Tag: rivera

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Diego Rivera (1886-1957)

Diego Rivera, a striking presence in the realm of 20th-century art, was an active painter for fifty years from 1907 to 1957. Of Mexican origin, Rivera spent a substantial portion of his adult life not only in Europe and the United States, but in his hometown of Mexico City as well. Initially experimenting with Cubism before fully embracing Post-Impressionism, his distinct style and outlook are unmistakably his own. An ardent Marxist, he was deeply involved in politics and joined the Mexican Communist Party in 1922. In the 1930s, he opened his home in Mexico City to Russian exile Leon Trotsky and his wife. Living in tumultuous times and leading a tempestuous existence, Diego Rivera, renowned for his Marxist beliefs, remains a countercultural icon of the 20th century. Along with Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara and a select group of contemporaries, he has forged a lasting legacy in the world of art, continuously sparking the imagination and intellect.

www.ftn-books.com has several boos on Rivera and his wife Frida Kahlo now available.

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Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo (2)

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With a love story as colourful as their shared aesthetic, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo’s relationship began as a teacher-student romance. Drawn together by a common interest in communist politics, a love of painting and an utmost respect for one another’s work, the pair married in 1929. Ten years later, they divorced after it was revealed that Rivera had an affair with Kahlo’s sister, Cristina. True love never fails, though, and the dynamic duo rekindled their marriage one year later. Despite being lauded as Mexico’s greatest living artist, Rivera always viewed his wife as more talented than himself. Their relationship lasted until Kahlo’s death in 1954, an event which her partner described as the most tragic moment of his life.    several titles of both artists are available at www.ftn-books.com

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José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913)

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You can not write about Posada without thinking of Manuel Manilla, his artistic mentor. Both are extremely important for the development of Modern Art in Mexico. He has been a great influence to Diego Rivera. I am still searching for the reason why van Gennep published 2 very important monographic titles on Manilla and Posada. Is it interest or because of the worldwide reach of these publications that he thought these were interesting?….i really do not know.

Academics have estimated that during his long career, Posada produced 20,000 plus images for broadsheets, pamphlets and chapbooks. Posada was studied by key figures of Mexican muralism. Mural artists inspired by Posada, such as Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco catered to a Mexican elite that rejected foreign styles as part of their new-found bourgeois taste.

Posada is now a part of the Mexican art legacy and just a quick look into the book that is now for sale at www.ftn-books.com shows immediately why his art is timeless and a part of the Mexican folklore.

posada messenger

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Gabriel Orozco (1955)

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Yes ….it takes time to appreciate the works by Gabriel Orozco, but fortunately we have had the chance to experience his works on several occasions including the exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential contemporary artists of his generation. Employing a diverse practice that includes installation, sculpture, painting, and video, Orozco’s work is characterized by its focus on reinterpreting everyday objects: in his seminal La DS (1993), the artist cuts out the middle third of a Citroën car, resulting in an object that is at once familiar and totally alien. “What is most important is not so much what people see in the gallery or the museum,” he has said, “but what people see after looking at these things, how they confront reality again.” Born on April 27, 1962 in Jalapa, Veracruz, his father was the Mexican muralist Mario Orozco Rivera. Through him, the younger Orozco was exposed to the world of galleries and artists at a young age, and he went on to study at the Circulo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. He has been the subject of several major exhibitions, notably including a 2009 mid-career retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art in New York which went on to travel to the Kunstmuseum Basel, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and finally the Tate Modern in London in 2011.

Only one monographic publications on Orozco is available at www.ftn-books.com, but his importance is growing every year and he has participated in some major exhibitions which catalogues are available too.

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