Yuchengco Museum is the host of the Manila leg of Mexican Modernity, a touring exhibition of Mexican modern and contemporary art. 40 paintings, drawings, fine art prints, and mixed media works from Mexico’s most prominent artists are featured in the exhibition.
Mexican Modernity highlights artworks from Mexico’s early masters, muralists, women artists, and artists of the La Ruptura and Oaxacan movements. Among the best-known artists on exhibit are Frida Kahlo, Jose Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and Rufino Tamayo. Mexican Modernity illustrates the development of Mexico’s painterly styles and social representations, from the more European-influenced compositions to the predominantly indigenous themes that appeared as Mexico sought to distinguish itself from its Spanish colonial past.
The exhibition is curated by Gregorio Luke, an expert on Mexican and Latin American art and culture, and co-curated by Dr. Florian Knothe, Director of the University Museum and Art Gallery of The University of Hong Kong.
The collection owned by Dr. Richard and Rebecca Zapanta comes to Asia from Los Angeles, California. Dr. Zapanta is a fourth-generation Mexican-American who traces a part of his ancestry to the Philippines. The idea for the traveling exhibition came from his desire to share his Mexican heritage to Filipinos, knowing of the historical Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade that linked the Philippines and Mexico from the 16th to the 19th centuries.
Mexican Modernity: 20th Century Paintings from the Zapanta Mexican Art Collection is presented Yuchengco Museum in partnership with the Embassy of Mexico in the Philippines. The exhibition is supported by the United States – Mexico Cultural and Educational Foundation and is sponsored by Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines, International Container Terminal Services, Inc., and SM Supermalls.
