Mexico City’s oldest art gallery celebrates 90 years – The Art Newspaper

Mexico City’s first commercial art gallery, Galería de Arte Mexicano (Gam), is marking its 90th anniversary with a commemorative group exhibition—and a mariachi celebration last week at Zona Maco.

Located in the leafy San Miguel Chapultepec neighbourhood, Gam kicked off its anniversary celebrations by opening a group exhibition featuring some of the key artists that have come under its wing over the decades. Founded by Carolina Amor in 1935 and soon after led by her sister Inés Amor, the gallery initially promoted Modern Mexican art internationally. Inés Amor, a pioneering woman in a mainly male art world, achieved this primarily through connections with collectors, museums and galleries in the US, where she showcased the diversity of Mexican expressions beyond the Muralist movement.

Over time, a key to the gallery’s survival in the changing art scene—where local and foreign galleries have recently proliferated—has been its ability to reinvent itself and stay relevant by showing the big names like Diego Rivera, Leonora Carrington and Rufino Tamayo alongside contemporary ones like Stefan Brüggemann. “Gam has always strived to stay updated,” says Rafael Yturbe, the gallery’s co-director.

The family-run gallery has changed hands across generations with Mariana Pérez Amor (Inés Amor’s daughter) and Alejandra R. de Yturbe following as owners, and their respective sons Juan Pérez and Rafael Yturbe joining next to Patricia Torres. “The gallery has been my life,” Mariana Pérez Amor says. “That there is a third generation enthusiastically continuing our life passion is the most important aspect for its future.”

The gallery has come to play an integral part in Mexican art history, participating in more than 2,500 exhibitions in Mexico and abroad, including the landmark 1940 International Exhibition of Surrealism. Gam also holds an extensive archive dating back to its founding that contains records of art, artists and exhibitions, serving as an invaluable resource for Mexican and Latin American art.

“Inés had an impressive sense of order; she formulated a cross-referencing system for the gallery which is still being used digitally,” Yturbe says. Additionally, through Sala Gam, an adjacent exhibition space, the gallery exhibits emerging artists—often giving them their first solo shows. Yturbe adds: “Established galleries have signed young artists after showing at Salon GAM, which is a platform for them.”

To mark its anniversary, the gallery has organised three exhibitions, with the first, Sic itur ad astra (“Thus one goes to the stars”), opening during Mexico City’s Art Week in early February. “It has a historical focus, showcasing relevant artists the gallery has supported over time,” Yturbe says. (The gallery is also showing a solo exhibition by Andrea Villalón, an emerging Mexican artist based in London, at its Sala Gam space.)

The group show is also personal: its curator, Daniel Garza Usabiaga, drew inspiration for the title from a phrase Inés’s father would tell the Amor sisters before they started new projects. Usabiaga also looked into Gam’s archive and storage, incorporating some works from their collection and others on loan. A framed note from the renowned Mexican artist Chucho Reyes reads: “For Inés Amor, intelligent and exquisite friend.” The exhibition honours the gallery and the eclectic art produced over time by Mexican artists or those connected to the country, from Rivera and Carrington to María Izquierdo, Gunther Gerzso and Jan Hendrix.

Alongside its programming, Gam was celebrated on its Zona Maco stand during the fair’s VIP preview (5 February), when the fair’s founder Zélika García brought in mariachis and a three-tiered green cake.

Yturbe says the 90-year-old gallery has no plans to slow down or rest on its laurels. Many projects—including a book for the 100th anniversary, digitising the archive, growing the roster of emerging artists and collaborative exhibitions with other galleries—are in the works. He adds: “Local collecting continues to grow, thanks partly to Zona Maco, the parallel fairs and Art Week, which is positive for galleries like ours, the artists and the cultural scene.”

• Sic itur ad astra, until April, Galería de Arte Mexicano, San Miguel Chapultepec, Mexico City