Museo Colección Jumex

Museo Colección Jumex
Name	Museo Colección Jumex
Established	2013
Location	Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City, Mexico
Type	Contemporary art museum
Founder	Eugenio López Alonso
Architect	David Chipperfield
Collection size	~2,800 works

Museo Colección Jumex is a contemporary art museum in the Miguel Hidalgo borough of Mexico City founded by collector and philanthropist Eugenio López Alonso. The institution opened in 2013 in a building designed by David Chipperfield to house the private holdings of the Fundación Jumex Arte Contemporáneo and to present exhibitions by artists from the permanent collection, including works by Jeff Koons, Louise Bourgeois, Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, and Gabriel Orozco. The museum operates within the broader landscape of Mexican cultural institutions such as the Museo de Arte Moderno, Museo Nacional de Antropología, Museo Tamayo, Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, and international partners like the Guggenheim Museum, Tate Modern, and Museum of Modern Art.

History

The origins of the institution trace to the private collection assembled by businessman Eugenio López Alonso, heir to the Grupo Jumex beverage company, and to the establishment of Fundación Jumex in the early 2000s, an initiative comparable to other collector-led projects such as the Dia Art Foundation, Fondation Louis Vuitton, and the Broad Foundation. Initial public activity included loans and collaborations with institutions like the Museo Tamayo and exhibitions with artists linked to the collection, for example Francis Alÿs, Rashid Johnson, Dan Flavin, Sterling Ruby, and Taryn Simon. The decision to commission David Chipperfield followed precedents set by collector museums including the Fondazione Prada, MAXXI, and Museo Jumex (predecessor) transitions, culminating in the 2013 opening. Since then, the institution has hosted retrospectives and site-specific projects by figures such as Gustav Metzger, Julie Mehretu, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Adrian Piper, Kerry James Marshall, and initiated international loans involving museums like Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Pompidou Centre, and the Stedelijk Museum.

Architecture and Facilities

The building, on Avenida Ejército Nacional, was designed by David Chipperfield with collaboration from local firms and engineers influenced by other contemporary cultural projects like Herzog & de Meuron commissions and the Renzo Piano Building Workshop. The structure features minimalist facades, gallery volumes, storage facilities, conservation laboratories, and a research library analogous to resources at the Getty Research Institute, British Library, and the Bibliotheca Hertziana. Public amenities include an auditorium for talks and performances, a bookstore and café comparable to those at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and climate-controlled vaults for works by artists such as Anish Kapoor, Ellsworth Kelly, and Richard Serra. The building’s circulation and lighting strategies reflect precedents from museums like the Kunstmuseum Basel and the National Gallery, adapting to Mexico City’s seismic and urban context.

Collection

The permanent holdings contain approximately 2,800 works spanning postwar and contemporary art, with canonical figures including Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns, and Yayoi Kusama alongside Latin American and Mexican artists such as Francis Alÿs, Gabriel Orozco, Damián Ortega, Dr. Atl, and Rina Lazo. The collection emphasizes painting, sculpture, installation, video, and performance documentation, with holdings by Bruce Nauman, Marina Abramović, Robert Rauschenberg, Sol LeWitt, Paul McCarthy, Ed Ruscha, Tracey Emin, Nicolás Guillén-López, and Wifredo Lam. Works by conceptual artists like Joseph Kosuth, Hannah Wilke, On Kawara, and Lawrence Weiner coexist with pieces by contemporary practitioners such as Tauba Auerbach, Cecilia Vicuña, Kara Walker, Isa Genzken, Theaster Gates, Olafur Eliasson, and Hélio Oiticica. The collection also includes photography and film by Diane Arbus, Nan Goldin, Andreas Gursky, Bill Viola, Christian Marclay, and William Klein.

Exhibitions and Programs

Exhibition programming has ranged from monographic surveys to thematic group shows and commissions, featuring artists like Louise Bourgeois, Cindy Sherman, Ethan Cohen, Edgar Arceneaux, Teresa Margolles, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and Gustavo Ponce. The museum has organized collaborations and loan exhibitions with institutions such as the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Dubai Art Season, while participating in international events including the Venice Biennale, Documenta, Frieze Art Fair, Art Basel, and Bienal de São Paulo. Public event series intersect performance, screenings, and music, engaging practitioners like Thalia F!, Carsten Nicolai, and curators linked to ICA London, Serpentine Galleries, and the Walker Art Center.

Education and Public Engagement

Educational initiatives include guided tours, school partnerships with institutions like the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Universidad Iberoamericana, and Tecnológico de Monterrey, youth workshops modeled on programs at the Tate Modern and MoMA PS1, and scholarly residencies akin to those at the Getty Foundation and Schaulager. Public programming incorporates artist talks, panel discussions with curators from the Museum of Modern Art, National Gallery of Art, and Centre Pompidou, and outreach targeting communities in Miguel Hidalgo and greater Mexico City, in dialogue with cultural policies from entities such as the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes.

Governance and Funding

The institution is administered by Fundación Jumex Arte Contemporáneo under the direction of Eugenio López Alonso and a board of trustees that engages advisors from Mexican and international museums, foundations, and galleries including representatives from the Guggenheim Foundation, Museo Tamayo, Museo Rufino Tamayo, and private donors associated with Grupo Jumex. Funding comes from private endowment, corporate sponsorship linked to Grupo Jumex, philanthropic partnerships with organizations like the Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, and revenue from ticketing, venue rentals, and the museum shop, following models used by the Guggenheim Museum, Fondation Cartier, and the Broad. The governance structure emphasizes collection stewardship, loan agreements with museums worldwide, and compliance with conservation standards set by bodies like the International Council of Museums.

Category:Museums in Mexico City