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| Salón de la Plástica Mexicana | |
|---|---|
| Name | Salón de la Plástica Mexicana |
| Established | 1949 |
| Location | Mexico City |
| Type | Art museum |
Salón de la Plástica Mexicana is a Mexican institution and exhibition venue dedicated to promoting visual arts and artists associated with 20th- and 21st-century Mexican art. Founded in the mid-20th century, it has functioned as a meeting point for practitioners linked to movements such as Mexican muralism, muralismo, the Generación de la Ruptura, and contemporary practices. The organization has hosted exhibitions, workshops, and publications that connect artists with institutions, collectors, and the public.
The institution emerged in the context of post-Revolutionary cultural policy shaped by figures like José Vasconcelos, Lázaro Cárdenas, and Manuel Ávila Camacho and alongside institutions such as the Museo Nacional de Arte, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura, and the Academia de San Carlos. Early founders and supporters included artists and intellectuals linked to Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, Frida Kahlo, and critics and curators aligned with the Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios. During the 1950s and 1960s the venue hosted exhibitions related to events like the X Bienal de Venecia participation of Mexican artists and showed works by members who participated in exchanges with the Museum of Modern Art, Tate Gallery, Guggenheim Museum, and the Museo de Arte Moderno (Mexico City). Political and cultural shifts under administrations like Adolfo Ruiz Cortines and Gustavo Díaz Ordaz influenced funding and exhibition strategies, as did student movements culminating in the Mexican Movement of 1968. The Salón continued adapting through decades marked by exhibitions responding to international currents such as Abstract Expressionism, Surrealism, and Pop Art, and through ties to festivals like the Festival Internacional Cervantino.
The collection reflects works ranging from mural sketches linked to Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros to easel paintings by artists associated with Rufino Tamayo, María Izquierdo, and Remedios Varo. Rotating exhibitions have included retrospectives for figures such as Carlos Mérida, José Luis Cuevas, Rina Lazo, Manuel Rodríguez Lozano, Luis Nishizawa, Rogelio Naranjo, and Joaquín Clausell, as well as thematic shows on printmaking connected to Taller de Gráfica Popular, photography dialogues with Manuel Álvarez Bravo and Graciela Iturbide, and contemporary surveys featuring artists in conversation with institutions like Galería de Arte Mexicano and Galería OMR. Exhibitions often engage with collections from the Instituto de Cultura de México, exchanges with the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, and loans from private collectors who also support foundations like the Fundación Jumex and Fundación Olga y Rufino Tamayo. Curators and critics connected to the venue have included figures associated with Cultura UNAM, CONACULTA, and curatorial projects exhibited at the Bienal de São Paulo and Bienal de La Habana.
Membership has included artists spanning generations: veterans from the muralist era such as David Alfaro Siqueiros-adjacent peers and protégés, mid-century figures like Rufino Tamayo, María Izquierdo, Diego Rivera-circle painters, and later members from the Generación de la Ruptura such as Joaquín Clausell-influenced painters, José Luis Cuevas, Rodolfo Nieto, Arnoldo Coen, and Rina Lazo. The roster also lists sculptors and graphic artists with links to institutions like Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, artists active in collectives such as the Taller de Gráfica Popular, and contemporary practitioners represented in venues like Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo and Museo Tamayo. Other associated names include Frida Kahlo-influenced figures, portraitists and modernists like Gerardo Murillo (Dr. Atl), colorists such as Luis Nishizawa, printmakers like Rina Lazo and Isabel Villaseñor, and younger contemporaries who have shown work in collaboration with international galleries including Kurimanzutto and Proyectos Monclova.
Originally sited in central spaces of Mexico City, the institution has occupied venues in neighborhoods proximate to cultural landmarks such as Centro Histórico (Mexico City), Palacio de Bellas Artes, and the Museo de Arte Popular. The architecture of its exhibition spaces reflects adaptive reuse common in Mexican cultural infrastructure, with galleries comparable in scale to rooms in the Museo Nacional de Arte and annexes that have been reconfigured for site-specific projects and installations akin to those hosted by Museo Tamayo. Exhibition spaces have enabled mural-scale works, print portfolios, and installations, and the venue has participated in citywide culture initiatives alongside Cultura UNAM and municipal programs administered from Secretaría de Cultura offices.
Programming includes workshops, artist talks, guided tours, and printmaking classes connected to traditions from the Taller de Gráfica Popular and pedagogical approaches from the Academia de San Carlos. Educational outreach has collaborated with universities such as Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura programs, and art schools like Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda". Residency and mentorship projects have linked emerging artists with curators who have worked with institutions like the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey and international partners including the British Council and cultural attachés from embassies such as the Embassy of France in Mexico. Community engagement has included print workshops, portfolio reviews, and catalog projects similar to those produced by the Fundación Cultural Televisa and independent publishers collaborating with galleries like Macay.
The institution has shaped trajectories for artists intersecting with movements like Mexican muralism, the Generación de la Ruptura, and contemporary experimental practices, influencing critical reception alongside publications such as those from Letras Libres and exhibition catalogs comparable to releases by Museo de Arte Moderno (Mexico City). It has fostered networks among artists, curators, collectors, and institutions including Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, Museo Tamayo, and international museums like the Museum of Modern Art and Tate Modern. By providing exhibition opportunities, the venue contributed to careers that intersect with prizes and programs such as the Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes, Premio Nacional de las Artes y Ciencias (Mexico), and international biennials such as the Bienal de Venecia and Bienal de São Paulo, and it remains part of the ecosystem linking Mexican visual culture to global art histories.
Category:Art museums and galleries in Mexico City