New exhibition at Phoenix Art Museum showcases paintings by José Clemente Orozco, Enrique Chagoya, Rufino Tamayo, and other renowned Mexican artists

Mar, 22, 2023

Latin American Art

New exhibition at Phoenix Art Museum showcases paintings by José Clemente Orozco, Enrique Chagoya, Rufino Tamayo, and other renowned Mexican artists

Mission and Legacy celebrates the enduring influence of Friends of Mexican Art organization on the PhxArt collection and the region’s cultural landscape

PHOENIX (March 22, 2023) – Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) announces the opening of Mission and Legacy, an exhibition that celebrates the enduring impact of Friends of Mexican Art (FOMA), a Valley-based non-profit organization dedicated to building appreciation for Mexican art and strengthening cultural ties between the Greater Phoenix Metro community and Mexico. Over its nearly 60-year history, FOMA gifted works by 20th and 21st century Mexican artists José Clemente Orozco, Enrique Chagoya, Carlos Mérida, Rufino Tamayo, Francisco Zúñiga, Alfredo Ramos Martínez, and others to the PhxArt collection. Mission and Legacy presents many of these outstanding works to the public and is on view now through December 31, 2023 in the James K. Ballinger Gallery at Phoenix Art Museum.

“Phoenix Art Museum is immensely grateful to Friends of Mexican Art for their enduring support and shared commitment to increasing access to Mexican art,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “The artworks that FOMA has gifted to the Museum throughout our decades-long partnership form the cornerstone of our Latin American art collection, ensuring the organization’s indelible impact on this institution and on our community’s ability to engage with formative works by artists from Mexico long into the future.”

Friends of Mexican Art, colloquially known as FOMA, was founded in 1963 with a mission to encourage understanding and awareness of the importance of Mexican art and culture. Over nearly 60 years, the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization has increased the representation of Mexican art at Phoenix Art Museum, Heard Museum, Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Phoenix Public Library, Arizona State University Art Museum, Mesa Arts Center, and Tucson Museum of Art through the support of art acquisitions and exhibitions. In support of the PhxArt collection, FOMA gifted 25 outstanding works by many of the most renowned Mexican artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, forming the foundation of the Museum’s Latin American collection, which was formally established in 1992 and at the time represented only the second collection in the country dedicated to Latin American art.

Upon the achievement of its mission, FOMA sunset as an organization in 2022. Mission and Legacy honors FOMA’s impact by presenting numerous artworks gifted to PhxArt over the two institutions’ decades-long partnership. The exhibition also features selections from the Friends of Mexican Art Archive, which is now housed in the Museum’s Gene and Cathie Lemon Art Research Library and which preserves newsletters, photographs, invitations, correspondence, and other materials created and associated with the group during their operating history. Featured archival objects in Mission and Legacy shed light on the many ways FOMA’s programming and fundraising activities celebrated and preserved Mexican art in both the Valley of the Sun and Mexico.

“The exhibition Mission and Legacy at Phoenix Art Museum means so much to the members of Friends of Mexican Art—present and past,” said Sarah Maresco, one of four FOMA presidium members. “It is such a gift to see these beautiful artworks displayed together in representation of the works FOMA has gifted to the Museum over almost 60 years. It shows that FOMA has fulfilled its mission to increase knowledge and understanding of Mexican art and has helped to make the Valley of the Sun a center for Mexican art collections.”

For more information on FOMA and the group’s influence on Phoenix Art Museum, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2117 or samantha.santos@phxart.org.

About the Exhibition
Mission and Legacy is organized by Phoenix Art Museum. It is made possible through the generosity of Friends of Mexican Art.  

Admission is free for Museum Members; youth aged 5 and younger; and Maricopa County Community Colleges students with an active ID. Entrance into the exhibition is included in general admission for the public. Visitors may also enjoy reduced admission to the exhibition during voluntary-donation times on Wednesdays from 3 – 9 pm, made possible through the support of SRP and City of Phoenix. For a full breakdown of general-admission prices and hours, see phxart.org/visit/.

High-resolution photography can be downloaded here. To request interviews, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2117 or samantha.santos@phxart.org.

About Phoenix Art Museum
Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.