Microscopías is an essay on the organic forms of abstract languages that for theoretical reference employs the conference entitled: Naturalness in Abstract Art (Lo Natural en el Arte Abstracto), presented by Dr. Carrillo-Gil at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in 1963. 

The central argument of his thesis delves into the relationships of abstract languages with specific forms found in microbiology and human anatomy. The origin of this aesthetic preoccupation emerged from the scientific observation of microscopic plaques, as well as from a comparative analysis that combines Carrillo-Gil’s medical background with his passion for art history and for collecting art. This exhibit underscores his theoretical thoughts concerning abstract art as he brings to the forefront, through selected works from the Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil’s Collection, the invisible reality of nature. 

The route through the exhibit has been structured according to an experimental layout of abstract works from the museum’s collection. It represents a departure from the traditional thematic and chronological norms by giving priority to the aesthetic connections and artistic affinities of the observer. 

This exhibition proposes a profound intellectual and visual reflection that reveals the central role that nature plays as one of the most important sources of inspiration for abstract art. The exhibition opens with an illustrated timeline wall chart that contextualizes all historical events that were central to the birth and development of abstract art in Mexico. Moving along the exhibition space, the structure of the exhibit relies on an experimental layout of the abstract collection of the museum. It departs from the traditional thematic or chronological selection criteria to instead privilege new discourses and reinterpretations of some of the most important works by Gunther Gerszo and Wolfgang Paalen, which form part of the Collection of the Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil. 

In the case of the works by Gunther Gerzso, the importance of nature originates in the trips the artist took while scouting locations for filmmaker Luis Buñuel, and in his renditions on canvas of the great flat symmetries of Mayan architecture. This experience and the exercise of his imagination allowed him, at the beginning of the Seventies, to produce the series of ancient Greek landscapes that comprise part of this exhibit. Estructuras Antiguas (Ancient Structures) of 1995 is one of the most representative works from this period; forms and volumes merge in this work that derives from observing nature and architecture. On the other hand, the works from Paalen’s abstract period are characterized by vast color planes or surfaces and concise lines; underneath this, organic forms are discovered that originated in some primitive cultures. 

This exhibition also shows an important selection of reproductions by Vassily Kandinsky, and Paul Klee, which underscores the enormous interest their works elicited in Dr. Carillo-Gill and the importance of these artists as promoters of abstract art.

ENJOY THE SLIDESHOW OF THE EXHIBITION