“Legacy in Stone and Bronze” is the title of the retrospective exhibition honoring the memory of renowned Mexican sculptor Miguel Miramontes Carmona to be inaugurated with a conference on Friday, July 12, 5 p.m., at the Ribera Arts and Culture Center (CCAR) in La Floresta.
The collection of unpublished photographs, sketches and sculptures on display in the CCAR gallery through July 28 will give observers insights on the evolution and diversity of Miramontes’ work, from his earliest creations to his most emblematic monuments.
The digital catalog of his oeuvre will be presented at a coffee reception on Saturday, July 20, noon.
Born May 8, 1918, in Guadalajara, Miramontes moved to Mexico City at age 29 to study at the prestigious San Carlos Art Academy. Returning to his native city in the early 1950s, he joined the faculty at the University of Guadalajara’s newly established School of Plastic Arts to found and head the sculpture department for three decades. On retiring in 1984, Miramontes and his family settled in Chapala where he continued creating art until his death in October 2015 at age 97.
His artistic legacy comprises more than 50 sculptures that grace public spaces in metro Guadalajara, including 13 of the statues ensconced in Rotunda of Illustrious Jaliscienses, the whimsical Niños Meones (pissing boys) fountain located near the Degollado Theater, the figure of Independence hero José María Morelos on Calzada Independencia, a stone obelisk at the Glorieta del Álamo commemorating the Mexican Revolution and the 1970 Soccer World Cup monument standing outside the Estadio Jalisco.
Miramontes also created a bronze statue of composer Pepe Guizar and the Niños Héroes bas-relief monument for locations in central Chapala, and the Sobrevivientes (survivors) sculpture installed in the Centro Cultural de Ajijic, along with major works in Puerto Vallarta and Houston, Texas.