Between Play and Grief: Selections from the Latino American Collection March 16–September 8, 2019
Marcos Raya, The Anguish of Being and the Nothingness of the Universe, 2000, acrylic on canvas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by Roy Cullen in honor of Mary Cullen at “One Great Night in November, 2005.” © Marcos Raya
Antonio Berni, Carnaval de Juanito, 1962, collage, collection of Gail and Louis K. Adler. © José Antonio Berni
Luis Felipe Noé, Mambo, 1962, oil, acrylic, pencil, and wood on canvas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund and the 2011 Latin American Experience Gala and Auction. © Luis Felipe Noé
Luis Jiménez, End of the Trail (with Electric Sunset), 1971, fiberglass and electric bulbs, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund. © Estate of Luis A. Jiménez, Jr. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
César Augusto Martínez, Bato con Sunglasses, 1984/91, acrylic paint on canvas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by Crowley, Marks & Douglas, and Pablo Alvarado in memory of Froilán and Juan Joaquín Aguirre. © César A. Martínez
Jorge de la Vega, Images, 1966, oil and collage on canvas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Jorge and Marion Helft Collection, Museum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund. © Estate of Jorge de la Vega
Juan Carlos Distéfano, Telaraña (Spider Web), 1974–75, fiberglass-reinforced polyester, cast polyester, and enamel epoxy, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Jorge and Marion Helft Collection, Museum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund. © Juan Carlos Distéfano
► Información en español sobre la exposición
Between Play and Grief: Selections from the Latino American Collection features a survey of works from the MFAH collection of modern and contemporary Latin American and Latinx art.
The exhibition presents more than three dozen works of art acquired by the MFAH over the past 10 years. The selection spans six decades of artistic expression, from figures who were actively in dialogue with leading postwar artistic movements such as Nouveau Réalisme, Arte Povera, and Pop Art in the 1960s, to contemporary artists whose work speaks to their identities as both insiders and outsiders within an American experience.
All of the artists in the exhibition rely on parody and dark wit to express social and political realities. Between Play and Grief includes the work of Amalia Mesa-Bains, Antonio Berni, Juan Carlos Distéfano, Alberto Heredia, Luis Jiménez, Rómulo Macció, César Augusto Martínez, Mondongo, Celia Alvárez Muñoz, Luis Felipe Noé, Marcos Raya, Vincent Valdez, and Jorge de la Vega.
Between Play and Grief coincides with the citywide Spring of Latino Art, featuring exhibitions and events throughout Houston. Among the highlights is the Latino Art Now! conference organized by the Inter-University Program for Latino Research at the University of Houston, with presentations at more than 30 venues the first week of April.
Between Play and Grief: Selections from the Latino American Collection | March 16–September 8, 2019
This exhibition is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.