"The Flower Vendor (Girl
with Lilies)," Diego Rivera, 1941.
PASADENA, CALIF. - The exhibition "Artistic Exchange: Works by
Mexican and Californian Artists," on view at the Norton Simon
Museum to September 8, presents approximately 20 paintings, works
on paper and photographs by prominent Twentieth Century artists
associated with Mexico and California.
Mexican artists represented include Diego Rivera (1886-1957),
Manual Alvarez Bravo (1902-2002), Alfred Ramos Martinez
(1902-2002) and Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991). California artists
featured include Millard Sheets (1907-1989), Edward Weston
(1886-1958), Leo Katz (1887-1940) and Maxine Albro (1903-1966).
This assemblage complements the major exhibition, "From Europe to
California: Galka Scheyer and the Avant-Garde," currently on view
to September 8.
All of the works presented in the exhibition reflect the cultural
exchange and travel between Mexico and California that flourished
during the first half of the Twentieth Century. Artists included
in "Artistic Exchange" worked to establish themselves in either
locale while mutually benefiting from the culture and landscape
their selected location offered. Subjects and styles that
characterized both groups of artists' work include pictorial
depictions of the working class, natural landscapes and an
interest in abstraction.
Exhibition highlights include works by two of Mexico's most
significant muralists: "The Flower Vendor (Girl with Lilies),"
1941, by Diego Rivera, and Alfredo Ramos Martinez's ink and
charcoal on paper "Men Without Liberty," no date.
Also on display are three works by Rufino Tamayo, known for his
use of color and vivid expressions of reality, and nine
photographs by Manuel Alvarez Bravo, including "Ancient Crypt of
Rouen," 1960.
California artists (including Edward Weston and Millard Sheets)
also figure prominently in the exhibition. Two photographs by
Weston in the exhibit provide examples of the subjects that
interested him during his travels through Mexico. "Women of
Guatemala" by Millard Sheets demonstrates a similar
preoccupation. Both artists found inspiration in the styles,
practices and locale of the artists responsible for the Mexican
Renaissance.
The museum is on the corner of Orange Grove and Colorado
Boulevards, and is open every day except Tuesday, from noon to 6
pm and noon to 9 pm on Friday. Admission is $6. For information,
626-449-6840, or nortonsimon.org.
