Monterrey, NL. —On one of the walls of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Monterrey (MARCO) is exhibited a painting by Picasso titled Agnus Dei—a still life with which the Spaniard proposes a continuity with the famous work of Francisco de Zurbarán—, which has been exhibited in the Grand Palais in Paris and in the Guggenheim Museum. It could be assumed that the painting is on loan from the Picasso Museum (Barcelona) or that it comes from the cellar of some prestigious museum such as the MoMA (NY), but the reality is that the resting place of this work of art is on one side of a bed, in a room in some home in Mexico City. And it is not the only art treasure that resides in that house and that has now traveled to Monterrey for exhibition.
This is the exhibition Echoes of the eternal: a journey from modernity to the contemporary, which exhibits 140 pieces from one of the most notable private collections in the country. This is the first time that the owner family – who asks to remain anonymous – agrees to exhibit the majority of their collection in the same space, after 10 years of negotiations.
The exhibition presents work by artists such as Marcel Duchamp, David Hockney, Wilfredo Lam, Roberto Matta, James Metcalf, Marc Chagall, Anselm Kiefer, Francis Alÿs, Fernando Botero and Allen Jones; as well as national artists such as Diego Rivera, Miguel Covarrubias, Vicente Rojo, Francisco Toledo, Nahui Ollin, David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, Gabriel Orozco, Arnold Belkin, Leonora Carrington and Pedro Friedeberg. Works by all these artists are part of this family art collection that began 70 years ago.
Read also: In MARCO, a collection that is almost impossible to see
The exhibition – which will be open until January 7 – marks a milestone for the Monterrey museum because in the last 20 years it is the third time that a Picasso has been exhibited to the public in the region; It is rare to exhibit art by David Hockney in the country and it is “transcendental” – says Taiyana Pimentel, director of the museum – that one of the few surviving Marcel Duchamp paintings, Femme neu aux bas noir, is exhibited in Nuevo León.
“The museum has the role of bringing the public closer to works that have not been seen before. They are pieces from a private collection that decorate a family’s home just like that, so the role of the museum is to be the link between the collector and the public. This is also where our research comes in, to bring closer the story behind these pieces, a story that not only concerns one family, but everyone,” explains Nínive Vargas, art historian from Columbia University and curatorial assistant at MARCO.
Part of that history is the history of modern art and the influence of European artists on Mexican artists. “We are trying to build a story from fragments of 20th century art,” Pimentel told EL UNIVERSAL. Among those fragments is Duchamp’s painting.
One of the many illustrations that Covarrubias did for Vanity Fair. Photo: Frida Juárez / El Universal
The 12 Picassos on display in the exhibition also tell another part of this art story; Most were made in different techniques, such as loom, mosaic and ceramics. This information is worth highlighting, as they are works that the Spanish artist made during the period in which applied arts were revalued.
Another highlight is the room dedicated to Miguel Covarrubias, where you can see his facets as a Vanity Fair cartoonist, his research work in Bali and his illustrations of the Harlem neighborhood. It is the largest private collection in Covarrubias.
A piece that stands out in the collection is the study (or sketch) of the Chapultepec Castle mural Altarpiece of the Revolution, made by Juan O’Gorman. The work, made of paper and charcoal, measures 4.50 by 6.35 meters, dimensions with which an entire wall is covered. There are only two studies of this mural, one belongs to the Slim family, but is smaller in size. Moving the piece sounds just as titanic as its dimensions. The paper is glued to a canvas, peeled and unstapled, and rolled up for packaging.
“It is a winding calculated in such a way that nothing bends,” Vargas details. The scroll—described as “monumental”—traveled overland accompanied by escorts.
Green Table, by Allen Jones, plays the role of guardian of the art collection. Photo: MARCO Museum
Once at the museum, where he had to enter through the main door, the canvas was put back together and the sketch was restored, as it was wrinkled prior to the trip. “He had a stretching done. Stretching protects the drawing, the paper and makes it look as it should. He stretched, very carefully, little by little,” Vargas details. The process required four people and took them two days to complete the job.
Beyond its dimensions, the study of Retablo de la Revolución is impressive because not only is it part of a historic building and records a historical moment in the country, but it also reveals a little about O’Gorman’s way of working, thanks to the notes made by the artist.
Agnus Dei, one of the 12 works by Picasso on display in Monterrey. Photo: Frida Juárez / El Universal
The “natural habitat”, so to speak, of these works is in a living house, where the family meets, eats, lives together, works and sleeps. The works are mixed with family photographs, books, souvenirs and home furnishings—even some works of art are furniture themselves. Although they are now located within the white walls of the MARCO, the design of the museography was designed to emulate the spaces of the house where the works are not treated with solemnity, but as pieces of family dynamics, as if they were the beloved porcelain figurines that a grandmother inherited or the poster that was bought in a museum during an incredible trip.
The owners of these works have fully appropriated the pieces. For example, a living room designed by Pedro Friedeberg is not pristine, since the furniture in the house fulfills its function and is used.
Another example is Allen Jones’ table-sculpture, Green Table. This series of pieces by the English artist has caused controversy since the 70s, because it places mannequins of women dressed in latex, in the submissive position: kneeling and with the glass on top to make it a table. It is as if the work insinuates that we must rely on women. However, when the owners of the collection acquired one of these pieces, they gave it a new meaning. The woman is not on the floor, she is on the ceiling of the dining room and is not burdened with an object, but rather she is assigned the role of guardian of the art collection, which she watches from above.
What will it be like to grow up with access to dozens of works of art on such a daily basis? Will it change the way of thinking of someone who wakes up next to a Picasso every day? Will the owners of the collection have already memorized each of those works? paintings or still discover new details? These are some questions that arise when one explores Echoes of the Eternal.
Read also: With few resources, MARCO celebrates its 32nd anniversary
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2023-10-19 03:55:33
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