Chosen Memories: Contemporary Latin American Art from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Gift and Beyond

April 30 – September 9, 2023

The Museum of Modern Art

Chosen Memories: Contemporary Latin American Art from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Gift and Beyond a major exhibition that gathers approximately 65 works by Latin American artists who, over the last four decades, have looked at history as the source material for new work. On view in the third-floor Robert B. Menschel Galleries, this exhibition focuses on late-20th and early-21st century artworks from the transformative gifts made by the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros to the Museum over the last 25 years. Videos, photographs, paintings, and sculptures are presented in dialogue with MoMA’s extensive Latin American collection, recent acquisitions, a new commission, and select loans. Chosen Memories features works by approximately 40 artists from different generations working across Latin America over the last four decades, including Alejandro Cesarco (Uruguay), Regina José Galindo (Guatemala), Mario García Torres (Mexico), Leanrdo Katz (Argentina), Suwon Lee (Venezuela), Gilda Mantilla (Peru) and Raimond Chaves (Colombia), Cildo Meireles (Brazil), Rosângela Rennó (Brazil), Mauro Restiffe (Brazil), and José Alejandro Restrepo (Colombia), among others.

Organized by Inés Katzenstein, Curator of Latin American Art and Director of the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Research Institute for the Study of Art from Latin America; with Julia Detchon, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Drawings and Prints.

Major funding for the exhibition is provided by The International Council of The Museum of Modern Art.

Additional support is provided by the Annual Exhibition Fund. Leadership funding for the Annual Exhibition Fund, in support of the Museum’s collection and collection exhibitions, is generously provided by the Sandra and Tony Tamer Exhibition Fund, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Jerry I. Speyer and Katherine G. Farley, Eva and Glenn Dubin, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, Anne Dias, Kenneth C. Griffin, Alice and Tom Tisch, the Marella Giovanni Agnelli Fund for Exhibitions, Mimi Haas, The David Rockeffeller Council of The Museum of Modern Art, Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis, and Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder. Major contributions to the Annual Exhibition Fund are provided by Emily Rauh Pulitzer, The Sundheim Family Foundation, and Karen and Gary Winnick.

The Bloomberg Connects digital experience is made possible through the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Press Kit

Images

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Leandro Katz. Tulúm, after Catherwood [The Castle], 1985. Gelatin silver print, 16 × 20″ (40.6 × 50.8 cm). Promised gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros through the Latin American and Caribbean Fund in honor of May Castleberry. © 2022 Leandro Katz

Cildo Meireles. Fio (Thread), 1990-95. 48 bales of hay, 1 18-carat gold needle, 100 meters of gold thread. Dimensions variable, approximately 7′ 1″ x 6′ 1 1/16″ x 72″ (215.9 x 185.5 x 182.9 cm). Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros. © Cildo Meireles

Rosângela Rennó. Wedding Landscape, 1996. Gelatin silver negatives and acrylic, 44 3/4 × 58 1/2 × 1/2″ (113.7 × 148.6 × 1.3 cm). Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros through the Latin American and Caribbean Fund in honor of Sarah Hermanson Meister. © 2023 Rosângela Rennó

Mauro Restiffe. Empossamento #8 (Inauguration No. 8), 2003. Gelatin silver prints, 14 1/2 × 22″ (36.8 × 55.9 cm) each. Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros through the Latin American and Caribbean Fund in honor of Barry Bergdoll. © Mauro Restiffe

Mauro Restiffe. Empossamento #9 (Inauguration No. 9), 2003. Gelatin silver prints, 14 1/2 × 22″ (36.8 × 55.9 cm) each. Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros through the Latin American and Caribbean Fund in honor of Barry Bergdoll. © Mauro Restiffe

Thiago Rocha Pitta. Herança (Heritage), 2007. 16mm film transferred to video (color, sound), 11 min. Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros through the Latin American and Caribbean Fund in honor of Sebastián Cisneros-Santiago. © Thiago Rocha Pitta

Mario García Torres. Je ne sais si c’en est la cause (I Don’t Know if it is the Cause), 2009. Fifty-eight 35mm color slides, two vinyl LPs. Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros through the Latin American and Caribbean Fund in honor of Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy. © 2023 Mario Garcia-Torres

Elena Damiani. Fading Field No. 1, 2012. Inkjet print on silk chiffon with wooden frame and black wall, 69 3/4 × 52 7/8″ (177.2 × 134.3 cm). Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros through the Latin American and Caribbean Fund in honor of Mimi Haas. © 2023 Elena Damiani

Portrait of Inés Katzenstein, Curator of Latin American Art and Director of the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Research Institute, The Museum of Modern Art. © 2023 The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Photo: Peter Ross

Installation view of Chosen Memories: Contemporary Latin American Art from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Gift and Beyond, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, April 30–September 9, 2023. Photo: Jonathan Dorado