The Fighting on the Wall – Mexican Murals

27 March – 14 August 2011

At KØS Museum of art in public spaces we focus on an important era within the history of public art with the exhibition The Fighting on the Wall. The exhibition presents preliminary sketches for the unique, ideologically and politically charged murals that arose out of the Mexican Revolution in the 1920s. This never-before-seen type of mural had a substantial impact on the development of narrative monumental painting in the 20th century.

The exhibition shows a number of different preliminary works ranging from small sketches to monumental cartoons in which you can explore the many dramatic themes and motifs of the revolution. Several Mexican artists had taken part in the revolution battles themselves and some even carried ammunition in their paint boxes. The exhibition demonstrates how many of the Mexican artists continued their political struggle for better living conditions for the Mexican people through their murals.

It gives us great pleasure at KØS to be able to show a wide selection of Mexican sketches thanks to an exceptional loan from The Museum of Sketches – Archives of Public Art in Lund. Displaying considerable foresight, the museum turned its gaze towards Mexico as far back as the early 1960s, acquiring preliminary sketches for a wide range of the country’s important national monumental murals. The result is an important collection of Mexican art – a collection on a scale without equal in our part of the world. As Denmark’s only museum dedicated to art in the public space we are very pleased to be able to present these unique Mexican works for the first time ever on Danish soil.

In the exhibition the historical sketches are supplemented by selected examples of contemporary works by Mexican artists. We will present a video piece by the exhibition’s youngest artist – and only female contributor – Minerva Cuevas, who offers us a multitude of colourful glimpses into the politically active life played out within the public space of present-day Mexico City. The exhibition also includes pictures of an all-new mural depicting dramatic scenes of political and legal injustices and transgressions against the population, clearly demonstrating how the political struggle remains relevant today. The mural in question was created by the artist Rafael Cauduro for the Supreme Court building in the Mexican capital.

With its historical focus on murals, The Fighting on the Wall paves the way for Walk this way, the museum’s large-scale exhibition in the public space held in Køge in 2011; an event which will, among much else, involve street artists working on selected walls in the city. Walk this way opens on 7 May and will run concurrently with The Fighting on the Wall during the summer.