kurimanzutto was first conceived in the late 1990s in New York by Mónica Manzutto, José Kuri and Gabriel Orozco. They imagined a gallery that could exist nomadically, adapting its form to the spaces needed by specific projects. It was Orozco who first proposed the idea to Mónica and José, pointing out the lack of galleries dedicated to contemporary art in Mexico as well as the lack of institutional support for the up-and-coming generation of young Mexican artists. It was evident that a support structure was needed that would allow these emerging artists to establish their careers within Mexico as well as abroad.

The gallery’s itinerant condition allowed them to organize shows in unconventional places, which in turn freed the artists up to experiment with different kinds of projects. kurimanzutto’s first exhibition, “Market Economy,” opened on August 21st, 1999, and remained open to the public for less than 24 hours. In a rented market booth, 13 of the gallery’s artists displayed pieces they created using materials on sale in the market itself. They sold the pieces at prices comparable to the other goods for sale such as kitchen utensils, food, and cleaning supplies.

Three years later, it became clear that Mónica and José’s apartment, which, up to this point had functioned as both an office and storehouse, was no longer large enough. They decided to buy a storehouse on Juan de la Barrera Street in the Condesa neighborhood, which would serve as an exhibition space, workshop, and studio. The space’s cast concrete brick walls, polished cement floor and galvanized sheet metal roof became the nexus of activity. Above all, it was a new tool at the artists’ disposal.

Nine years after that first opening at the market among flower sellers and piñatas, kurimanzutto inaugurated its current gallery space at calle Gob. Rafael Rebollar 94 in the colonia San Miguel Chapultepec. Built in 1949, the building once housed a lumberyard and later an industrial bakery. The architect Alberto Kalach designed and oversaw the building’s renovation. The bulk of the structure was converted into a large uninterrupted exhibition space, conserving the original wooden ceiling trusses and ample natural light. Rather than being solely a space for viewing and contemplation, kurimanzutto is a meeting place open to criticism and research, welcoming the development of risky projects rarely seen in commercial galleries.

The programming in New York reflects the gallery’s commitment to platforming exhibiting opportunities for its artists. The placement of New York also allows the artist’s projects to exceed the potential of kurimanzutto's physical space, reaching outwards and engaging with alternative sites across the city. This follows the lineage of the gallery and its history of responding to the urban landscapes it occupies. The physical presence of kurimanzutto in New York will both invite and enable this type of happening

In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 kurimanzutto presented TITAN, an outdoor exhibition in a series of phone booths located in New York City, a project conceived by Damián Ortega and Bree Zucker. The TITAN project takes as its premise that a gallery may exist by an open space, open at any hour, and free for all viewers, even in the middle of the night.

This exhibition continues kurimanzutto’s ongoing dialogue with a broad audience in the public sphere. Since its inception in 1999, kurimanzutto has consistently promoted projects and exhibitions outside of a traditional white cube space to stimulate cultural dialogue. Previous projects involve exhibitions and performances in local markets, floating gardens, parking lots and airports, alongside the recent billboard project Sonora 128, in Mexico City. TITAN marks the first collaborative citywide project by kurimanzutto in New York.