Frames of Reference: Latin American Art from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection
March 14 - June 2, 2013
Opening Reception: March 13, 6-9pm
*Note Date Change
Miami Art Museum will present for the first time a selection of works from the Jorge M. Pérez art collection, gifted to the Museum December 2011. Frames of Reference explores 43 works of Latin American art in the collection through an art historical lens, emphasizing the tremendous creative and conceptual contributions of artists such as José Bedia, Beatriz González, Wifredo Lam, Roberto Matta Echaurren, Diego Rivera, and Joaquín Torres-Garcia, among others. The exhibition is the last in the Museum’s current space and marks the start of its transition to its new Herzog & de Meuron-designed facility in Museum Park. The Museum will reopen as Pérez Art Museum Miami in honor of Pérez’s now $40 million gift of cash and art.
Organized by MAM Chief Curator Tobias Ostrander, Frames of Reference will take visitors through a visual narrative, from scenes of the countryside and folk culture to urban views and the progression toward contemporary abstraction. It will highlight important linkages between artists and genre throughout, helping to knit together important pivot points in the history of Latin American art. The exhibition provides a sampling of the breadth of the Pérez collection, while focusing in particular on some of the most important Latin American works entering the Museum’s permanent collection.
The complete collection of 102 works will be integrated into the Museum’s existing collection and displayed in the new facility, providing audiences with an opportunity to experience the full scope of the gift. Other major works in the collection which will be highlighted at future dates, including works by Antony Caro, Chuck Close and Robert Rauschenberg. Pérez, a long-time advocate for the Museum, donated a portion his extensive art collection―valued at $20 million―to support the Museum’s expanding role as a cultural hub and resource for the Miami community. Works were chosen in collaboration with Collins and Ostrander, based on their vision for the growth of the overall permanent collection and the direction of the Museum’s curatorial and public program.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated book, featuring full-page color images of each work featured in the exhibition alongside comprehensive descriptions. The book will also include a conversation between Ostrander and Pérez and an essay by scholar Elizabeth Cerejido.
Support and Organization
Frames of Reference: Latin American Art from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection is organized by Miami Art Museum and curated by MAM Chief Curator Tobias Ostrander. Support is provided by the SunTrust Foundation.
Related Programs
Opening Reception: Wednesday, March 13, 6-9pm*
Conversation with Jorge M. Pérez and Tobias Ostrander begins 7pm
$10, MAM members free
Miami Art Museum will present for the first time a selection of works from the Jorge M. Pérez art collection, gifted to the Museum December 2011. Jorge M. Pérez and MAM Chief Curator Tobias Ostrander will discuss the development of the collection at 7pm, followed by a cocktail reception. (Space is limited. First come, first seated.)
*Note date change
The opening reception for Frames of Reference is supported by UBS Financial Services Inc. – The Bodner Zubizarreta Group.
Frames of Reference Exhibition Tour with Art Historian Elizabeth Cerejido
Saturday, April 27, 2pm
Miami–based Art Historian Elizabeth Cerejido will lead a walk-through of the current exhibition Frames of Reference: Latin American Art from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection. Cerejido researched the works on view and wrote the essay, “Unraveling Stories from the Jorge M. Pérez collection of American Art,” for the exhibition catalogue. Frames of Reference presents, for the first time, 44 of more than 100 works gifted to the Museum by Jorge M. Pérez. The exhibition is the last in the Museum’s current facility and marks the Museum’s transition to its new Herzog & de Meuron-designed home in Museum Park. Free with museum admission. Space is limited.
In the News
January 7, 2013 - Press Release: "Miami Art Museum Explores Latin American Works From the Collection Gift of Jorge M. Pérez" 
August 10, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal: "A Developer's Latin Focus, Inspired by a Condor" 
December 1, 2011 - Press Release: "Miami Art Museum receives $35 million gift from Miami developer Jorge M. Pérez"
Images (left to right): Beatriz González, Los papagayos, 1987. Oil on heavy paper. Collection Pérez Art Museum Miami, partial and promised gift of Jorge M. Pérez. Reproduced with the permission of the artist. Photo credit: Sid Hoeltzell. Wifredo Lam, La table blanche (The White Table), 1939. Gouache on paper. Collection Pérez Art Museum Miami, partial and promised gift of Jorge M. Pérez. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris. Photo credit: Sid Hoeltzell. Diego Rivera, Still Life, 1908. Oil on canvas. Collection Pérez Art Museum Miami, partial and promised gift of Jorge M. Pérez. © 2012 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo credit: Sid Hoeltzell. Roberto Matta Echaurren, Crucificción (Crois fixtion), 1938. Oil on canvas. Collection Pérez Art Museum Miami, partial and promised gift of Jorge M. Pérez. © 2012 SIAE, Rome / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo credit: Sid Hoeltzell. Joaquín Torres García, Construcción con dos máscaras (Construction with Two Masks), 1949. Oil on paper on canvas. Collection Pérez Art Museum Miami, partial and promised gift of Jorge M. Pérez. © 2012 Fundación Joaquín Torres García, Montevideo, Uruguay. Photo credit: Sid Hoeltzell.
Reproduction, including downloading of ARS represented works is prohibited by copyright laws and international conventions without the express written permission of Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York.
