Throughout Mexico City, José (1909–2002) and Tomás (1914–2001) Chávez Morado collaborated to create massive integrated architectural artworks during the modern building boom. Their most famous work is the exuberant carved relief adorning the iconic bronze columnar fountain on the patio of the Museo Nacional de Antropología. The Annenbergs admired the fountain and its carved narrative depicting the history of Mexico during a visit to Mexico City in 1967. Upon their return
The Sunnylands exhibition, Carved Narrative: Los Hermanos Chávez Morado, celebrates the Sunnylands column—a collaborative architectural work of the brothers celebrates the Sunnylands column—a collaborative architectural work of the and explores the artists’ studio work and individual careers through José’s paintings and Tomás’ sculptural work. This marks the debut exhibition of both brothers’ work outside of Mexico.
Back cover
Detail of La Tuerta, José Chávez Morado Photo by Lance Gerber, 2016 Sunnylands Collection Back flap
Detail of Imploración, Tomás Chávez Morado Photo by Lance Gerber, 2016 Sunnylands Collection Under back flap
Detail of Nocturno en el Atrio, José Chávez Morado Photo by Lance Gerber, 2016 Sunnylands Collection
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© 2017 The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Design by JCRR Design.
Author photo by Maggie Smith
Anne Rowe has curated numerous Sunnylands exhibitions at the Sunnylands Center & Gardens since its opening in 2012. A graduate of the museum master’s program at Harvard University, Rowe manages the collections and archives as well as the exhibition program in her role as the Director of Collections and Exhibitions at Sunnylands. Rowe previously held positions at Boston’s Copley Society of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
CARVED NARRATIVE: LOS HERMANOS CHÁVEZ MORADO
Sunnylands is honored to have been selected to participate as an affiliate partner in the Getty Museum initiative, Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA. More than seventy southern California museums and cultural institutions have each focused on some aspect of Latin American and/or Latino art and how that work intersects with the greater Los Angeles area. A collective of these exhibitions officially launches September 2017 and continues through January 2018. The Sunnylands program celebrates PST: LA/LA from September 14, 2017 through June 3, 2018.
The soaring, 40-foot bronze columnar fountain adorning the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City captured the imaginations of Walter and Leonore Annenberg while they toured Mexico City in 1967. The couple contacted the famed Mexican architect of the museum, Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, and brokered a commission for a half-scale fountain of the same design to complement their Mayan-themed estate in Rancho Mirage, California. The artists José and Tomás Chávez Morado created both columns.
to Rancho Mirage, they commissioned a second fountain made by the brothers for installation at the entrance to their home at Sunnylands. This exhibition expands the understanding of the brothers’ work; thirty-seven sculptures and paintings representing the brothers’ individual work. This catalog tells the fascinating story of the Annenbergs’ search for a fountain for Sunnylands and their discovery of the work of the Chávez Morado brothers.
The brothers Chávez Morado were among a group of elite artists working with architects as part of Mexico City’s midcentury renaissance. Their work was in high demand by Mexico’s blue-chip modernist architects who sought their murals, carvings, mosaics, and sculptural bronze adornments to complement their sleek modern buildings. Many of Mexico’s notable architects in post-revolutionary Mexico incorporated pre-Hispanic iconography into their contemporary buildings. This fusion of modern architecture and ancient symbolism paralleled the design aesthetic of Sunnylands. The carved relief adorning the Sunnylands column depicts the history of Mexico from its Mesoamerican past, independence from Colonial rule and revolution, to a postrevolutionary thriving modern Mexico. Walter Annenberg admired the column specifically because of the thought-provoking depiction of Mexico’s fascinating history.
CARVED NARRATIVE: LOS HERMANOS CHÁVEZ MORADO
Cover
Detail of Pensativa, Tomás Chávez Morado Photo by Lance Gerber, 2016 Sunnylands Collection Front flap
Detail of La Muerte de un Danzante, José Chávez Morado Photo by Lance Gerber, 2016 Sunnylands Collection Under front flap
Detail of El Secreto, Tomás Chávez Morado Photo by Lance Gerber, 2016 Sunnylands Collection