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While the Mexican art scene remained and still remains active, most of the art that has followed in the time since the muralists, from the 1950's and 1960's to today, has not been met with comparable visibility or reception. Great artists in the years following, such as painter Jose Luis Cuevas and sculptor Juan Soriano, while well-known, did not attain the prominence the muralists and have been historically overshadowed by them. This overshadowing of contemporary Mexican art continues as Mexican art is consistently underrepresented in the international market. Muralists like Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros are among the only instantly recognizable examples of Mexican artists and art in the world.
Why are the muralists the only widely recognized examples of Mexican art? Who are some of the contemporary Mexican artists active today and what is the current art scene like? In the next sections I will explore and try to answer these questions.
Contemporary Art in Mexico
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Another notable contemporary Mexican artist is Carlos Amorales whose work was also displayed at Art Basel Miami Beach this past December. Amorales, like many contemporary artists, uses various media, but he became well-known in particular for his works regarding "luchadores" or masked Mexican wrestlers. Rafael Lozano Hemmer, an installation artist, and graphic artist Francisco Toledo are also well-known contemporary Mexican artists who round out a handful of contemporary Mexican artists who that have gained international recognition in the art world in the last half century. While these artists may be recognized by the art world as evidenced in articles in the New York Times and other media outlets in recent years, they are mostly unknown to the general public. They have not had enough overwhelming success and visibility to make them household names like the muralists. There are several theories that I have about the reasons for this and I will explore them in the next section.
Issues and Possible Solutions
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