The exhibition was conceived as a way to bring in a range of voices from across Latin America. The CIFO collection is one of the most renowned collections of Latin American art.

I thought it might be really interesting if we could present works from CIFO’s collection because so many of the artists within the collection are invested in bringing to the surface these long and complicated histories as a way to bring in a range of voices from across Latin America.
Since its founding, the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO) has been instrumental in collecting, exhibiting, commissioning, and championing art from across Latin America. MCA Denver’s presentation Critical Landscapes: Selected Works from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection will feature a range of artists, including more established (Ana Mendieta) to more emerging voices (Oscar Abraham Pabón), and, across two floors, will highlight the many ways in which artists from this region are engaging with the particular histories, materials, and events directly and indirectly inspired by their environment. 

The selection of works also intends to engage with MCA’s concurrent exhibition, Gala Porras-Kim: A Hand in Nature, both directly and indirectly, offering additional and wide-ranging examples of how artists are working with the natural world, using it as material, inspiration and subject matter.

I thought it might be really interesting if we could present works from CIFO’s collection because so many of the artists within the collection are invested in bringing to the surface these long and complicated histories as a way to bring in a range of voices from across Latin America.