For the first time in Europe, key works by 76 Latin American women artists are being brought together at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn. The exhibition “Vanguardistas: 100 Years of Latin American Women Artists” brings together works originating from countries ranging from Argentina to Mexico. Iconic figures such as Frida Kahlo, Leonora Carrington, Lygia Clark, and Ana Mendieta are featured alongside women who have been forgotten for decades.
Between New Beginnings and Exile
The range is vast: from representatives of the first academies for female students in the late 19th century to artists who fled to Latin America in the 1930s and 1940s to escape persecution by the Nazis, to those who went into exile beginning in the 1970s due to dictatorial regimes, such as Cecilia Vicuña. Their works tell of artistic and social changes, personal experiences, political circumstances, and cultural identities. In doing so, they draw on a wide variety of media, techniques, and cultural traditions.
The works on display reveal how closely artistic developments are linked to social change. The exhibition highlights the ways in which female artists continue to provide impetus for change.
