Nuestra imagen actual | Our Present Image Mexico and the Graphic Arts 1929-1956

The Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) was one of the great social upheavals of the early twentieth century and a remarkable artistic outpouring ensued during the post-revolutionary decades. Printmaking flourished as artists addressed what happened to the ideals of the Revolution. Imagery attacked fascism and imperialism, promoted labor and indigenous rights, and expressed a renewed interest in cultural traditions. The impact of the father of modern Mexican printmaking, José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913), is evident in works that critically interpret historic events, especially through lively skeletons that dramatize social ills. Artists made posters for the masses in Mexico, as well as prints to satisfy a growing audience for “Mexican art” in the United States.

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) and the Portland Art Museum (PAM) are co-organizing Nuestra imagen actual | Our Present Image: Mexico and the Graphic Arts 1929-1956. Curated by Cheryl Hartup, Curator of Academic Programs and Latin American and Caribbean Art at the JSMA, with the assistance Mary Weaver Chapin, Curator of Prints and Drawings at PAM, the exhibition aims to deepen and broaden the understanding and appreciation of the graphic art of post-revolutionary Mexico, a landmark in the history of twentieth-century printmaking and modern art.

The exhibition presents sixty-two lithographs, woodcuts, and wood engravings by twenty-two artists including Elizabeth Catlett, Leopoldo Méndez, José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Rufino Tamayo, Mariana Yampolsky, and other members of Mexico’s world famous Taller de Gráfica Popular or Popular Graphic Art Workshop (est. 1937). The majority of the prints hail from PAM’s exceptional print collection including Siqueiros’ Nuestra imagen actual, a timeless and universal image of subjugation and torture that inspired the title of the exhibition. The JSMA thanks the following lenders to the exhibition for their generosity and support: Portland Art Museum, Seattle Art Museum, Cecily Quintana and Quintana Galleries, Dr. Li Ravicz, and University of Oregon Libraries’ Special Collections. The JSMA greatly appreciates the work of University of Oregon student Wendy Echeverría García on this project. Support provided by Art Bridges, and by members and donors to the JSMA.