“A Century of Modern Art in the Dominican Republic” Opens

“A Century of Modern Art in the Dominican Republic” Opens
Santo Domingo, July 2, 2014

The Ministry of Culture and the Museum of Modern Art (MAM) opened the exhibition “Fernando Báez Guerrero Collection / A Century of Modern Art in the Dominican Republic”, with the participation of a total of 93 artists and more than 300 works.

The opening ceremony was led by María Elena Ditrén, Director of the Modern Museum of Art; and, Fernando Báez Guerrero and Nancy de Báez, collectors. Also,  Amable López Meléndez, art critic and Chief Curator of the MAM;  Abil Peralta Agüero, art critic; and Danilo De los Santos, renowned artist and Dominican art historian, who are part of the research and curatorial team of the exhibit. 

This is the first collective exhibition exclusively and entirely based on the pieces of a private collector which, as in the case of Fernando Báez Guerrero, cover more than a century of modern and contemporary art of the Dominican Republic.

For Báez Guerrero “this exhibition is a tribute to the sensitive soul of each of the artists, especially in what concerns the first ones, because I owe my passion for collecting to them, equally motivated by my family, especially by my wife Nancy; I have found in them the emotional support to live experiences such as this one, and to be able to share it with Dominican art lovers, assured that other Dominican collectors in the future will do the same, as a way to contribute to elevate the self-esteem and cultural identity of the Dominican people when they need it the most”.

The curatorial proposal is based on four simultaneous sections that highlight the museographical display of the exhibition: “Raíces y proliferaciones de la modernidad (1914-1950)”; “Vanguardias y signos identitarios. Tres generaciones radicales (1950-1960-1970)”; “Consagraciones y emergencias desde la posmodernidad (1980-1990-2010)”, and  “Vínculos transparentes”.

The “Fernando Báez Guerrero Collection/A Century of Modern Art in the Dominican Republic” will remain open until the end of August, Tuesday to Sunday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., in the Museum of Modern Art of the Dominican Republic, located at Ave. Pedro Henríquez Ureña, Plaza de la Cultura Juan Pablo Duarte, in Santo Domingo.