The female body is the theme of the 125th birth anniversary celebrations for Mexican artist Tamayo. The exhibition Women: Rufino Tamayo, features atypical representations of the female body in Mexican art. The exhibition is a significant part of the activities planned to celebrate the painter, muralist, and engraver’s birth anniversary on August 25.
Tamayo’s unconventional depiction of women is derived from the ancient cult’s liturgical forms, celebrating the primitive force of fertility. He also drew inspiration from the grace of toys that Indian children play with, as noted in a study by Juan Carlos Pereda on the artist’s graphic work and lithographs series on the naked female body.
The National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (Inbal) is preparing 125 activities in honor of Tamayo, one for each year since his birth in 1899 in Oaxaca de Juárez. The events include exhibitions, calls, academic and research forums, performing arts, artistic training, and museum mediation.
The Women portfolio, printed by Tamayo at the Taller Mourlot in Paris in 1969, forms the central part of the exhibition, curated by Pereda. The female bodies depicted in the series are inspired by pre-Hispanic sculpture, Mexican popular art, and the European avant-garde of the mid-20th century.
The lithographs were initially created for the Casa Touchstone and Co in New York and later exhibited at the Misrachi gallery in Mexico City and other galleries in the United States. According to a 2004 study, Tamayo’s paintings have a profound humanistic sense and an aesthetic value beyond market price, and are best appreciated in museums and cultural institutions.
Following his studies at the National School of Fine Arts, Tamayo found significant inspiration in pre-Hispanic and popular art pieces at the National Museum of Archaeology, History, and Anthropology, where he worked as a draftsman. His fascination with pre-Columbian heritage led him to distance himself from the nationalist vision of the three great muralists of the time.
Throughout his career, Tamayo has been one of the most admired painters, known for his technical and aesthetic excellence. He contributed a novel and purposeful language and is highly valued in international auctions. The 125th anniversary of his birth is a significant event this year.
In addition to the exhibition, a dance tribute to Tamayo’s legacy is also being prepared with the project The shadow of dawn. The performance incorporates themes, colors, and concepts from Tamayo’s extensive pictorial universe, offering a ritualistic and poetic view of indigenous cosmogony.
The Metropolitan Autonomous University kicked off the Tamayo celebrations in January with the exhibition The metamorphosis of color. The exhibition invited artists to create 33 sculptures shaped like a slice of watermelon, a fruit often featured in Tamayo’s canvases. The resin pieces measure 2 meters wide by 1.55 meters high and showcase Mexican landscapes.
The exhibition Women: Rufino Tamayo will open at the Tamayo Contemporary Art Museum on November 28.