Burlington House
Mexico: A Revolution in Art, 1910 – 1940, will examine the intense thirty year period of artistic creativity that took place in Mexico at the beginning of the twentieth century. The turmoil of the revolution between 1910 and 1920 ushered in a period of profound political change in which the arts were placed centre stage. Often referred to as a cultural renaissance, artists were employed by the Ministry of Public Education on ambitious public arts projects designed to promote the principles of the revolution.
The exhibition will explore this period both in terms of national and international artists. Work by significant Mexican artists, such as Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros, will be placed alongside that of individuals who were affected by their experiences in Mexico. These include Josef Albers, Edward Burra, Philip Guston, Marsden Hartley, Paul Strand, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Henrietta Shore, Leon Underwood, Tina Modotti and Edward Weston. 'Mexico: A Revolution in Art, 1910 – 1940' will reveal a dynamic and often turbulent cultural environment that included some seminal figures of the twentieth century reflecting on their interaction with each other and their differing responses to the same subject: Mexico.