Thesauro. Seis términos de la pintura del siglo XX en México en la Colección BBVA is an exhibition presented as a collection of terms, a sort of dictionary or list. In this sense, it is an exhibition without a specific sequence. Each section corresponds to a theme, presented in alphabetical order.
Within the BBVA Mexico Collection there is an outstanding collection of paintings produced throughout the last century – a condition that determined the selection of the themes that are revisited in this exhibition. Some of these can be easily associated with painting and its history; they allude to the genres of portraiture, landscape or still life. Other themes are more specifically linked to the evolution of the pictorial discipline in our country during the last century and refer to the updating of local aesthetics. Following the reference of a thesaurus, the topics that make up this exhibition are: “animals”, “ancient American art”, “popular arts”, “flowers”, “man and masculinity” and “landscape”.
Employing this model allows this project, which includes a publication, to present different ideas about painting, in a more concrete way, about painting produced in Mexico during the 20th century from the remarkable collection of the BBVA Collection. The work of Claudia Garay, César Jerónimo González, Elba Peniche, Sandra Sánchez, Susana Vargas and Mireida Velázquez enriched the contents of this project. The selection of themes that comprise this sort of thesaurus also lends itself to expose broader issues that go beyond the realm of art and are linked to current and necessary discussions related to the environment and the natural world, the construction of identity and the relationship with native cultures.
Daniel Garza Usabiaga