National Museum of Mexican Art - Pilsen

Miradas:  Mexican Art from the Bank of America Collection is a unique survey of one of the most extensive corporate collections in the U.S. and Mexico and takes a close look at the paintings, prints, and photographs created over the past 80 years. The exhibition is curated by Cesáreo Moreno, NMMA Director of Visual Arts and Chief Curator and examines and celebrates work by artists on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, to reveal a variety of cultural aspects as they emerged in the years after the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). Assembled here for the first time and expected to travel to other markets in the coming years, visitors to the Miradas exhibition will have an opportunity to observe how many artists have been attracted to and inspired by Mexico’s ancient civilizations and modern theories alike. Drawn from Bank of America locations across North America, Miradas includes works by many of the best known Mexican modern artists – Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, Gabriel Orozco, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Gunther Gerzso – as well as American artists who worked in Mexico such as Edward Weston, Paul Strand, and Harry Callahan.

Mexicanidad (mĕ•hē•cŏn•ē•dŏdʹ) n. the shared values, customs, beliefs, and aesthetics that unite Mexican communities despite their respective geographic locales

This permanent collection exhibition was first opened to the public in the Museum’s new wing in April 2001. It is a first of a kind permanent display showcasing the Mexican culture from ancient Mesoamerica to the present Mexican experience on both sides of the border.

The five sections of this exhibition – which chronologically span almost twenty-five centuries of Mexican history, from its pre-Cuauhtémoc origins as early as the fourth century B.C.E. to the contemporary era, arguably defined by the influx of Mexican immigrants to the United States – are a visual introduction to the art and culture of the Mexican peninsula.  Through the use of ancient ceramic vessels and fertility figures, popular dress, religious iconography, paintings, posters, and prints, Mexicanidad: Our Past Is Present explores the roots, legacies, and various interpretations of Mexicanidad from the pre-Conquest past to the present day.

Museum Admission: FREE

MUSEUM IS CLOSED ON MONDAYS

For more information: call 312-738-1503