Latin American Art
Latin American Art
In 1997, the collectors Edith and Bernard Lewin added more than two thousand works by Mexican modernists to the collection, making LACMA one of the main U.S. repositories of Latin American art. The museum has since expanded its collection with works from throughout Latin America, ranging from the colonial to the contemporary periods. The modern collection includes works by Diego Rivera, Roberto Matta, and Rufino Tamayo. Postwar and contemporary artists represented include Francis Alÿs, Hélio Oiticica, and Jesús Rafael Soto. á
Francis Alÿs
Juan Patricio Morlete Ruiz
In 2007 LACMA acquired a group of six paintings by the Mexican painter Juan Patricio Morlete Ruiz. When LACMA acquired the works they were covered with a yellow varnish layer that obscured the contrast and tonality of the original colors and flattened the perspective. Once removed, the illusion of space and depth returned, revealing the work of a thoughtful and highly skilled artist. This video documents the process of conserving Morlete's pictures.—Ilona Katzew, Curator of Latin American Art, LACMA
LACMA’s Newly Reinstalled Latin American Galleries
In the last few years, LACMA has focused much attention on building a stellar collection of Latin American art, ranging from ancient to contemporary. The breadth of our collection—with much growth still under way—is what makes it truly exceptional. Since 2006 I have devoted a great deal of time to developing our Spanish colonial, modern, and contemporary holdings. New works have slowly trickled up to the galleries, but many others were waiting to be displayed...
Modern Mexican Silver: Reflections across Time
Recently LACMA received a gift of some 80 pieces of Mexican modernist silver dating from the 1930s to the 1960s. A selection of these objects is on view in the newly reinstalled Latin American galleries. LACMA’s curator and department head of Latin American Art Ilona Katzew sat down with Dr. Penny Morrill, a scholar of Mexican modernist silver at George Masson University to discuss the history of these fascinating objects and their recent gift to the museum. Dr. Morrill will also be at LACMA on Sunday afternoon for a free talk and book-signing...
