DEVOTEES: ART AND SPIRITUALITY IN MEXICO

The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) will present more than 35 sculptures and devotional paintings from its collection of Latin American Art. This exhibition focuses on two distinct colonial worship practices: busts, wooden sculptures of saints, and votive offerings, paintings that commemorate personal miracles.

Devotos: Arte y espiritualidad en México y Nuevo México explores the role of religious images and their activation in the spiritual relationships of a community. The works were created in Mexico and New Mexico, between the early nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, and are the product of a history that goes back hundreds of years and that in some societies continue to this day.

"When I started working on this show last spring, I found great comfort in these works," commented Dr. Castro. “Some of them would have received requests for help when their communities faced difficulties, while others represent people who were miraculously saved from danger. I hope that visitors enjoy learning about them and find the same sense of comfort as me. "

As stated by Dr. Castro, organizer of the exhibition, the tradition of Catholic lumps emerged at the end of the 18th century. The exhibition encompasses a variety of styles. One can differentiate the distinctive features of the saints, the artists and the relationship between historical and contemporary statuary. The visitor will be able to enjoy and analyze the “intricately painted” busts of José Benito Ortega and the unpainted bundles of George López.

The votive offerings (exvotos) tell a particular story, a personal miracle. They are small oil paintings on metal, generally on tin. These were commissioned by people to express gratitude for a prayer fulfilled or to beg in exchange for a promise. They combined an illustration with a small writing.

Many of Devoted’s sculptures and paintings underwent analysis and restoration work in preparation for the exhibition. As the title of the exhibition prefigures, this genre of statuary, due to its devotional practice was frequently repaired and repainted due to the constant touch of the faithful.

Devoted will have its place in the Galería de la Torre until January 2, 2022 and will open in conjunction with Frida Kahlo: Five Works. It is worth noting how interesting the relationship between these two samples can be. Frida Kahlo was an artist closely related to the colonial and religious art of her country. Her works reference a lot of Mexican Christian iconography. The great symbolic charge in her work, particularly exvotos, is essential to interpret her work in which she took the archaic features of these. The inverted perspectives and the writing in the painting were characteristics that can be considered "naive" or childish if not intentional on the part of the artist. Kahlo was a pioneering self-taught artist, tied to the popular and admired by Surrealists.

The exhibition is organized by Dr. Mark A. Castro and curator Jorge Baldor and will be opening on February 28.

The curator of Devoted, historian Jorge Baldor (Havana, Cuba) has recently received the OHTLI Award, the highest recognition by the Mexican government for elevating Mexican culture abroad. Previously, in 2018, he was nominated by the Dallas Morning News as “Texan of the Year” (Texan of the Year). Baldor, among many of his activities, founded After8toEducate, a collaborative effort that brings together community engagement, philanthropists, and foundations to address the homeless youth population in North Texas. Jorge has traveled to more than 65 countries and has been an advocate for education and social causes at the local, national and international levels.

Devotees: Art and Spirituality in Mexico and New Mexico

Dallas Museum of Art (DMA)

February 28 - January 2, 2022