Anticuario

"Rodrigo Rivero Lake's office in a penthouse apartment in Polanco and his warehouse in Naucalpan are kind of insane, packed to the brim with museum quality antiques from Mexico, India, and beyond, along with paintings and sculptures by major modern Mexican artists. An incurable collector, he's spent a lifetime on the hunt both in Mexican flea markets, at European auction houses, and on the road in India. On the weekends, he heads to the Lagunilla Antiques Market in Mexico city, where all the vendors know him by name, and always have a thing or two to show him. He's also written the book on the influence of Japanese artisanry on Mexican Viceregal antiquities: It's heady stuff and might seem intimidating, but Rodrigo is a totally charming, welcoming host to anyone who visits his gallery. Ask enough questions and he'll give you a special tour of the space—he once showed us a trove of paintings by his old friend and fellow antiquarian Chucho Reyes, one of the most influential Mexican painters of the 20th Century. It's by appointment only and so worth it."