Condemned To Be Modern

About

The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery will bring together the work of 30 contemporary artists from Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela and beyond who have responded critically to the history of modernism and, more specifically, modernist architecture in Latin America. In work produced during the last two decades, these artists explore the effects, contradictions, and contested legacies of modernism as expressed through ambitious construction of government buildings, public housing, schools, universities, and even new cities during moments of radical political and social change. The architecture and urban planning of these moments continue to serve as critical reference points for artists including Jonathas de Andrade (Brazil), Leonor Antunes (Portugal/Germany), Alexander Apostol (Venezuela/Spain), Felipe Dulzaides (Cuba) and Melanie Smith (Mexico). Together, these artists provide an anthropological exploration that connects architecture with political ideologies, social values and contemporary reality, while engendering dialogue about the role of government and public policy on the development, preservation and use of the built environment.