Latin American art: the best of this summer’s shows

Latin American art is in the spotlight this summer: here are five key exhibitions to watch out for. This round-up first appeared in the July/August issue of Apollo.

Piñanona 1 (2013), Gabriel Orozco. Courtesy the artist and kurimanzutto, Mexico City. Photo: Studio Michel Zabé, 2013

Under the Same Sun: Art from Latin America Today
Guggenheim Museum, New York 13 June–1 October

Featuring 37 artists and collaborative duos from 15 countries, among them Gabriel Orozco (pictured) and Javier Telléz, this massive survey explores the many variations of identity and culture in Latin America today. Part of the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative, all the works will enter the museum’s permanent collection when the show closes.

Bichito 89/29 (1989), Gego. Photo: Claudia Garcés / Archivo Fundación Gego

Gego: Line as Object
Henry Moore Institute, Leeds 24 July–19 October

‘Sculpture, three-dimensional forms of solid material. Never what I do!’ declared Gego, the German-born Venezuelan artist who died in 1994. This eye-opening show covers a 30-year period and encompasses works on paper exploring the line in space, as well as more elaborate trailing structures and interlaced pieces.

Parangolé P4 Cape 1 (1964), Hélio Oiticica. Photo: Sergio Zalis

Hélio Oiticica: Propositions
Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin 19 July–5 October

When he died in 1980, the Brazilian artist was at the vanguard of contemporary practice, placing the viewer at the centre of his attempts to free colour from form. In the spirit of Oiticica’s interactive, quasi-shamanic approach, visitors can try on his wearable Parangolés.

Construction in White and Black (1938), Joaquin Torres-Garcia. Photo Coleccion Patricia Phelps de Cisneros

Radical Geometry: Modern Art of South America
Royal Academy of Arts, London 5 July–28 September
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The Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection has outstanding holdings of geometric abstract art, and for this show the Royal Academy has selected works from a 50-year period from the 1930s onwards. A range of styles are on display, including modernist investigations of form (such as Torres-García’s Construction in White and Black of 1938), 1960s kinetic art and other conceptual experiments.

Óculos (1968), Lygia Clark © Courtesy of World of Lygia Clark Cultural Association. Photo: © 2014 Eduardo Clark

Lygia Clark
Museum of Modern Art, New York 10 May–24 August
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Clark’s radical, playful objects and development of a therapeutic art practice testify to an artist ahead of the game. Her participatory explorations of ritual, perception and the body can be traced in the work of later practitioners such as Marina Abramoviç.

Click here to buy the July/August issue of Apollo

Related Articles

‘Radical Geometry’, Latin American art at the Royal Academy, London (Catherine Spencer)

‘The Abandonment of Art’, Lygia Clark at MoMA New York (Rye Dag Holmboe)

‘Other Primary Structures: Others 2′ at the Jewish Museum New York (Raisa Rexer)

Gallery: Pinta London 2014