New stage of the Gelman Collection begins at the Museum of Modern Art

The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection, now known as the Gelman Santander Collection, began a new stage in its history last Monday night at the Museum of Modern Art (MAM) with the opening of the exhibition of 68 “emblematic works”, 10 of them by Frida Kahlo, under the title modern portraitsin which this artistic genre stands out.

For Claudia Curiel de Icaza, federal Secretary of Culture, who led the opening ceremony, the fact that this new itinerant stage begins here “ensures that new Mexican generations can encounter fundamental works of our art history.” It means “consolidating a responsible collaboration between public institutions and a private collection with a public vocation.” Likewise, “it reaffirms that artistic heritage, even when it circulates internationally, retains its roots and meaning in the territory and its communities.”

The previous month, Santander bank executives announced that they had reached an agreement with the Zambrano family, from Monterrey, Nuevo León, to manage most of the Gelman Collection of modern art. Members of the Zambrano family were present at the inauguration, as well as Mario Delgado, Secretary of Public Education.

Héctor Grisi, CEO of the Santander Group, indicated that the agreement with the current owners consists of the financial entity assuming the professional management of the collection: “the Santander Foundation has a team with extensive experience in conservation, museum management and international dissemination. With these credentials we have worked hand in hand with the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (Inbal) and the MAM for months to ensure that this new stage lives up to the historical importance of this collection.”

This new stage, he continued, “will allow not only the Mexican public to enjoy these works in spaces like the MAM, but also for the collection to coexist with large international museums.” Grisi recalled that the Gelman Santander is “a Mexican collection that continues to be subject to the legislation and institutional protection of our country, which guarantees, in addition to its adequate conservation, its access and dissemination with responsibility.”

At the end of his stay at the MAM, modern portraits will travel to Spain to inaugurate on June 22 at the Faro Santander cultural center, in Santander.

Continue with the spirit of collectors

According to Marisol Argüelles, director of the MAM and curator of the exhibition together with Carlos Segoviano, presenting it “has allowed us to approach one of the most significant collections of modern Mexican art from a curatorial perspective.” The exhibition is focused on the original core of the Gelman Collection, of 95 works, that the couple gathered between 1941 and 1998. However, “we also consider works that were incorporated into the collection in years after Natasha’s death. This decision responds to the interest of replicating as much as possible the way in which the collection grew, following the spirit of its founders, their aesthetic sensitivity and a personal taste regarding Mexican art.”

An example is photographs. The Gelmans never collected photos, but the exhibition includes pieces by Gabriel Figueroa, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Graciela Iturbide, Lola Álvarez Bravo and Patti Smith. Work that was acquired later.

modern portraits It is organized into four sections: Origins in construction, the invention of a look; A cultural project: from revolution to canon; Constructed presences, portrait choreographies, and Modernities, montage and exploration.

At the end of the formal ceremony, Alejandra de la Paz, head of Inbal, met with the press to clarify doubts and give the details of the collaboration with Santander. Last January, Inbal signed a tripartite agreement with the current owners of the collection and with those who have been designated as “management figure in the face of the possibility of international roaming.” The agreement is valid for five years and can be renewed. Because the exhibition has 28 works that have been declared an Artistic Monument, “Inbal has to ensure that all technical aspects of conservation are met.”

On the other hand, “we will be continually supervising the export permits that are required. In addition, technicians from the National Center for Conservation and Registration of Movable Artistic Heritage will travel to make the required conservation opinions. The last review of the work was carried out a few weeks ago and it is in impeccable condition,” the official noted.

In the case of contemporary works acquired by the previous owner of the collection, “the Inbal museums will receive some on loan, as part of a second stage of the collaboration,” added De la Paz.

The exhibition also includes work by Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, Rufino Tamayo, María Izquierdo, Ángel Zárraga, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Gunther Gerzso and Francisco Toledo.

Modern portraits: Emblematic works from the Gelman Santander Collection It will remain until May 17 at the Museum of Modern Art (Paseo de la Reforma corner with Gandhi, Bosque de Chapultepec First Section.