Hector Ayala Announcement of the New World - “La Anunciación (de un mundo nuevo) Oil On Canvas
“Catharsis is about cleansing and healing at one and the same time healing memories and attitudes, healing the spirit and the heart.” – Desmond Tutu
In 2020, the world experienced disaster on a global scale with the COVID-19 pandemic. March and April lockdowns shaped a new world of isolation, melancholy, restricted travel, closed borders, and barren cityscapes. Underscored with the deaths of family, friends, and strangers from a horrible disease, this frightening period was filled with trauma and sadness. When trying to manage working from home or being an essential worker on the front lines, small moments of peace – from renewed connections with loved ones to extra affection from pets – became vital. Now, we are all attempting to find a “unusual standard”, unfamiliar routine, or abnormal circumstances? as parts of the world start to slowly reopen and return to pre-COVID lifestyles. Amid this reawakening, Catarsis acts as an avenue for reflection on and release from the strains of the last year, connecting lesserknown artworks from the Kimberly Collection with realities faced in 2020. With this selection of bizarre, extraordinary, sometimes uncanny works of art, we hope you will discover scenes and sights you can relate to, finding relief in the process.
First Gallery
Gustavo Montoya La tormenta (The Storm), Undated Oil on canvas
When the United States instituted lockdowns, the first thought on everyone’s mind was to ensure they had enough supplies to keep themselves and their families safe in isolation. The resulting frenzy at stores across the country was not so different from the panic and hurried movements on Montoya’s beach. As the wind pushes against the horses and humans running into the unknown, ominous grey clouds in the distance threaten to release danger they cannot seem to escape.
Once stay-at-home orders were in effect, the kitchen became a busy place, for an inexperienced cooks. When restaurants closed it was necessary to pick up forgotten family recipes and learn or re-learn how to cook for your household. Quiet scenes of meal prep alone or even loud family dinners may have become enjoyable, as many people used the kitchen as a safe place to cope with the stress and anxiety provoked by the outside world.
María E. Figueroa Naturaleza Infinita C.A. (Still Life, Infinite ), 1985 Ink on paper
Valenzuela Tapia Naturaleza muerta con jitomates (Still Life with Tomatoes), 1992 Oil on canvas
Vicente Gandía Jitomates (Tomatoes), Undated Ink on Paper
Second Gallery
Before many countries imposed lockdowns last year, Laville’s barren landscapes and lone airplanes may have seemed unlikely and out of place. Later on, it was normal for beaches to be empty, and airplanes were no longer symbols of escape and travel but reminders of the isolation facing everyone on stay-athome orders. Similarly, after her husband’s death in a plane crash, airplanes became a symbol of loss for the artist, and she would often return to them over the years as she mourned and processed her loneliness.
Joy Laville Gente mirando un avión (People watching an airplane), Undated Ink on paper
Joy Laville Desnudo con retrato en la pared (Nude with picture on wall), Undated Ink on paper
Joy Laville Playa fantasma (Ghost Beach), 1986 Ink on paper
Jesús Martínez Máscara C.A. (Mask ), 1989 Ink on paper Leaving only two holes for the eyes, this mask diverges from the usual face masks that have become a part of our daily garb. Rather than only covering the nose and mouth this dark, twisted fabric obscures and removes almost every trace of human emotion. Masks are necessary for our safety, but they also force us to hide ourselves from each other, making us question what we will need to rediscover about ourselves once masks are no longer needed.
Fourth Gallery
Luis Nishizawa Sin título A.P. 10/XIII (Untitled), 1986 Ink on paper Inspired by the life and poetry of 13th century Aztec ruler Nezahualpilli, Nishizawa tries to bring the words of the king’s only surviving poem, “Song of Nezahualpilli,” to life through a chaotic entangling of human limbs and skulls. While he was known for being a fair and peaceful leader, this poem tells the story of Nezahualpilli in battle, detailing his victory but also highlighting the irony of glory achieved through violent destruction. Nishizawa emulates the stark reality of death, whether it is at the hands of a disease like COVID-19 or a war, by focusing on the feelings of panic, anger, and fear that often accompany a tremendous loss of human life.
José Chávez Morado Mujeres con Vasijas (Women with Vessels), 1985 Ink on paper Returning to his roots as a political printmaker, Chávez Morado depicts the journey many women in rural Mexico and Latin America must make daily to retrieve water for their households. As part of a series featuring everyday activities in Mexico, Chávez Morado illustrates not only weariness after a laboring walk, but also how resolute these women are in supporting their families. It is a reminder that not everyone had the possibility to stay at home during quarantine, having instead to provide for their loved ones.
Fifth Gallery
Leonora Carrington Martes (Tuesday), 1987 Lithograph
Partially hidden from view beyond multicolored squares and cubes, an ethereal woman attempts to step into a new dimension to grasp and control time. Just as women who were front-line workers in grocery stores or hospitals, or working mothers and caregivers, she is holding everyone around her together while trying to make a better world. Her abstract form is both clear in her intentions to move and vague in her bodily form, suggesting she could dissolve at any moment. But until then, she will persevere.
A lifelong lover of animals, Carrington often creates humanoid and animal-like beings in mystical environments, bringing the magical and the surreal to life. For the first time in many urban areas, quarantine made it possible for such a scene to play out, with wild animals suddenly free to roam streets normally full of people. Deer, sheep, boars, birds, and even pumas came out to play, providing small moments of awe and wonder.
Arnaldo Coen Una Pausa para Asir el Tiempo (A Pause to Seize Time), 1989 Acrylic on canvas
Kimberly Collection
The Kimberly Collection, a vision of an American art collector of Mexican modern art in the second half of the 20th Century, was donated to the Mexican Cultural Institute in 1994 by Mr. William Kimberly and Mrs. Elena Guajardo de Kimberly for the viewing and appreciation of the public in the Washington, D.C. area. A fitting representation of modern Mexican art, it contains more than 100 works by visual artists who broke with the school of Mexican muralism pioneered by the likes of Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco. Part of a new generation of artists, this group searched for new means of expression throughout the latter part of the 20th Century. Beginning with the Ruptura and continuing into Neo-expressionism, these and other artistic movements changed the way that art was seen in Mexico. Produced by both native- and foreign-born Mexican artists, the art pieces from The Kimberly Collection highlight the evolution of art in Mexico after Muralism.
CURATORS: Enrique QUIROZ & Brennan UPCHURCH