Fantasy and experimentation:
modern and contemporary Latin American art
[18 de agosto de 2021]
Since ancient times, artists in Latin America have returned again and again to themes of fantasy and the unconscious world. The works in this room show modern artists’ visions of humans, nature, animals, and monsters often coexisting in fantastic ways.
In the 1920s, many Latin American artists traveled to Europe and encountered a vanguard group known as the Surrealists, whose explorations of the borderline between consciousness and unconsciousness led them to new methods of creation. With the onset of World War II, many Latin American artists returned home, and many European artists followed them. This movement of people and ideas opened doors to cultural exchanges and gave artists new opportunities to explore Surrealist ideas in the Latin American context.
Throughout Latin America, Surrealism’s tenets still inspire contemporary artists, who now use new media such as video, to continue exploring the frontiers between reality and fantasy.
(texto relativo à exposição “Fantasy and experimentation: modern and contemporary Latin American art”, no Denver Art Museum, nos Estados Unidos, aberta em outubro de 2021)