Side Gallery

The work of Clara Porset, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Anni Albers, Ruth Asawa, Cynthia Sargent, and Sheila Hicks had never been shown together before. While some of these artists and designers knew one another and collaborated together, they were from different generations, and their individual work encompassed a range of medias varying from furniture and interior design to sculpture, textiles, photography, and prints. There is however a common denominator for these makers: Mexico, the country in which they all lived or worked between the 1940s and 1970s. During this period, they all drove projects that breached disciplinary boundaries and national divides.

Found in Translation: Design in California and Mexico, 1915–1985 was a groundbreaking exhibition that explored the design dialogue between California and Mexico during 1915 and 1985. The exhibition was compiled of four main themes; Spanish Colonial Inspiration, Pre-Hispanic Revivals, Folk Art and Craft Traditions, and Modernism, exploring how modern and anti-modern design movements defined both locales throughout the twentieth century.

Moderno: Design for Living in Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela, 1940–1978 explored how design transformed the domestic landscape of Latin America in a period marked by major stylistic developments and social political changes. Away from the mass destruction of World War II, many Latin American countries entered a period of economic growth in the late 1940s and continuing through the 1950s, which resulted in the modernization of major cities.