What: Preview and dinner for the exhibition Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism, 1910–1950.
Where: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
The scoop: A few days before the opening of the landmark exhibition highlighting the development of modern art in Mexico, MFAH patrons and guests, including Mexican ambassador to the United States Gerónimo Gutiérrez Fernández, gathered for a first look followed by a seated dinner catered by City Kitchen. MFAH director Gary Tinterow lauded the exhibition as a way to strengthen ties between the United States and Mexico during these turbulent political times.
"Earlier this evening, we were speaking about the political climate, and I said to one of my Mexican colleagues, 'Let's build bridges and not walls,' " Tinterow told the audience. "And he responded, 'Walls are for hanging paintings.' And I couldn't agree more."
In his remarks, Gutiérrez noted that the exhibition of more than 175 works from major Mexican artists of the early-to-mid 20th century is a "wonderful example of cultural diplomacy" and "is a better way to show what Mexico and the United States can do when they work together."
The exhibition, which was originated by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, with additional works from the MFAH and private collectors under the direction of curator of Latin American art Mari Carmen Ramírez, reinforces the MFAH's long-held plan for an ambitious program in Houston to study Latin American art in North America, Tinterow said. "In my opinion, the only school of art in the first half of the 20th century that rivals the quality, prominence, and international influence of the School of Paris is the School of Mexico," he added.
Also addressing the crowd were Lidia Camacho, director general of Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, on behalf of collectors who had lent works to the exhibition, and Hong Ogle, Houston market president at Bank of America, the exhibition's national sponsor.
The exhibition will remain on display at the MFAH through October 1.
Who: Seen in the crowd were Consul General of Mexico Oscar Rodríguez Cabrera, host committee co-chairs Isabel and Ignacio Torras, Miguel Fernández Félix, Manuel Reyero, Marilyn Oshman, Nancy and Rich Kinder, Anne Duncan, Frank Hevrdejs, Lisa and Downing Means, Laurie and Reed Morian, Cathy and Alex López Negrete, Daniela and Manolo Sánchez, Leslie and Brad Bucher, Mary Cullen, Clare Glassell, Jeanie Kilroy Wilson and Wally Wilson, and Joanna and Rusty Wortham.
Ignacio Torras, Isabel Torras, Joanna Wortham, Rusty Wortham.
