LONG BEACH, CA.- The Museum of Latin American Art presents Tamayo: A Search for the Essence. “Fine art’s essence arranged in a poetic milieu, within the precious limitation that encloses a piece off art, that is what I call a master painting”, said Rufino Tamayo. Stylistically, Tamayo simplified Color and form, to create schematic representations, without undermining the profound strength of his subject matter. That is because Tamayo’s representative use of the figure was substantial in his search for the essence of humanity, which he expressed in themes such as the relationship of man with the cosmos or the brevity of life, both important subjects in his work. Tamayo: A Search for the essence exposes another vision towards the work by this artist, the search for an essence through form and content.

The exhibition Tamayo: A Search for the Essence, is composed of a selection of 41 Mixografias from Mixografía®, Los Angeles as well as 34 works including oil on canvas, works on paper and sculptures.

RUFINO TAMAYO was born in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 1899. Due to the unfortunate loss of his parents he moved from his hometown to Mexico City when he was twelve years old. Soon after, Tamayo discovered his artistic interests and decided to pursue studies at the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts in Mexico City from 1917 to 1921.

In 1921 he was appointed Chief of the Ethnographic Department at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. His duties as a draftsman at this museum introduced him to pre-Columbian sculptures whose form and colors would greatly influence his future paintings.

In 1926, Tamayo held his first solo shows in Mexico City and New York City, and his work was exhibited continuously through the 1930s and 1940s in both the United States and Mexico. During this time Tamayo explored mural painting but he firmly opposed the approach of popular Mexican muralists whom he believed had made the practice formulaic and was mostly concerned with conveying the Mexican experience. Tamayo opted to capture universality in his art and, thus, the experience of all mankind.

An evolution in his style brought Tamayo to fuse primitive shapes, mystical moods and earthy color schemes (borrowed from pre-Columbian sculptures) with modern cultural, ideological and emotional reality. In doing so, he transcended boundaries of cultures and time in his artwork. Until his death, Tamayo’s popularity and achievements continued to soar. Rufino Tamayo died in 1991 leaving behind a valuable artistic legacy and a profound homage to humanity.