opening - National Museum of Mexican Art

2 5 TH A N N I V E R S A R Y G I F T S T O T H E P E R M A N E N T C O L L E C T I O N
OPENING
RECEPTION
THURSDAY
JANUARY 17
6:00 – 8:00pm
EXHIBITION CONTINUES
THROUGH APRIL 7, 2013
CURATED BY
REBECCA D. MEYERS
T
wenty-twelve marked the Silver Anniversary of the National Museum of Mexican
Art (NMMA), which spirited an ambitious appeal for notable art donations. The
Permanent Collection was established concurrently at the museum’s outset in
1987 with a modest purchase of Mexican Masters prints. Soon, Chicago artists, talents
from Mexico and private collectors began donating works-on-paper, thus establishing
the principal means of acquisition for the young museum. These items were easily
stored on-site in a few compact drawers. The following year, the museum extended
its collecting efforts to accept photography and folk art and by 1990, hired a collection
manager, formalized the collection process and began accessioning paintings and then
sculpture and textiles. It quickly became apparent that the museum would need to
expand its gallery spaces to showcase its collection and build state-of the-art storage
vaults if it were to continue to amass a sizable and significant Permanent Collection.
The museum sought and achieved accreditation from the prestigious American Association of Museums in 1997 and by 1999 acquired its first pre-Cuauhtémoc (ancient
Mesoamerican) artifacts along with a core collection of vintage chromolithographs,
thus establishing the category of ephemera. In 2001 the museum tripled its space, attaining its current size.
Nonetheless, while most areas of the collection flourished (prints, drawings, photography, folk art, textiles and ephemera), others
(paintings, sculpture and ancient Mexican materials) needed to grow. Seeking to fill these voids, in 2011 the museum embarked
on a two-year art donation solicitation campaign to commemorate its 25th Anniversary. Members of the curatorial team spent
many days visiting artists’ studios and meeting with private collectors in Chicago, across the US and in Mexico. In a culmination
of the effort, this exhibition showcases major works by distinguished and emerging artists from both sides of the border and
proudly debuts a selection of significant pre-Cuauhtémoc acquisitions from the Louis and Annette Kaufman Trust.
The museum is deeply indebted to the exceptionally generous donors of signature works, many of whom are artists, who made
this exhibition possible. They opened their studios, homes, hearts and minds to affirm NMMA’s uninterrupted, 25-year history.
As in the profound and prophetic title of Ernesto Yerena’s serigraph within the exhibit, the National Museum of Mexican Art can
exclaim “Aquí estoy y no me voy / I’m Here and I’m Not Leaving.”
José Antonio Aguirre
Fernando Alba Aldave
Abel Alejandre
José Alpuche
Alejandro Alvarado Carreño
Cecilia Concepción Álvarez
Celia Álvarez Muñoz
Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin
René Arceo
Alfredo Arreguín
Andrea Arroyo
Alejandro Caballero Valdés,
Melanie Cervantes
Alejandro Chacón Pineda
Jean Charlot
Javier Chavira
Juan Chawuk
Camilo Cruz
Jenny De La Luz
Luis De La Torre
Richard Duardo
Fidencio Durán
Felipe Ehrenberg
Gaspar Enríquez
Ofelia Esparza
José Esquivel
Dianna Frid
Felipe Galindo
Esperanza Gama
Sergio Gómez
José Guerrero
Ester Hernández
Judithe Hernández
Benito Huerta
Consuelo Jiménez Underwood
Leo Limón
Carmen Lomas Garza
Jimmy Longoria
Roberto López Ramírez
Francisco Magallán
Enrique Magaña Rojas
César A. Martínez
Francisco G. Mendoza
Franco Mondini-Ruiz
Ignacio Montano
Roberto Montenegro
Delilah Montoya
Alejandro Nava
Sylvia Ordoñez
Raymond Patlán
Chuck Ramírez
Marcos Raya
Teódulo Rómulo
Marta Sánchez
Julieta Sánchez-Hidalgo
Sergio Sánchez Santamaria
Manuel Sandoval
Eva Solíz
María Tomasula
Vincent Valdez
Linda Vallejo
Román Villarreal
Ernesto Yerena Montejano
And numerous
anonymous artists
IMAGE CREDITS 1.) Javier Chavira, María Sabina: I Am Woman of Light / Soy una mujer de luz, 2010, mixed media, 96 1/2” x 73 1/2” x 10 1/8”, NMMA Permanent Collection, 2012.5, Gift of
the artist in memory of his grandmother Herculana Mendoza de Torres, photo credit: Michael Tropea 2.) Ixtlán del Río style, Nayarit, Joined Couple / Pareja unida, Protoclassic 300 B.C.E. - 200
C.E., polychrome ceramic, 15 3/4” x 13” x 5”, NMMA Permanent Collection, 2012.83, Given by Louis & Annette Kaufman Trust, photo credit: Michael Tropea 3.) Maria Tomasula, Chorus / Coro,
2012, oil on panel, 12” x 9”, National Museum of Mexican Art Permanent Collection, 2012.58, Gift of the artist in honor of Raymundo and Esther García, photo credit: Michael Tropea 4.) Jean
Charlot, Untitled / Sin título, 1933, oil on board, 7 7/8” x 6”, National Museum of Mexican Art Permanent Collection, 2012.101, Given by Louis and Annette Kaufman Trust, photo credit: Michael
Tropea 5.) César A. Martínez, La Chata, 2006, acrylic on canvas, 64” x 54”, National Museum of Mexican Art Permanent Collection, 2011.142, Gift of the artist, photo credit: Michael Tropea
FUNDED BY: CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT. ILLINOIS ARTS COUNCIL, A STATE AGENCY.
CITY OF CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS AND SPECIAL EVENTS.
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