Curated by Charles Moore
June 20 -July 26, 2025
Nicolás Guzmán embarks on his first solo exhibition in Paris with Das Schloss (The Castle), a show curated by Charles Moore that marks a pivotal moment in the artist’s multidisciplinary journey.
On view at 15 rue Beautreillis, 4 Paris, Das Schloss ushers in a new chapter for an artist whose practice spans painting, performance, film, and philosophy. Immediately following the Paris debut, Guzmán will be part of One Masters in Monaco, further reinforcing his growing international trajectory.
To truly understand the depth and resonance of his work and what makes Das Schloss so significant, you need to trace where it originates.
Inside Nicolás Guzmán’s Expanding Universe
Earlier this year, during Art Week Mexico, I visited Salón ACME before public hours. Fatigued by numerous fairs, my experience transformed the moment I entered the Veracruz section curated by Rafael Toriz where a monumental work by Guzmán stole the show: a 400 × 290 cm canvas pulsating with color, accompanied by a site-specific ambient sound piece. It was rhythmic, visceral and utterly disarming.
Days later, I found myself in his studio in Colonia Roma—an environment so expansive it felt like a universe, where painting, sound, cinema, and philosophical inquiry seamlessly merged.
“Most of what I do is a form of research—into the forms of art,” Nicolás explained. “That’s why I’m drawn to film now. It’s where I can bring everything I know together.”
True to his word, his practice is vast: it encompasses music, theater, curatorship, performance, and cultural theory. For Nicolás, being an artist means inhabiting many systems, not just mastering one.
“Contemporary art isn’t about a single way of being. It’s rhizomatic—like the roots of grass. Not a tree with one trunk, but many directions.”
The Salón ACME piece, his tribute to Veracruz, where he was born, featured what he describes as a “machine of suspended forms” floating over a vivid, dreamlike field:
“It was inspired by the color and painting workshop of Salvador Cruzado,” Guzmán recalls. “His use of color shaped my formative years at the Universidad Veracruzana’s Faculty of Fine Arts.”
This interplay of place, memory, and visual intensity continues to resonate in Das Schloss, reflected in works that reaffirm his personal narrative even as they embark on universal themes.
Guzmán’s trajectory is marked by both regional and international acclaim:
- In Mexico City: exhibitions at Museo Tamayo, Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, and participation in Zona Maco and Material Art Fair
- In USA: Maximilian Contemporary in San Francisco and at varios shows in New York
- In Europe: group exhibitions in London, Madrid, and Portugal, now culminating in his first solo show in Paris
This breadth of platforms underscores his capacity to resonate across contexts while maintaining a rooted identity.
Das Schloss is undeniably a major milestone. But Nicolás views it as a foundation upon which his journey continues. His upcoming presence at One Masters in Monaco represents the next step in expanding his reach, consistently rooted in personal narrative yet oriented toward broader horizons.
If you’re in Paris this month, Das Schloss is a must-see. And if you’re in Mexico City, don’t miss the chance to book a studio visit through The Mexico City Edit—and let us guide you inside Nicolás Guzmán’s world to experience contemporary art stripped of pretense: intellectual, immersive, and deeply alive.
About Nicolás Guzmán
Born in Xalapa, Veracruz in 1983, Nicolás Guzmán is a multidisciplinary artist whose work dissolves the boundaries of form, space, and narrative. Informed by personal memory, academic training, and diverse influences—from minimalism and Abstract Expressionism to Mexican muralism—he explores art as ritual and mindfulness. Whether through painting, sound, or film, Guzmán invites us into creative acts that are spontaneous, spiritual, and continually unfolding.
Words by Naomi Palovits
Founder & Editor, The Mexico City Edit
