argentinian artists
“How not to be dead on this day": the exhibition inspired by the imaginary of horror writer Mariana Enriquez
February 19, 2025 | nadiaevangelina
At the Mite Gallery in Buenos Aires, the exhibition “How not to be dead on this day” (Como para no estar muerta con este día) displays a visual tribute to the literary universe of Mariana Enriquez, a key figure in Latin American horror literature.
With a selection of 70 works inspired by her short stories and novels, this exhibition, curated by Enriquez herself along with cultural journalist Vanessa Bell, Marina Alessio, and Nicolás Barraza, transcends the mere concept of fan art to become an aesthetic exploration of the macabre, the marginal and the supernatural.
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| Ph: Mite Gallery |
The starting point is Enriquez's literary work, a territory in which urban violence, gothic terror, and the death drive coexist. From these elements, the participating artists visually reinterpret his stories, translating the horror and beauty of his prose into images that oscillate between the explicit and the suggestive. It is a dialogue between word and image that manages to capture the essence of his writing: the visceral, the spectral, and the profoundly human.
One of the most striking aspects of the exhibition is its stylistic diversity. There are hyperrealist illustrations that freeze key moments of his stories with shocking rawness, but there are also expressionist pieces that deform faces and bodies beyond recognition. In this sense, the exhibition avoids falling into a repetition of obvious images and offers a broad view of how different creators perceive terror in Enriquez's work. The predominant chromatic palette reinforces this disturbing tone: deep blacks, saturated reds, and shades of gray that evoke decay, decadence, and mystery.
One of the most striking aspects of the exhibition is its stylistic diversity. There are hyperrealist illustrations that freeze key moments of his stories with shocking rawness, but there are also expressionist pieces that deform faces and bodies beyond recognition. In this sense, the exhibition avoids falling into a repetition of obvious images and offers a broad view of how different creators perceive terror in Enriquez's work. The predominant chromatic palette reinforces this disturbing tone: deep blacks, saturated reds, and shades of gray that evoke decay, decadence, and mystery.
Ph: Mite Gallery
However, what is most accomplished about “How not to be dead on this day” is not only its visual power but its ability to build an atmosphere that feels genuinely rooted in Enriquez's literature. The arrangement of the works in the space, the dim lighting, and the ambient sound contribute to the sensation of walking through a liminal space, a border between the real and the fantastic.
More than an exhibition of fan art, this show stands as an exercise of appropriation and reinterpretation in which Mariana Enriquez's literature becomes raw material for new visual narratives. A journey through these 70 pieces is, ultimately, an invitation to look at horror from a different perspective, to inhabit it and redefine it through art.
More than an exhibition of fan art, this show stands as an exercise of appropriation and reinterpretation in which Mariana Enriquez's literature becomes raw material for new visual narratives. A journey through these 70 pieces is, ultimately, an invitation to look at horror from a different perspective, to inhabit it and redefine it through art.
"How not to be dead on this day"
Location: Av. Córdoba 380, C1054AAP Cdad. Autónoma de Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Opening Date: 7th December 2024
End Date: 7th February 2025
Working hours: Wednesday-Friday: 3pm to 7pm
Official website:
