Though Mexico and the U.S. may not have had the most amicable relationship throughout history, one positive cultural phenomenon that came out of their contentious relationship was the emergence of modern Mexican art.
The upcoming exhibition “Mexico Modern: Art, Commerce, and Cultural Exchange, 1920–1945” at The University of Texas at Austin not only reveals the cultural exchange between Mexico and the U.S, but also exhibits how Mexican art and design gained international attention. Curators of the exhibit explain that “the exhibition demonstrates how, in the 1920s and 1930s, Mexican art that was initially received as avant-garde gained mainstream acceptance.”
Though a variety of over 200 books, articles, paintings, photographs, jewelry ,and decorative arts, the exhibition “highlights the important history of 20th-century art… and how both countries instigated a cultural phenomenon by creating and promoting art that pioneered a synthesis of indigenous traditions and international aesthetics,” explained the curators.
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Among the vast array of artists in this exhibit are painters Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Jean Charlot. Many of these artist have traveled back and forth between the two nations are an important part of Mexico's historical narrative.
The exhibition is on display from Sept. 11 through Jan. 1 in the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin.
Diego Rivera, [Basket vendors], 1938. Watercolor, 27.7 x 38.6 cm.
Courtesy Harry Ransom Center/2017 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Frida Kahlo (Mexican, 1907–1954), Untitled [Still life with parrot and fruit], 1951. Oil on canvas, 25.7 x 28.2 cm.
ourtesy Harry Ransom Center/2017 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Frida Kahlo (Mexican, 1907–1954), Untitled [Self-portrait with thorn necklace and hummingbird], 1940. Oil on canvas mounted to board, 62.5 x 48.0 cm.
Courtesy Harry Ransom Center/ 2017 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Poster for Mexican tourism, published by Asociacion Mexicana de Turismo, 1940, 97.2 x 73.3 cm.
Courtesy Harry Ransom Center
José Espert, poster for Mexican tourism, published by Asociacion Mexicana de Turismo, 1945.
Courtesy Harry Ransom Center
Mexicana: A Book of Pictures by René d'Harnoncourt, with cover illustration by d'Harnoncourt, published by Alfred A. Knopf, 1931.
Courtesy Harry Ransom Center
Mexican Folkways, edited by Frances Toor, volume 4, no. 3, 1928. Cover design by Diego Rivera.
Courtesy Harry Ransom Center/2017 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Frida Kahlo (Mexican, 1907–1954), Diego y yo (Diego and I), 1930. Charcoal and ink on paper, 29.5 x 21.5 cm.
Courtesy Harry Ransom Center/2017 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Paul Strand (American, 1890–1976), Cristo with Thorns, Huexotla, 1933; printed 1940. From the portfolio Photographs of Mexico. Photogravure, 26.1 x 20.5 cm (image).
Harry Ransom Center, Gernsheim Collection
Fritz Henle (American, b. Germany, 1909–1993), Women from Tehuantepec Going to the Mill, 1943. Gelatin silver print, 33.5 x 27.7 cm.
Harry Ransom Center Photography Collection/The Fritz Henle Estate
Unidentified photographer, Untitled [Francisco "Pancho" Villa], 1910–1911. Gelatin silver print, 14.5 x 8.9 cm.
Harry Ransom Center, The Mexican Revolution Photography Collection, Gift of Vella B. Cunningham
Fritz Henle (American, b. Germany, 1909–1993), Fishermen on Lake Patzcuaro, 1936. Gelatin silver print, 32.2 x 27.6 cm.
Harry Ransom Center Photography Collection/ The Fritz Henle Estate
Fritz Henle (American, b. Germany, 1909–1993), Festival of the Voladores, 1936. Gelatin silver print, 33.8 x 26.8 cm.
Harry Ransom Center Photography Collection/The Fritz Henle Estate
Manuel Álvarez Bravo (Mexican, 1902–2002), Dia de todos muertos (Day of the Dead), 1933; printed 1979. From the portfolio Manuel Alvarez Bravo. Gelatin silver print 24.1 x 17.8 cm. Gift of Michael J. Charles.
Harry Ransom Center Photography Collection/Archivo Manuel Álvarez Bravo
Unidentified photographer, Untitled [Insurrectos (insurgents)], 1910–1911. Gelatin silver print, 8.5 x 14.2 cm. Gift of Vella B. Cunningham.
Harry Ransom Center/The Mexican Revolution Photography Collection
Fritz Henle (American, b. Germany, 1909–1993), Tehuanas, 1936. Gelatin silver print, 33.7 x 27.3 cm.
Harry Ransom Center Photography Collection/ The Fritz Henle Estate
Paul Strand (American, 1890–1976), Plaza, State of Puebla, 1933; printed 1940. From the portfolio Photographs of Mexico. Photogravure, 12.8 x 16.1 cm (image).
Harry Ransom Center, Gernsheim Collection/Aperture Foundation/Paul Strand Archive
