The journey through Mexico City never ends, but somewhere it has to start again. In this case, that day last month it began at the Rufino Tamayo Museum, an architectural gem by Abraham Zabludovsky and Teodoro González, inaugurated in 1981 to house the collection - although it is never permanently exhibited - of the great Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo and his wife Olga. Tamayo never wanted the center to become a mausoleum for his creations and, like Joan Miró with his foundation in Barcelona, he prioritized that the most radical works that were being developed during the present moment around the world be exhibited in its spaces. The truth is that the interesting proposals of this facility never cease to surprise both our own and strangers, despite the impasse during the change of Mexican government that has temporarily halted some projects and it seems that the new federal government does not have a touchstone in culture.
During the visit, thanks to the kindness of Ana Sampietro -coordinator of exhibitions together with the Catalan Lena Solà Nogué-, a Mexican with Catalan and Basque relatives, we discover the radicalism and commitment of the Filipino artist Daniel Medalla. From his homosexual activism, he manages to revolutionize, shake up many sectors of Philippine society. His praxis leads him to investigate with painting, drawing, photography, textiles, performance, a transdisciplinary artist in full swing. But the museum also hosts a retrospective proposal by the Brazilian artist Paulo Nazareth (Brazil, 1977) who delves into the "art of behavior" where he questions Latin American identity and delve into racial economy and the debate on colonial issues. I also visit a collective entitled "Otrxs Mundxs" which gives a global vision of Mexican artists based on the concept of using the museum's infrastructure as a material for artistic research. And to finish, of course, a small exhibition of engravings on the theme of women by Rufino Tamayo, with a captivating expressionist and telluric touch.
Once all the exhibitions are over, a couple of surprises: a visit to the museum's reserves (warehouses), where we see a large painting by Antoni Tàpies that the Mexican artist had in the living room of his house - the Tamayo-Tàpies relationship had a long and intense history and I don't think it has been investigated enough. And a visit to the center's documentary archive, where the memory of how the facility was built is kept, as well as all the works of art that are kept in custody. In short, an enjoyable visit and kindness in the treatment by the Tamayo team.
The tour, however, does not end there. A few meters from the Tamayo Museum, we will discover the works hidden in the Museum of Modern Art (MAM), inaugurated in 1964, basically the best and most important of Mexican art of the 20th century. A museum that was the reference in contemporary art for decades until the Tamayo appeared, which took over in contemporary art in the 80s. The architectural project was designed by Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and Rafael Mijares. The truth is that it was a pleasure to see the most emblematic works of Remedios Varo (the artist born in the English town of Girona, Spanish exile and of Mexican heritage) and those of Frida Kahlo.
For me, the most interesting works in the museum, although we cannot underestimate the paintings of the great Mexican muralists such as Orozco, Rivera and Siqueiros, are those by Varo and Kahlo, for their poetry and creative power, they become a tsunami of fresh air and reveal unknown dreams. The work “Las dos Fridas (1939)”, which has become an icon, cannot leave anyone indifferent. I also loved and surprised the photographs by Manuel Álvarez Bravo. It must be said that the museology would need a conceptual update, a simplification, as well as on the upper floor, where there are works from the last decade of the 20th and 21st century, a more careful selection and arrangement. But things are as they are and a visit to these two nuclear facilities of Mexican art are and must be unavoidable to understand and enjoy the enjoyment and drama of the artistic fact of a place and a time.