Banamex has loaned its impressive collection of 20th-century Mexican art to the Instituto Cultural Cabañas, itself a stunning work of art designated by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage site in 1997.
The just-opened show, “Travesía por México: Territorios y Raíces” (Journey through Mexico: territories and roots), consists of mostly paintings by 43 artists, including the great Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. But it also includes artists less known outside Mexico, but nevertheless iconic — representing muralism, abstraction and, of course, the magical realism said to define the Mexican spirit.
Like the Kahlos and Riveras, which depict what is uniquely Mexican (local fruit, indigenous women selling lilies), many other pieces treat themes closely associated with Mexico — Dr. Atl (volcanos), Rina Lazo (leftist political struggles), Raul Anguiano (Maya characters of Chiapas). But some reflect sojourns outside this country—Miguel Covarrubias, for example, did covers for Vogue magazine and caricatures for Vanity Fair and the New York Times.
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