River Rouge — Yeni Mao

In one room, seven bronzes rest on yellow metal stands: claws, tails, nails and scales, but never a whole creature. Yeni Mao trained in foundry work, and he leaves every support and joint in plain view.

The title is Ford's River Rouge plant, which Diego Rivera studied for his 1930s Detroit murals of workers and machines. Mao grew up with those murals, in a region later hit by recessions and labour disputes, and has brought that memory into the volcanic-stone museum Rivera built for his pre-Hispanic collection. Upstairs, a structure in an everyday building material changes the route you normally take through the building.

The works are spread through the museum rather than kept in one gallery, so you meet the metal among the stone walls and Rivera's collection. That makes it a good reason for a second visit. The general ticket covers it (130 MXN, 100 MXN for Mexican nationals), Tuesday to Sunday, 11:00 to 17:30. Photos inside the galleries need a 30 MXN permit.