THE PERSISTENCE OF THE BODY: Three Matters
The Museum of Latin American Art is pleased to present this group exhibition where different categories of the human body are examined as a concept, through the dialogue amongst prominent artists who transform our way of seeing and thinking about the body – from an individual and a collective point of view, and as a social body.
We begin our exploration with the Latin American and Latinx artists which define the cultural scene in the 20th Century, such as Rufino Tamayo, Fernando de Szyszlo, and Francisco Toledo where the first transformations of the body’s fragility are exposed. The continuation of this theme is later explored and transformed again through the works of influential artists such as Ana Mendieta, Laura Aguilar, Ignacio Gana, Beatriz González, Ignacio Iturria, Walterio Iraheta, Claudia Casarino, Osvaldo Salerno, Tania Bruguera and Alfredo Quiroz. And ultimately, we reflect on how the concept of the body can be recovered by contemporary art not as a motive but as a space for critical reflection.
This exhibition is based on three guiding matters. The first, is on the rejection of the classical body which is comprised of binaries such as body and soul, matter and spirit, culture and nature. The second, is based on the intervention of technology as a tool to interpret or perceive the body’s appearance, originality, and virtuality. The last matter, focuses on the idea of presence vs absence, and the body as an instrument of condemnation.
The dynamic tensions that are presented in these works of art, such as those between the object and the subject, the individual and the community, the internal and the external, and the real and the virtual, open new pathways and questions about art, history, and life.
Coordinators:
Ticio Escobar y Gabriela Urtiag