The works of Archaic Futures look at “an art that goes backward and forward”

▲ Painting (1927) by Joan Miró, captured during a tour of the exhibition. Photo by Germán Canseco

Eirinet Gómez

La Jornada Newspaper, Friday, April 25, 2025, p. 5

In a context of environmental crisis and extractivism, in which the future of humanity is compromised, the Rufino Tamayo Museum yesterday inaugurated Archaic Futures, an exhibition composed mostly of works from the museum's collection that have not been shown recently. These works allude to this uncertain future and propose a revaluation of the territory: the origin as a possible form of future.

These pieces evoke primal sounds: metallic, material, stony, and animal, also from the collections of the Museums of Modern Art and Carrillo Gil, which had never been presented in dialogue with each other. For example, there are works by Roberto Matta, Susana Sierra (who hasn't been exhibited since 1980), and Irma Palacios , said Andrea Torreblanca, curator of the exhibition and director of the space.

Among the outstanding cases, he added, are the four by Joan Miró, dated 1927, and the Guernica tapestry (1976-1977), by María Raventós, a member of the Catalan school of Grau-Garriga.

"Rather than choosing one piece or another, it was about understanding Rufino and Olga Tamayo's perspective as collectors, and how, from that point on, they had already focused on the archaic; that is, an art that moves backward and forward at the same time.

It is an exhibition in which, rather than proposing a future based on cybernetics and artificial intelligence (AI) as an idea of ​​progress, a return to the terrestrial origins, where matter and energy predominate in their natural state, is proposed , he explained.

The paradox of this exhibition is the way these modern and contemporary artists seek to move forward by looking to the past. Caught in an inertia in which looking to the future often implies discarding the past, they reclaim it, appropriating archaic manifestations to project their work , added Lorenza Herrasti, another of the curators.

The exhibition, organized into three rooms, begins with paintings that evoke the desert, rocky landscapes, sediments, and fossils. Highlights include Figures (1966) by Antoni Tàpies; East Winds (2010) and Mineral Landscape (1984) by Irma Palacios; and Clytemnestra II (1960) by Gunther Gerzso.

A distinctive feature of the exhibition is the way the works interact with one another. On a central wall, for example, Joan Miró's Pintura (1927) can be seen alongside the quartet of contemporary masks Desarmadillo (2022), Dios del Horror y la Masa (2022), Lagarto (2022), and Cadera sin Fin (2022), all by Damián Ortega.

What's interesting is that modern and contemporary artists coexist. One example is this wall, which features a 1927 Miró and Damián's work, which is very recent but also depicts masks believed to be older than fire. This coexistence is very important in the exhibition, explaining that time is cyclical .

The second room alludes to elements such as fire, the sun, metallurgy, and alchemy—the latter understood as a form of transformation of matter or transmutation of life. Here you can see works such as The Tarot Aunt (1945) by Wolfgang Paalen; Little Prophet Version II (1962) by Kenneth Armitage; and Thanatos (1973) by Wojciech Sadley.

At the center of the space, suspended in the air, is Olga Amaral's Alchemy II (1983). This piece recreates the transition: how a process like metallurgy gives rise to a cultural moment. "We move from the desert, from the terrestrial landscape, to a transformation of matter ," the curator added.

A forum emulating a Greek agora has also been set up in this area, designed to accompany the exhibition with talks, concerts, and other activities. The idea is to hold conferences to activate the rooms and discuss and expand on the themes presented in the exhibition .

The third area offers a darker atmosphere: the black-painted walls evoke the astral, the cosmic. This room alludes to the cyclical, to the idea of ​​a new beginning, where all the works share the exploration of cosmic black , the curator explained.

Throughout the tour, visitors will find references to Rufino Tamayo, the artist and collector.

Another feature that enriches the experience is the soundscape in each room, composed of experimental music created by female artists from the 1950s.

Archaic Futures opened yesterday with a concert of experimental music by Leslie García. The exhibition will be open to the public until August 31 at the Rufino Tamayo Museum (51 Reforma Avenue, Polanco, Mexico City).