Sculptural mural by Federico Silva will be restored

The Faculty of Engineering of the National Autonomous University of Mexico began research work to restore the Sculptural mural (1982), by Federico Silva (1923-2022), which is located on the south wall of the Javier Barros Sierra auditorium, in the main building of this faculty.

Authorities of this institution detailed that the General Directorate of Heritage of the UNAM, in collaboration with the General Directorate of Works and Conservation, began the work to collect and analyze the necessary information in order to prepare the technical-economic proposals and give way to the process. Bidding.

This mural is part of the Artistic Cultural Heritage declared by UNESCO in conjunction with the campus and it is estimated that the restoration time required will be 10 to 12 months.

The monumental sculpture, gray in color, with projections in square, rectangular and triangular shapes, which form a visual fusion where architecture and geometry are highlighted, stands on the interior circuit of Ciudad Universitaria.

The work belongs to what is known as plastic integration – a concept that describes the connection between architectural spaces and the plastic arts –, which is why it dialogues with another mural by the same author: History of a mathematical space (1980), which is located inside the main building, and extends across three walls.

“figurations, abstraction, go together, the same in painting, much more so in sculpture. Sculpture demands very precise, very concrete forms. The figuration is what sustains it, physically they are the same thing.

I was very concerned about the third dimension, and the site favoured that discourse. It was like a direct example of what could be said about the movement of people, going up and passing by at random.Federico Silva said about these two works during an interview conducted by Tv UNAM, two months before his death in November 2022.

During a tour carried out by this newspaper, it was noted that although Sculptural mural It retains its dynamism, through the lines and angles of the projections, the passage of time has caused a noticeable deterioration.

The first thing that is observed is the peeling of paint, as well as erosion, cracks and fissures attributable to exposure to light, humidity and temperature changes.

There is also accumulation of dust, traces of paper signs stuck on its surface and even the plaque with its description is no longer there.

Silva, also a Mexican painter and academic, is the author of one of the most important artistic collections in Mexico, a large part of which is located in Ciudad Universitaria. Among his most iconic works are eight rabbit (1980) y The snakes of Pedregal (1986), both sculptures made with volcanic stone, located on the Paseo de las Esculturas, as well as The present death (1988), made with reinforced concrete and located in the University Museum of Contemporary Art.

Part of the sculptor’s artistic creation was gathered in the exhibition Federico Silva, for a university artwhich is exhibited at the UNAM Hoy museum and will be open until September 28.

For Federico Silva, who had the genius to transform a rock from Pedregal into snakes, he brought mathematics to painting and turned a poem into rocks, If a work does not have a philosophical content that supports the form, the form in itself is nothing.he would say in the interview with the university television station.