Modernists at The MoMA.

• Position: The Museum of Modern Art

AN EXHIBITION revealing the extraordinary range and diversity of nearly eighty years of Latin American art, beginning in 1914 with the early modernists and continuing until the present, opens at The Museum of Modern Art (The MoMA) in New York City on June 6, 1993.

Entitled Latin American Artists of the Twentieth Century, this exhibition includes over 300 works by more than ninety artists, many of whom have never been represented in an international venue. In the past, most European or North American museum surveys of Latin American art have had a regional focus, with an emphasis on cultural identity, the exotic or folkloric. This show focuses on individual artists, with a significant number of works from each. Approximately one-third of the selection is contemporary, including several installation works. Among the artists on view are Fernando Botero, Pedro Figari, Frida Kahlo, Guillermo Kuitca, Wifredo Lam, Matta, Ana Mendieta, Juan Sanchez, Jesus Rafael Soto and Tunga.

The pioneers of Latin American modernism, such as Diego Rivera and Joaquin Torres-Garcia, spent considerable time studying in Europe. Although they used stylistic elements of the European school in the development of their technique, they adapted these elements to the socio-cultural and political climates of their native countries. This is best seen in the case of Mexico, where the Revolution of 1910 had a tremendous impact on the country's artists. The Revolution provided passionate subject matter for Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros, changing forever...