MoMA At El Museo: Latin American and Caribbean Art From the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art

On View at El Museo del Barrio
March 5 - July 25, 2004

New York's Premier Latino Cultural Institution in Landmark Collaboration with MoMA to Present More than 150 Significant Works

NEW YORK, January 28, 2004 - In a landmark collaboration between New York's premier institution dedicated to Latino art and culture and the world's foremost museum of modern and contemporary art, El Museo del Barrio and The Museum of Modern Art will present the exhibition, MoMA at El Museo: Latin American and Caribbean Art from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. In 1935, The Museum of Modern Art became the first museum outside of Latin America to collect modern works by artists from this region. This compelling exhibition traces the history of MoMA's acquisitions of Latin American and Caribbean art from the late 1930s to the present, featuring more than 150 seminal works drawn from MoMA's Departments of Painting and Sculpture, Drawings, and Prints and Illustrated Books. MoMA at El Museo will be on view from March 5 through July 25, 2004 at El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street. A full range of educational and cultural programs will accompany the exhibition, including a scholarly symposium, a video marathon, music and dance performances, and a street festival celebration. A press preview will be held on Tuesday, March 2, 2004 from 11 am to 1 pm.

"El Museo is pleased to present this groundbreaking exhibition of Latin American masterworks from the collection of The Museum of Modern Art as part of our 35th anniversary celebration," says Julián Zugazagoitia, Director of El Museo del Barrio. "This collaborative partnership will advance understanding and awareness of these artists and their rich legacy, while furthering El Museo's mission as a premier cultural institution and destination for the city, the nation and the world."

"The Museum of Modern Art has a long history of collecting art from Latin America and the Caribbean, beginning in the 1930s," says Glenn D. Lowry, Director of The Museum of Modern Art, "This exhibition will highlight an important area of our collection within the context of this exciting curatorial and educational collaboration between MoMA and El Museo. We appreciate the opportunity to share our collection with the public during MoMA's period of expansion and renovation in midtown, and are pleased to work with El Museo to attract new audiences to enjoy and understand the significance of Latin American and Caribbean art."

The exhibition is organized jointly by a team of curators from MoMA and El Museo: Miriam Basilio, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Drawings, The Museum of Modern Art; Fatima Bercht, Chief Curator, El Museo del Barrio; Deborah Cullen, Curator, El Museo del Barrio; Gary Garrels, Chief Curator, Department of Drawings and Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art; and Luis Enrique Pérez Oramas, Adjunct Curator, Department of Drawings, The Museum of Modern Art.

Bloomberg is the lead sponsor of this exhibition. Major support is provided by Altria Group, Inc.

For more info visit www.elmuseo.org