POST NEO MEXICANISMS The denationalization of painting

Transcription

1 POST NEO MEXICANISMS The denationalization of painting The exhibition Post Neo Mexicanisms comprises a selection of works from the ESPAC Collection, plus some new acquisitions from its Contemporary Painting Program. Parting from works that during the nineteen-eighties criticized and eschewed the pro-government narratives spawned by modernization, as well as proposals from the nineties that provided insight into both conceptualism and minimalism, Post Neo Mexicanisms re-examines a series of works from the ESPAC Collection that are emblematic of the denationalizing artistic practices that hailed the advent of postmodernity in Mexico. Featuring works by artists associated with emblematic alternative spaces such as the Salón de los Aztecas, La Quiñonera, Zona, and Temístocles 44, this show presents a survey in which historic paintings such as the cubist landscape by Diego Rivera, Naturaleza muerta con paisaje (Still Life with Landscape, circa 1915) which predates the Mexican School of Painting or a seemingly abstract work by David Alfaro Siqueiros, Estudio para mural (Study for a Mural, 1970) whose aesthetics reject official Mexicanist themes mark historic ends of the spectrum in contrast with contemporary works. These signals shed light on how artists have approached or rather, distanced themselves from pro-government repertoires, whether out of ideological and/or artistic differences that, in short, betray both the exhaustion of a certain aesthetics as well as the divergent relationship between artistic subjectivities and State politics. Rather than exhaustively revisiting historic interstices of pictorial modernity, this selection of postmodern works that emerged together with the ultimate critical resignifying of pro-government repertoire that is to say, neo- Mexicanism focuses on the incursion of local artists into international debates regarding painting during the decade

2 3 of the nineteen nineties. In this sense, rather than harking exclusively back to neo-mexicanism a trend recognized by pictorial variations from the nineteen eighties that ironically and critically revised nationalist allegories the ESPAC Contemporary Painting Program seeks, by means of a series of exhibitions and acquisitions, to articulate narratives that explore different aspects of painting from the advent of post-conceptual art in the nineties up to the present. Thus, the exhibition Post Neo Mexicanisms is conceived of as part of a series of museum endeavors circumscribed by a core curatorial research program. 1 Given certain factors the ESPAC Program of Contemporary Painting seeks to revisit, the artworks of Rubén Ortiz Torres who highlights the hybridization of border imagery by ironically painting après Cubism represent a watershed amid nationalist themes and so-called neomexicanism. Likewise, artworks are also included in this exhibition that, through conceptual procedures, question the history of Western painting and its genres, canon of beauty, and systems of representation from landscapes to modernist abstraction such are the proposals of Yishai Jusidman and Mónica Castillo. On the other hand, s paintings detach themselves from the European academic tradition in order to enter into post-minimalist formations that link the (virtual) pictorial plane with actual space, an exploration that extends to the polyptychs by Francis Alÿs and Sofia Táboas and the three-dimensional abstraction proposed by Paloma Torres. Likewise, the figurative risks taken by Boris Viskin, El Taka Fernández and Germán Venegas also revolve around aspects of texture, volume, and the overflow of pictorial figuration into the realm of sculpture, opposite in a way to minimalist phenomenology. The circular trajectory of the exhibition has on either end of its spectrum the two works by Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros. By entering into a dialogue with contemporary art, these paintings, both linked to abstract concerns, inscribe the temporal plurality of Mexican incursions into this genre and also, therefore, the diversity of pictorial strategies of denationalization that have taken place throughout the history of 20th century Mexican art. It was proposed that these works be included in the exhibition in order to signal moments in history when official artists participated in aesthetics that opposed State ideology, 2 4

