Rufino Tamayo: Innovation and Experimentation

 Rufino Tamayo (1899 –1991) was a leading  Mexican artist of the 20th century who achieved international acclaim. Though he  was  known primarily for his paintings and murals, he  also created a robust body of  works on paper, which provided an important avenue for formal and technical  innovation. Drawn exclusively from LACMA’s holdings, th e exhibition highlights  Tamayo’s  engagement with printmaking and also includes a selection of  Mesoamerican sculpture (an important source of inspiration for the artist)  from the  museum’s collection. 

About  the Exhibition 

Tamayo  is perhaps best known as a painter and muralist; however, he was also  deeply interested in experimenting with prints and finding a way to add volume and  texture to a traditionally two -dimensional medium.  A unifying thread i n the exhi bition  is Tamayo’s depictions of the human figure, which became progressively more  abstract as he developed what he described as a universal art. Drawn exclusively  from LACMA’s collection, the exhibition features 20 works on paper by Tamayo — including  two  watercolors and 18 prints —and  five  Mesoamerican sculptures. Tamayo  actively collected art from the ancient Americas. He amassed more than  1,300 Mesoamerican works, which now belong to the Museo de Arte Prehispánico  de México Rufino Tamayo in Oaxaca. 

The exhibition features  five  comparable objects from LACMA’s  collection , demonstrating the artist’s  fascination with this material  throughout his long career. An introductory  gallery provides a brief overview of Tamayo’s career, beginning with early wood cuts from the 1920s  and extending  to his large mural size print   

 

Two  Personages Attacked by Dogs  (1983) . The w orks in this section  highlight his  relationship with the Mexican mural movement, his Zapotec heritage, and his initial  engagement with printmaking.  A small selection of Mesoamerican figurines, similar to  those that were a source of formal inspiration for Tamayo’s art, are also featured. The  following galleries  feature etchings , lithographs , and Mixografía prints  (a new  mixed process that allowed the artist to introduce volume and texture to his prints)  created in the 1960s –80s . 

Throughout his career, Tamayo created over 350 prints,  collaborating with workshops in the United States, Mexico, and Europe as he  achie ved increasing international acclaim. H e developed a relationship  with  Los  Angeles, first through a residency at Tamarind Lithography Workshop and later  through  the  Taller de Gráfica Mexicana, which relocated  from Mexico City to Los  Angeles as the  Mixograf ía  Workshop Gallery in the early 1980s.  Works in  these  galleries  focus  on  his exploration of various print processes, leading to his  collaboration with the Taller de Gráfica Mexicana and the development of  the Mixografía  technique . Digital photographs and a video projection  provide a behind- the -scenes look at the making of Tamayo’s Mixografía prints.  A final gallery will be dedicated to  the  student installation creat ed in collaboration  between  Char les White Elementary School students  and  Raul Baltazar.