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PERMANENT COLLECTION |
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The Long Gallery presents a selection of 20 significant works of art based on their country of origin; one artist has been selected to represent each country. Many artists in Latin
America are recognized for their individual artistic accomplishments, as well as for their national importance as cultural ambassadors; these 20 works highlight those artists in the collection that are well known in their country and who have achieved international recognition.
The molaa collection also represents four important master works of
art on long-term loan from the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden due to our association with the Smithsonian Affiliates Program. The prominent modern artists
include:Fernando Botero (Colombia), Rufino Tamayo (Mexico),
Joaquin Torres Garcia (Uruguay) and Roberto Sebastian Matta (Chile).
Each artist is internationally recognized for their signature styles and importance in the
history of Latin American art.
Over 900 works of art—painting, sculpture, works on paper and photography—represent 340 Latin American artists from 20 countries within the four Spanish-Portuguese speaking Latin America countries in the regions of Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean. The molaa permanent collection is continuously presented in the Robert Gumbiner Sculpture Garden & Event Center, the Long Gallery and the Permanent Collection Gallery.
Occasionally, the Long Gallery presents temporary exhibitions and the art by country is not on view for a short term.
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Detail: Javier Marín
Este Corazón no es mío
This Heart is Not Mine, 1995 Clay (Oax/Zacatecas),
59 x 31½ x 15¾ in.
Long-term loan from Robert Gumbiner Foundation |
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Mestizaje (a blending) of Identity
Mestizaje is a Spanish term which characterizes Latin American identity. Defined as a blending of the races and cultures, mestizaje embraces the diverse heritage of the indigenous, European and African peoples. The molaa collection is rich with a wide
representation of figurative art that reveals the distinction and inclusion of this blending.
The selected portraits and social groupings on view emphasize the various racial, ethnic and cultural identities of the Latin American. The large clay sculpture by Mexican artist, Javier Marin is a fine interpretation of the European and pre-Columbian traditions represented in a contemporary work of art. The stance of the figure mimics the classical posture of a Greek sculpture; the red-clay used to form the figure is specifically Mexican and honors the ancient origin and lineage of the indigenous people rooted to their land.
Guatemalan artist, Veronica Riedel portrays the dignity and pride of the contemporary mestiza today. Based on a realistic photograph of a young contemporary girl, the artist creates a mixed-media portrait of her subject as a proud princess elaborately adorned in a baroque style of pearls and feathers. The direct gaze of the girl captures
the viewer’s attention to recognize her not as a victim of the conquest, but as a queen of America and the mother of the Latin American today. |
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Urban & Rural Landscapes
Significant urban centers and rural areas are common to the Latin American landscape. The art reveals the striking contrast between the modern industrialized city and the pastoral village countryside. The outstanding difference between the two is the scale and use of space.
Latin American cities, such as Buenos Aires, Argentina; Mexico City, Mexico;
Santiago de Chile, Chile and Sao Paulo, Brazil are the political and financial centers of their respective countries. They reflect the European architectural and institutional values established after the conquest in the 16th and 17th centuries. In contrast, historic rural communities such as Oaxaca, Mexico and Cuzco, Peru are the cultural centers of the people and their local customs. The central plaza, usually graced with a park, the parochial church and city hall, functions as the gathering place for the people to celebrate festivals, religious processions and political rallies.
Mexican artist Rodolfo Morales and Argentine artist Antonio Segui offer contrasting artistic visions. Throughout his life, Morales illustrated local scenes of celebration in the central plaza of a rural environment where the church is the heart of the community and where religious practice is the soul of the people. In the 1980s, Segui created a series of paintings filled with anonymous figures dressed in business suits and hats, randomly wandering through a compact urbanscape. The busy scene, possibly that of the Parisian-style city of Buenos Aires, is filled with the rhythm and anxiety of an urban society. |
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Detail: Antonio Seguí Ardoise, 1988
Mixed media on canvas, 44 ¾ x 57 ½ in.
molaa permanent collection
Gift of Dr Hector Ziperovich |
Detail: Rodolfo Morales
De mantelos largos
Dressed to the Nines, 1994
Lithograph, 23¾ x 31½ in.
Long-term loan from Robert Gumbiner Foundation |
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Political History
After World War II, many countries in Latin America experienced political instability and suffered the harsh realities of oppressive regimes, military dictatorships, corruption and civil war. Many artists either left their countries in exile or emigrated to other countries; others remained and produced images of protest to portray the socioeconomic political disparity.
In Argentina, Chile, Brazil and the Dominican Republic, brutal dictatorial regimes rose to power between the 1960s and the 1980s. These dictatorships caused the assassination, disappearance and exile of thousands of individuals who opposed them. The image of El matador by the Argentine artist, Antonio Berni profiles a bullfighter (matador) as a skeleton. The style of social realism suggests the fighter to also be viewed as a killer (matador) in reference to the oppression that occurred during the Argentine military regime.
Civil war and political unrest had a severe impact on the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and Nicaragua. Military clashes between left-wing guerillas and conservative right-wing governments ignited in the late 1970s and escalated into civil war during the 1980s. Salvadorian artist, Miguel Antonio Bonilla, recognized for his satirical criticisms of political corruption, makes a poignant mockery of two figures aligned by a candy-cane stripped cord. The caricature suggests that the bureaucrat and military leader are conspiring together for personal gain in suppression of individual civil rights. |
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Detail: Antonio Berni
El Matador / The Matador, 1964
Woodcut with embossing, 43¼ x 23 in.
Long-term loan from Robert Gumbiner Foundation
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Detail: Miguel Antonio Bonilla
El Nudo / The Knot, 1994
Acrylic on canvas, 51 x 78 in.
Long-term loan from Robert Gumbiner Foundation
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