MEXICO CITY.- Synonym Gallery, in collaboration with La Artisteria, is presenting CHECK-IN, the first solo exhibition in Mexico City by artist Charlotte Hailstone Wu. The exhibition opened October 2nd, 2026 and will remain on view through 30th, 2026.
CHECK-IN presents a new body of work that expands Hailstone Wu's ongoing investigation into perception and the point at which painting begins to move beyond the flat surface. The exhibition brings together paintings depicting translucent plexiglass forms; paintings that incorporate plexiglass itself; Op Art-inspired pattern paintings and prints; photograms made using those same plexiglass forms as negatives; and small resin works installed in repeated groupings and triptychs.
Forms recur across these bodies of work, particularly small plexiglass chairs drawn from the histories of furniture and design. As they reappear, the same object shifts between subject, material, pattern, and image-making tool. Repetition - especially in groups of three - establishes a visual rhythm throughout the exhibition, while transparency, layering, color, and light continually move between what is depicted and what is physically present.
Installation view. Photo: Julio Bohorquez. Courtesy the artist and Synonym Gallery.
CHECK-IN loosely adopts the framework of a hotel as a temporary home for this visual world: a place of arrival, transition, repetition, and departure. Alongside the exhibition, ROOM SERVICE - a small selection featuring editions, prints, and design objects - extends the work into objects that can be used, interacted with, and taken home.
"I keep coming back to the same chair, the same plastic, the same three shapes, because repetition is how I find out what an object actually is," says Hailstone Wu. "Once you've painted something, cast it, and used it as a negative for a photogram, you stop seeing it as a chair. You start seeing it as light. That's the whole show: things becoming other things, and never quite settling on one."
Charlotte Hailstone Wu (b. 1994, Baltimore) is a New York-based artist and curator whose work explores color, perception, and spatial tension. She holds a BFA in Communication Design from Parsons School of Design. Her father's work in the decorative arts department at the Baltimore Museum of Art introduced her early to conservation and material investigation, an influence that runs quietly through the precision of her practice. She is a curator at Loft Projects.
LA ARTISTERIA
La Artisteria is a special projects studio that brings artists, galleries, and brands together to materialize ambitious artistic visions. We provide emerging and mid-career artists and collectives with a platform to grow and share their process, practice, and outcome.
Installation view. Photo: Julio Bohorquez. Courtesy the artist and Synonym Gallery.
SYNONYM GALLERY
Synonym Gallery is a contemporary art gallery based in Mexico City, dedicated to supporting new voices and emerging artistic practices. Through exhibitions, collaborations, and curatorial projects, the gallery connects artists, collectors, and new audiences, with a particular interest in female and Latin American perspectives.
EXHIBITION DETAILS
Exhibition: CHECK-IN
Artist: Charlotte Hailstone Wu
Venue: Synonym Gallery, Tabasco 83, Colonia Roma Norte, CDMX
Opening: October 2, 2026, 7 pm
On view: October 1 – 30th, 2026
Hours: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 1 pm to 7 pm.
