Michael Tracy’s studio is virtually on top of Mexico City’s wonderous Templo Mayor—the navel of Aztec culture and the place once chosen to become the center of the most magnificent empire on this side of the world.

It is said that at the consecration of the Templo hundreds, even thousands lost their lives, offering up their hearts to the sun, god of life, as rivers of blood streamed down the stairs. Religion and magic have inspired Tracy to create an astonishing body of work in this mysterious country: canvases drenched in a deliciously fake blood, crosses decorated with hummingbirds, and glittering