3 5 signifying that every advance also implies a retreat. However, rather than attempting to identify the nooks and crannies in which the tensions of modern painting reside, this exhibition focuses on certain works that comprise the ESPAC collection with the objective of highlighting the issues and narratives of painting from the nineteen nineties and of making headway in future research and acquisitions. The inclusion in the title of the prefixes post- and neo- was intended, on one hand, to position the exhibition historically after post-modernity and, on the other, to point out the contradictions and tensions in the narratives of painting that, upon retreating, recover Mexicanist aesthetics or rather, distance themselves from said aesthetics in order to advance. In this sense, stances perceived as critical with regards to the pro-government establishment eventually evoked a new form of official discourse as well as a new market and patronage. As outlined above, this sequence from the ESPAC collection is intended to underscore certain pictorial strategies that distance themselves from Mexicanist iconography. In this sense, the artworks of counterbalance the landscape of Diego Rivera, signifying the transition of neo-mexicanist iconographic repertoire toward other pictorial practices of a more conceptual nature. Using the same narrative, this artist closes the circle of the exhibition with his work Para los 43 (2015). Composed industrially with a monochrome, minimalist appearance, the dark, reflective surface of this painting reveals the patriotic symbol of the Mexican State, that is to say: the national flag. This work can also be appreciated in connection with the pyroxylin painting by Siqueiros. On the one hand, the inclusion of this painting indicates a background of industrial pictorial processes and on the other, it frames a historical reference with regards to figurative painting in bas-relief, in such a way that it provides counterpoint to the works of Germán Venegas, El Taka, Boris Viskin, and Néstor Quiñones. As a whole, these proposals warn us of the unavoidable opening of painting in the nineteen eighties to processes of internationalization. A lack of confidence in the nationstate that came about as a result of the economic crisis in 82 instigated an atmosphere of irreverence that confronted the official cultural nationalism, in line with the gradual advent of globalization, neoliberalism, and the configuration of neo-mexicanist postmodernity. Thus, the title of the exhibition interweaves diverse historical and aesthetic narratives in which ideological and critical plurality vis-à-vis the State channeled processes that we can understand under the premise enunciated in the subtitle as the denationalization of painting. The junctions of these nationalist trends find their final rupture in the ironic irreverence of postmodernity forged in the eighties and their peak, quite possibly, in post-conceptualism. With the purpose of highlighting the differences, similitudes and specificities of a denationalized pictorial language, this exhibition marks the beginning of research into proposals that, in the nineties, blazed new trails for the internationalization of local painting. 6

4 CHECKLIST 7 The sum of individual efforts that vindicated pictorial issues through the advent of post-conceptualism implies both advances and retreats with regards to the historic narratives of painting, given that as a medium, modern painting has been subject to debate for centuries. In this sense, a return is not always indicative of a conservative reaction, but rather may signify an ideological inversion, paradoxically critical as such with regards to official policies or the art market, yet subject to the reconfiguration of alternate routes toward aesthetic politicization, State art, and the art market. In this regard, the plurality to which postmodernity subscribed, multiplied the conceptualization of what we might understand as painting, sometimes backward, sometimes inward, sometimes lateral, in reverse, or even forward with regards to the canons extant in each era. Therefore, theoretical reflection regarding the definitions, limits, and redefinitions of painting enabled the continual reformulation of its procedures, on canvas or off. This pluralist condition that has advanced up to now, the same one that does not privilege one aspect over another, allows us to corroborate the validity of painting through the diverse trends that have entered the debate regarding its tradition, aesthetic concepts, and technique. The ESPAC Program of Contemporary Painting proposes that we reflect on the debates that inscribed postmodernity, in order to analyze diverse formations of the pictorial within the field of contemporary art. Francis Alÿs Sin título, Mónica Castillo Cuadros para Marta, Oil on canvas. Sin título, No desampares a los inocentes, T, Acrylic on wood. División del norte, Mixed technique on wood. J.W., Oil on wood Mutatis mutandis: Sumo XV, Acrylic on wood, synthetic carpeting, showcase, digital print. Macho Mouse, Oil on macopan. La Minnie, Oil on macopan. Para los 43, Urethane and dry pearl on aluminum. Néstor Quiñones Une, Acrylic, organza, ritual mask, mirrors and cardboard on wood. Diego Rivera Naturaleza muerta cubista con paisaje, ca Oil on canvas David Alfaro Siqueiros Estudio para mural, Pyroxylin and Masonite on canvas. Sofía Táboas Series verdes, Oil on canvas. Courtesy of the artist and kurimanzutto. Paloma Torres Paisaje blanco, Ceramic on wood. Germán Venegas Compasión, Polychromatic encaustic bas-relief. Boris Viskin Vértigo, Oil and plastic figure on canvas. 8

5 POST NEO MEXICANISMS is the second exhibition of the ESPAC Contemporary Painting Program. It was curated by Willy Kautz and presented from April 16 to August 2016 in ESPAC. Francis Alÿs Mónica Castillo Néstor Quiñones Diego Rivera David Alfaro Siqueiros Sofía Táboas Paloma Torres Germán Venegas Boris Viskin PUBLICATION Design and editing. Alfonso Santiago Text. Willy Kautz Translation. Tanya Huntington First edition. Mexico City. April ESPAC. All rights reserved. ESPAC Director. Laura Orozco Registrar. Iraís Cordova Exhibition Coordinator. Esteban King Communication. Alfonso Santiago Exhibition set up. Maximiliano Tacomul facebook.com/espacmexico twitter.com/espac_info instagram.com/_espac_ #PostNeoMexicanismos