FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE CISNEROS FONTANALS ART FOUNDATION (CIFO) AND
THE MUSEO MORELENSE DE ARTE CONTEMPORÁNEO JUAN SORIANO
PRESENT
GUSTAVO PÉREZ MONZÓN: TRAMAS
SELECTED WORKS FROM THE COLLECTION OF ELLA FONTANALS-CISNEROS
Curated by Elsa Vega and René Francisco Rodríguez
June 8, 2018 - September 2, 2018
Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
Gustavo Pérez Monzón, Untitled, 1986. Mixed media on board. 23.62 x 36.22 in (60 x 92 cm)
Miami, Florida (May 9, 2018) – The Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO) is pleased to present Gustavo Pérez Monzón: Tramas, a solo exhibition by the Cuban artist Gustavo Pérez Monzón, opening June 8, 2018 at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Morelense ‘Juan Soriano’ in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Curated by Elsa Vega and René Francisco Rodríguez, Gustavo Pérez Monzón: Tramas brings together nearly 50 works, created between 1979 and the late 1980s, which depict the artist’s practice during the final decade that he lived and worked in Cuba. The exhibition, organized by CIFO and drawn from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection, was previously on view at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, in conjunction with the 2015 Havana Biennial, and the CIFO Art Space in Miami, FL. Gustavo Pérez Monzón: Tramas will be on view through September 2, 2018.
Gustavo Pérez Monzón (b. 1956) belongs to a generation of artists that introduced significant changes to Cuban visual arts, both formally and conceptually. This anthological exhibition traces Pérez Monzón’s career through one of his most prolific periods, in a series of drawings, installations, and site-specific works reflecting Pérez Monzón’s interest in exploring Geometric Abstraction, Abstract Expressionism, and Spatialism. Demonstrating an interest in logic and meaning that runs through his practice, works in the exhibition include Pérez Monzón’s well-known series Tarot (1983, 1985 and 1986)—decks of tarot cards that depict the traditionally representational figures in the deck through abstract, geometric drawings on cardboard—as well as works from his series of drawings Configuration and 15 625 cm3 de relaciones (1981/2015), which derive their internal logic from underlying mathematical principles. The exhibition will also feature emblematic examples Pérez Monzón’s site-specific works, including both Vilos (1981/2015) and Hilos (1984/2015), which form dense matrices of wire and thread, reflecting the artist’s exploration of line and form in space. Each site-specific work will be re-created by the artist for this exhibition.
“In a general sense,” said Gustavo Pérez Monzón, “I created works that function as systems that are supported by a logical order, and at the same time, they can be perceived emotionally with all the arbitrariness and depth that a work of art allows for. The works I made during that period display a certain sensitivity for numerical concepts and simple arithmetic. In numerology, numbers do not express only amounts, they also contain different levels of meaning that make it possible, from an artistic perspective, to establish more complex relationships.”
“I discovered the work of Gustavo Pérez Monzón in 2012 at a gallery in Havana, and was immediately drawn to it,” said Ella Fontanals-Cisneros, founder of CIFO. “Since then I have focused my efforts on tracking down his work, and collecting a wide selection of his remarkable pieces. This exhibition highlights much of Monzón’s career during that period, and I am so pleased that it will be opening in Cuernavaca, Mexico, where the artist currently resides.”
“For the first time in Morelos, the artist Gustavo Pérez Monzón, who has been living in Cuernavaca since 1990 and is one of the emblematic figures for the artistic development of the city is exhibiting a group of works,“ said Andrea Torreblanca, Chief Curator MMAC Juan Soriano. “In addition, he will create the most ambitious version to date of his work Vilos (1981-2015), an imposing and meticulous installation of threads and rocks suspended in space."
Gustavo Pérez Monzón began to gain recognition in the late 1970s, and participated in several group exhibitions including: Pintura fresca; Sano y Sabroso; De lo contemporáneo; and Trece artistas jóvenes, among others. Pérez Monzón’s first solo exhibition, Luna Llena, took place at the Casa de Cultura de Jaruco in 1980. A year later, his Serie A – Serie B was presented at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana, and he was a participant in the legendary 1981 exhibition Volumen Uno. In 1982 he represented Cuba at the Paris Biennial.
In the late 1980s, Pérez Monzón decided to give up painting and began to focus his attention on teaching art. In the early 1990s he moved permanently to Mexico, where he still resides. He was the founder of the Morelense Center for the Arts and A Line of Gis, a space for collaboration between artisans and artists in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
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About the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection (EFC)
Ella Fontanals-Cisneros began collecting art in the early 1970s, with a primary interest in work from Latin America. As the collection has grown and developed, its scope has expanded. What began as the acquisition of works of art for personal enjoyment has matured into an ambitious life project. In a way, there are several collections within the collection. Four main areas of interest have been systematically increasing in recent years: geometric abstraction from Latin America; contemporary international and Latin American art; contemporary video; and modern and contemporary photography.
About the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO)
Ella Fontanals-Cisneros established the non-profit Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO) in 2002. The Foundation's mission is to support and foster cultural understanding and educational dialog among Latin American artists and global audiences. CIFO serves as a platform for emerging, mid-career and established Latin American artists through the Grants & Commissions Program, the CIFO Collection, and other related art and cultural projects in the United States of America and internationally.
For more information about the award recipients, exhibition, and other programs, please visit cifo.org and follow CIFO on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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