Max von Werz. "Although nothing is written in stone, we want the public to have an active dialogue with the work. So, we plan workshops, conferences, film screenings and other activities, to expand beyond just a gallery. We try to design a cultural center, the challenge is to keep it relevant," says the new gallery director.
OMR seeks to produce culture and to move away from the commercial and traditional model of a gallery that generates value through free market. His interest is in observing the result of the cultural projects he shows and the social impact that they can generate.