A significant portion of modern Mexican art will return home for a few weeks. The Ministry of Culture has announced that 68 pieces from the Gelman Santander Collection will be on display at the Museum of Modern Art from February 17 to May 17 as part of an international tour. These works have not been seen in the country for two decades. Among the most anticipated pieces in the exhibition “Modern Narratives: Emblematic Works from the Gelman Santander Collection” are works by Frida Kahlo, Rufino Tamayo, Ángel Zárraga, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Diego Rivera, such as the oil painting “Calla Lily Vendor” (1943).
The works, which have not been exhibited in Mexico for more than 20 years, are part of “one of the most representative collections of 20th-century Mexican modern art,” the Ministry of Culture explained in a statement. The collection was assembled by Jacques and Natasha Gelman starting in the 1940s and consists primarily of commissioned portraits of leading figures in Mexican art, as well as some crucial pieces from the careers of a few of these artists.
The collection will begin its international tour in Mexico City with a 12-week stay at the Museum of Modern Art in Chapultepec Park. The Secretary of Culture, Curiel de Icaza, emphasized the symbolism of starting the tour in the artists’ birthplace, where the collection was created, so that future generations will have access to fundamental works of modern Mexican art. “This is the result of months of collaboration with the Gelman Santander Collection, through the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL), to whom I express my gratitude for their coordinated efforts to promote Mexican art,” she stressed.
The exhibition offers a journey through some of the most representative pieces from diverse facets of modern Mexican art. Frida Kahlo will be represented by ten oil paintings, including Self-Portrait with Necklace (1933) and Diego on My Mind (1943). Rivera, for his part, will participate with one of his creations that highlighted his relationship between tradition and the avant-garde, the oil painting Calla Lily Vendor (1943). Visitors will also be able to admire a watercolor self-portrait by José Clemente Orozco, titled Salón México (1940), which captures the nightlife of Mexico City. The collection will be completed by works from Rufino Tamayo, Ángel Zárraga, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Gunther Gerzso, Carlos Mérida, María Izquierdo, Jesús Reyes Ferreira, and Lola Álvarez Bravo, among others.
At least 27 of the 68 works on display have been declared Artistic Monuments, the Ministry of Culture has noted. In order to be exhibited, the works had to be registered with the National Center for Conservation and Registration of Movable Artistic Heritage to facilitate their traceability, technical control, and safekeeping during their presentation. “For the Museum of Modern Art, it has been a privilege to be close to this collection and to offer a perspective that highlights its diverse nature. The challenge of curating it allows us not only to delve deeper into its history but also to showcase the power of such a unique collection,” said Marisol Argüelles, director of the Museum of Modern Art and curator of the exhibition.
Source: elpais
