Museum
gains valuable modern art donations
By Christine G. Adamo
On-line Forty-Niner
Contemporary
Latin American artwork valued at approximately
$500,000 was donated to the Museum of Latin
American Art in Long Beach.
“I am so excited,” Alex Slato, deputy director
of the MoLAA, said.
He helped pull the collection together.
“The exhibit is full of color, movement,
importance and information.” Slato said.
Slato said he spent much of the last three
months securing the pieces, which reflect
contemporary Latin American artists’ impressions
of the countries they live and work in.
More than a half-dozen countries, from Argentina
to Venezuela, are represented in the display.
“This work serves as a hot flash of what’s
going on,” Slato said. “It gives you an
idea of what the artists are doing, seeing
and feeling right now.”
Artists and private collectors donated a
total of 55 pieces.
Slato said a donation of this size will
greatly enhance the museum’s permanent collection
and generate greater awareness of its function
within the contemporary Latin American art
world.
“The pieces are very fresh,” Slato said
of the timeliness of the addition. “They
were done within the last six months.”
“They’re hot off the easel,” Susan Golden,
director of public and media relations,
said.
The collection consists of works by Williams
Carmona of Cuba, Perez Celis of Argentina
and of Vladimir Zabaleta of Venezuela. Dario
Ortiz donated a trio called “Colombian Crime
Scenes,” a series that came straight off
an exhibit in Munich, Germany.
Ortiz’ pieces are small but, like other
political pieces that were donated, carry
great impact and were well received in Europe,
Slato said.
The collection as a whole crosses many genres
with forays into realism, imperialism, the
abstract, optical art, and “concretismo.”
Slato said. Concretismo, translated as “concrete”
art, emerged out of Columbia and takes form
in geometric sculpture created with traditional
building materials.
The MOLAA is located downtown, in the East
Village Arts District, at 628 Alamitos Ave.
It is known as the only museum in the West
that represents, exclusively, contemporary
Latin American artists.
Operating hours are 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tuesday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. The
museum is closed Mondays.
Student discounts are available and free
admission is ongoing for patrons who choose
to visit the museum on Fridays. There is
a museum store on site. Additional information
can be obtained by going to molla.com.
The museum will present a symposium Saturday
to teach people to collect and evaluate
Latin American art. The symposium is from
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and it is $100 per
person.
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