The Marvellous Real: Art from Mexico
Nicola Levell
“A superb collection of modern masterpieces that captures the vibrant culture of a nation.”
This richly-illustrated publication accompanies the major exhibition The Marvelous Real: Art from Mexico, hosted by the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. The book profiles the works of over fifty artists, including modern practitioners such as Dr Atl, Leonora Carrington, Jean Charlot, Pedro Friedeberg, Frida Kahlo, Juan O’Gorman, Alice Rahon, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Juan Soriano, and Rufino Tamayo. It also features contemporary artists, including Sandra Cabriada, Alfredo Castañede, Gunther Gerzso, Adela Goldbard, Yishai Jusidman, Betsabeé Romero, and Francisco Toledo. Uniting this work is the idea of the ‘marvelous real,’ a critical approach developed by the Cuban novelist and cultural critic Alejo Carpentier. The idea and the imagery of the marvelous real are explored in three essays written by Alejo Carpentier, Nicola Levell, and Anthony Shelton.