In honor of the 11th annual Zona Maco art fair in Mexico, this week we are focusing on shows featuring Latin American-inspired art.

Philosopher of the Possible will be on view from February 6 to March 9 at Gallery Wendi Norris, 161 Jesse Street, San Francisco, CA.

Wolfgang Paalens, Les Cosmogones, 1944, oil on canvas, Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco, CA

The first stop this week is Surrealist painter Wolfgang Paalen’s solo exhibition, Philosopher of the Possible, at the San Francisco-based Gallery Wendi Norris. Born in 1905 in Vienna to an upper-middle-class family, Paalen was exposed to some of the greatest artists and thinkers of the 20th century, including Hans Hofmann, Fernand Léger, Hans Arp, Albert Einstein, and Sigmund Freud. In 1939, at the invitation of Frida Kahlo (Mexican, 1907–1954) and Diego Rivera (Mexican, 1886–1957), Paalen left war-torn Europe for Mexico, where he would remain for the rest of his life. This is Paalen’s second solo show at the gallery, and will focus on works from the period between 1932 and 1954, some of which have rarely been exhibited. The show will also include two paintings from Paalen’s most innovative era, when he introduced fumage to the art world, a technique in which impressions are made on a canvas by smoke from a candle or kerosene lamp. The show will also feature the largest painting ever made by the artist, Les Cosmogones, measuring 96 x 93 inches. This incredibly dynamic, abstract piece was exhibited in 1945 at Peggy Guggenheim’s Art of this Century gallery, as well as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and is seen as a reflection of “the intersection of art and ethnology.” In addition, the show will also showcase the largest sculpture ever made by the artist, which is nearly eight feet tall.

YES: New Works by Colombian-American Artist America Martin will be on view from February 6 to March 31 at JoAnne Artman Gallery, 326 North Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, CA.

America Martin, Bathers in Orange and Blue, oil and acrylic on canvas, JoAnne Artman Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA

Our next stop is Laguna Beach, where Colombian-American artist America Martin (b.1980) will be exhibiting her vibrant paintings at JoAnne Artman Gallery. Referring to herself as a “painting anthropologist,” Martin prefers to depict the human form, calling it her “favorite landscape,” in which she uses line and color to create “playful references to both classic and indigenous art forms.” The show will feature her Native American series, inspired by her trip to Taos, NM last summer, her Still Lives series, and her Bathers series, in which the artist puts a contemporary twist on classic works by Modern master Paul Cézanne (French, 1839–1906).

If you are in the California area, be sure to check out these two amazing shows.

Browse openings by city to see where art can be found in your town!

London, UK
Tian Wei at October Gallery
February 6–March 29, 2014
24 Old Gloucester Street, London, UK

Rachel Howard: Northern Echo at Blain|Southern
February 6–March 22, 2014
4 Hanover Square, London, UK

Munich, Germany
Dokoupil: Soap Bubbles and Candle Sootat Galerie Karl Pfefferle
February 6–March 22, 2014
Reichenbachstr. 47-49, Munich, Germany

Heinz Frank at Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle
February 6–March 29, 2014
Amalienstraße 41, Munich, Germany

New York, NY
Beth Carter: DANCING WITH MORPHEUS at Bertrand Delacroix
February 6–March 8, 2014
535 W. 25th Street

Bob Kolbrener: In Real Time, Celebrating Fifty Years in Photography at Bob Kolbrener Photography
February 6–April 28, 2014
New York, NY

Robert Yasuda: Make Haste Slowly (Isogaba Maware—Japanese Proverb) at Sundaram Tagore Gallery
February 6–March 1, 2014
547 W. 27th Street, New York, NY