Notes related to Colección

The exhibition with selected works from the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation Collection (CIFO) reflects on both the multidisciplinary practices of Latin American contemporary art and on its diversity as a conceptual frame that is inclusive of a carried universe of voices. It comprises 31 established, mid-career, and emerging artists from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela, and features works of art in multiple media, including painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, video, as well as large-scale multimedia installations. Having debuted at the Cuenca Biennial in 2018, this is the first time this exhibition is presented at an arts institution in the United States.

Curated by Ariel Jiménez, this exhibition is where abstract-geometrical and concrete artists such as Lygia Clark and Tomás Maldonado engage in dialogue with those of artists who, while bordering abstraction, or even clearly abstract in nature, such as Julio Alpuy, Martín Blaszko and César Pasternosto, still bestow their works with a metaphorical and/or symbolic dimension that they consider to be essential. It is also an opportunity to discuss concepts that are not always well-comprehended, such as the difference between geometric abstraction and concrete abstraction, or between works that, while geometric, can work in a radically different manner; some with the plastic autonomy sought by the concrete artist, and others integrating a metaphoric dimension that many Latin American artists consider to be fundamental in maintaining the ties that bind them to the history of the continent.

The Maria and Armando Cabral Collection, the Eulogio Sánchez Collection and the "la Caixa" Foundation Contemporary Art Collection have been awarded on this occasion for their artistic value and work in supporting the dissemination of contemporary art.

The Rafael Tous Collection, donated to MACBA (Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona) just one year ago, is the portrait of a moment and specific artistic practices. A passionate collector linked to the textile world, Rafael Tous opted for conceptual art as a set of plural practices that prioritized the idea and the process over the object. Without speculative intention and in an intuitive way, Tous set up a collection that brings together the attitudes and experimental works of a group of artists with whom, in many cases, he established bonds of friendship, in addition to accompanying them in their artistic growth. Exhibition curated by: Antònia Maria Perelló, curator and head of the MACBA Collection, and Claudia Segura, curator of exhibitions and Collection.