Selecciones: Mexican Art from the Collection
Exhibition Overview
Professor Emerita of English Elizabeth Schultz's recent gift to the museum of four works by Mexican artist Rafael Coronel forms the centerpiece for a small exhibition, Selecciones: Mexican Art from the Collection, on view in the Study Gallery from Nov. 12 through Jan. 8. Associated in the early 1960s with a group of artists known as Los Interioristas (The Insiders), Coronel's artworks from that period respond to the era's global tensions by acknowledging the importance of, and difficulties faced by, the individual in society. Here we present Coronel's paintings and drawings in visual dialogue with highlights from the Spencer's collection of twentieth-century Mexican works on paper.
Within the Study Gallery's intimate space, marked differences and affinities emerge among these works. Coronel's investigation of the individual contrasts with the art of his artistic predecessor José Guadalupe Posada, whose prints frequently emphasize the collective interests and needs of the Mexican people. At the same time, the links between Coronel's images and those by his contemporary Rufino Tamayo prove striking. Both artists contemplate the universal themes of death and spirituality. Collectively, these works span roughly sixty-five years of Mexican art. They prompt consideration not only of Coronel's distinctive contribution to this art, but also of the common sensibilities that can be found among works that share a national artistic heritage.
