WASHINGTON, DC.- The National Gallery of Art announced today that it has received a major gift of nearly 50 works from the Berezdivin Collection, a major private collection of contemporary art. The acquisition substantially deepens the National Gallery’s representation of artists working across the Americas and strengthens its commitment to presenting an expansive view of contemporary art.

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Spanning painting, photography, mixed media, and conceptual art, the gift includes significant works by leading contemporary artists working in the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. These include Allora & Calzadilla, the Puerto Rico–based duo who represented the United States at the 2011 Venice Biennale, as well as Pedro Álvarez, Emilia Azacárate, Luis Cruz Azaceta, José Bedia, Fernando Bryce, Rafael Ferrer, Luis Gispert, Kcho, José Morales, Jesús "Bubu" Negrón, Dámian Ortega, Luis González Palma, Manuel Piña, Ernesto Pujol, Sandra Ramos, and Rosângela Rennó. Many of the works in this gift are the first by the artists to enter the collection.

Highlights include Allora & Calzadilla’s conceptual installation Land Mark (1999–2003); Chemi Rosado-Seijo’s iconic installation El Cerro (2001–2003); an edition of Rosângela Rennó’s Bibliotheca (2002) series; Rafael Ferrer’s Trilogía de la Noche II, Pedro Fermín (papón) (1993), Luis Gispert’s Chain Mouth (2001); and Priscilla Monge’s Untitled (1994). Each of these highlights marks the first work by its respective artist to enter the National Gallery’s collection.

“We are deeply grateful to the Berezdivin family for their generosity, and for the vision they have brought to building a collection that reflects the richness and complexity of contemporary artistic production, especially across Latin America, the Caribbean, and their diasporas,” said Kaywin Feldman, director of the National Gallery of Art. “A testament to their work as collectors and their role in fostering a generation of artists, this acquisition enriches the National Gallery’s holdings and expands our collection of contemporary art from the Americas.”





Established over several decades by collectors Diana and Moises Berezdivin, the Berezdivin Collection is distinguished by the depth and broad geographic scope of its holdings of modern and contemporary art. Based in Puerto Rico, the family has played a significant role in advancing the visibility of artists of Latin American descent, particularly Cuban and Puerto Rican, through both their collecting and public-facing initiatives. In 2005, they founded the exhibition space Espacio 1414 in San Juan, Puerto Rico with the goal of promoting knowledge of contemporary art and presenting concept-based exhibitions drawn from their international collection. Through their gift to the National Gallery, the family underscores the importance of their collection and efforts to drive dialogue across the contemporary art field.